[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1713 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1713

To award grants to public-private partnerships to encourage work force 
 diversity in order to improve the working conditions of all Americans 
 and to help organizations compete more effectively both domestically 
              and internationally, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            November 19 (legislative day, November 2), 1993

   Mr. Dodd introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To award grants to public-private partnerships to encourage work force 
 diversity in order to improve the working conditions of all Americans 
 and to help organizations compete more effectively both domestically 
              and internationally, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Work Force Diversity Partnership Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States is becoming the most diverse work-
        place in the world at a time of growing economic 
        dissatisfaction and intense global competition;
            (2) people of color, caucasian women, and immigrants will 
        account for 85 percent of the net growth in our Nation's labor 
        force during the 1990's;
            (3) the expectations, characteristics, demands, beliefs, 
        work values, motivating factors and educational backgrounds of 
        individuals in the work force are becoming increasingly 
        diverse;
            (4) employees, managers, administrators and government 
        officials are inadequately prepared to deal effectively with 
        increased diversity in the work force;
            (5) increased domestic and international competition 
        require that business, industry and government leaders 
        effectively motivate and manage this diverse work force;
            (6) as more parents join the work force, it has become 
        increasingly difficult for employees to balance the demands of 
        the workplace with the needs of families; and
            (7) by understanding and valuing diversity which respects 
        differences, employers emphasize creativity, self initiative, 
        leadership, innovation, and team-work, and thereby improve the 
        working conditions of all Americans and the chances for 
        economic success.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to establish a grant program within 
the Department of Labor to--
            (1) study and address issues relating to work force and 
        cultural diversity and their impact on economic 
        competitiveness, employment opportunities, advancement and 
        retention; and
            (2) develop collaborative public and private sector 
        education and training materials that address the issues of 
        work force and cultural diversity.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) Federal share.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the term ``Federal share'' means 50 percent of the 
                cost of each grant awarded under this Act.
                    (B) Exception.--If the Secretary, after 
                consultation with the peer review panel, determines 
                that to do so will further the purposes of this Act, 
                the Secretary may increase the amount of the Federal 
                share.
            (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the same meaning given 
        that term by section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).
            (3) Non-federal share.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``non-Federal share'' 
                means the amount required to be expended by the 
                recipient of a grant under this Act.
                    (B) In-kind services.--Amounts available to pay the 
                non-Federal share under this paragraph may include in-
                kind services or other resources.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Labor.

SEC. 5. WORK FORCE DIVERSITY GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary is authorized to award 
grants to eligible entities to pay the Federal share of the cost of 
programs established by such entities that are designed to--
            (1) target and develop issues relating to work force and 
        cultural diversity;
            (2) develop public and private sector education and 
        training materials that focus on the issues of work force and 
        cultural diversity;
            (3) foster research, scholarship, innovative curriculum 
        development, development of teaching materials, and other 
        practicable supportive academic activities relating to such 
        issues;
            (4) assist in the dissemination and transfer of such 
        materials for use in private sector training efforts as they 
        relate to issues of work force and cultural diversity; and
            (5) develop and establish cooperative higher education-
        business training programs to assist public and private 
        industry leaders and workers in addressing the issue of work 
        force diversity.
    (b) Requirement.--The Secretary shall ensure that the recipient of 
a grant under this Act agrees to establish, operate, and provide the 
non-Federal share of the cost of the work force diversity programs for 
which the grant is made.
    (c) Duration of Grant.--No grant awarded under this Act may be for 
a period longer than 3 years.

SEC. 6. GRANT RECIPIENT SELECTION.

    (a) Submission of Proposals.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
Act an entity shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a proposal, at 
such time, in such manner and containing such information as the 
Secretary may reasonably require.
    (b) Participants.--
            (1) In general.--An institution of higher education in 
        partnership with one or more organizations described in 
        paragraph (2), shall be eligible to receive a grant under this 
        Act.
            (2) Organizations.--An organization referred to in 
        paragraph (1) shall be--
                    (A) a corporation, business, or partnership, 
                whether for profit or nonprofit;
                    (B) a labor organization; or
                    (C) an organization that has a demonstrated 
                interest or expertise in work force diversity issues.
    (e) Criteria for Selection.--
            (1) In general.--In determining whether to approve a 
        proposal submitted under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
        take into account--
                    (A) the extent to which the grant applicant 
                demonstrates a potential to achieve one or more of the 
                purposes of this Act;
                    (B) the level of participation and financial 
                commitment of the participants;
                    (C) the likelihood that a proposed program will 
                foster the creation of increased diversity awareness 
                programs in other institutional environments;
                    (D) the likelihood that the proposed program will 
                result in the development and dissemination of national 
                or regional best practices;
                    (E) the extent to which the project will impact the 
                international competitiveness of the United States 
                economy; and
                    (F) such other criteria as the Secretary may 
                prescribe.
            (2) Faculty participation.--The Secretary shall encourage 
        partnerships desiring to receive a grant under this Act to 
        submit proposals that are written by teams of faculty from 
        multiple disciplines, student and academic affairs 
        professional, or student organizations concerned with 
        multicultural education, or any combination thereof.
            (3) Priority.--In awarding grants under this Act, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to grant proposals that 
        demonstrate the availability of sufficient amounts of non-
        Federal contributions or resources from non-governmental 
        entities.

SEC. 7. AREAS OF ACTION.

    A recipient of a grant under this Act shall use amounts received 
under such grant to engage in activities in accordance with one or more 
of the following guidelines:
            (1) The development of instructional material concerning 
        efforts designed to address cultural and work force diversity 
        issues within the workplace setting.
            (2) The development of public and private sector education 
        and training materials that will address the issues of work 
        force and cultural diversity.
            (3) The development of new approaches to work force 
        diversity issues and scholarship efforts to be integrated 
        within the curriculum of business schools, ethnic and women's 
        studies, engineering schools, social science disciplines, 
        humanities and the arts and sciences. In using grant funds 
        under this paragraph, a grantee may employ approaches to be 
        carried out in conjunction with corporate education and 
        training programs.
            (4) The conduct of research concerning multicultural 
        workplace interactions and team management and business in 
        multicultural and multi-lingual marketplace settings.
            (5) The implementation of faculty development programs that 
        focus on research, appropriate learning environments, and 
        pedagogical approaches to teaching multicultural management and 
        work diversity issues.
            (6) The development and dissemination of information 
        concerning models for summer precollege business internship 
        programs that aid in integrating the workplace and in giving 
        students a better understanding of the private sector and of 
        work force diversity issues.
            (7) The conduct of forums, workshops, and conferences in 
        which representatives from academic, corporate, government, or 
        other institutions with a demonstrated interest or expertise in 
        work force diversity will focus on issues, attitudes and 
        strategies that sensitize managers, employees, faculty, 
        corporate, government and other leaders and workers to 
        workplace diversity issues.
            (8) Any other activities that the Secretary determines to 
        be appropriate to meet the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 8. PEER REVIEW.

    To assist the Secretary in carrying out this Act, the Secretary 
shall establish peer review panels to review the merits of grant 
proposals proposed under this Act. In establishing such panels, the 
Secretary shall seek the widest participation of qualified individuals 
from participants, as defined in section 6(b). Each peer review panel 
shall report the findings and recommendations of the panel to the 
Secretary.

SEC. 9. RECIPIENT REPORTS.

    Each recipient of a grant under this Act shall prepare and submit 
an annual report to the Secretary. Each such report shall include a 
summary of the progress of the activities implemented under the grant 
to achieve the purposes of this Act, a summary of the expenditures 
involved, a plan describing the recipient's planned use of funds for 
the forthcoming year, an explanation of the uses made of the results of 
the grant program where appropriate, and any other information that the 
Secretary determines to be appropriate.

SEC. 10. REPORT.

    The Secretary shall annually prepare and submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress, a report that shall include an evaluation of 
the progress made in achieving the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act, 
$10,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and such sums as may be necessary for 
each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1998.

                                 <all>