[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2515 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2515

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a comprehensive 
   national system for skilled construction workers to assist first 
                        responders in disasters.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 18, 2007

 Mr. Reid (for Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following bill; which was 
 read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
                              and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a comprehensive 
   national system for skilled construction workers to assist first 
                        responders in disasters.

    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 ``Skilled Trades Second Responders Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Skilled construction workers are essential to 
        effectively providing rescue and recovery following manmade and 
        natural disasters, and are vital to the cleanup, demolition, 
        rehabilitation, and reconstruction of disaster sites after 
        recovery operations.
            (2) Construction craft workers bring essential skills in 
        support of first responders, including demolition (such as 
        welding, cutting, burning, and rigging), electrical and 
        pipeline maintenance, hazardous waste cleanup, equipment 
        operations, and traffic control.
            (3) Construction contractors and employers also provide 
        essential equipment to disaster response efforts, such as 
        welding machines, backhoes, cranes, dozers, skilled workers, 
        and essential supplies for site-specific needs.
            (4) Historically, construction craft workers have provided 
        support skills to first response operations after natural 
        disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; terrorist 
        attacks, such as Oklahoma City, the World Trade Center, and the 
        Pentagon; and manmade disasters, such as the Minneapolis bridge 
        collapse. However, there are no systems in place to mobilize 
        this workforce or ensure the effective integration of 
        construction craft workers with first responder operations.
            (5) The experience of earlier disasters reveals the need 
        for a cohesive national, State, and local system of 
        construction craft workers ready to serve their country and 
        assist first responders in response to a disaster. The system 
        should be designed to identify, train, certify, register, and 
        integrate skilled craft workers into disaster preparedness and 
        response activities, as well as provide training of 
        construction craft workers in health and safety procedures to 
        assist rescue, recovery, and cleanup activities.

SEC. 3. SECOND RESPONDER PROGRAM IN THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF 
              ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES.

    Subpart 12 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 285l et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 463C. SECOND RESPONDER TRAINING AND INTEGRATION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Institute shall establish, 
as part of the Worker Education and Training Program of the Institute, 
a national program for the training, certification, registration, 
tracking, and integration of skilled construction workers to assist 
first responders in responding to disasters, including natural and 
manmade disasters and terrorist attacks.
    ``(b) Content of Program.--As part of the national program 
established under subsection (a), the Director shall--
            ``(1) develop a national plan for integrating construction 
        activities into State and local disaster-response plans;
            ``(2) provide training for construction trainers and 
        workers, foremen, supervisors, and other industry personnel on 
        how to assist first responders and integrate their efforts with 
        first responders during emergency response, rescue, recovery, 
        and cleanup activities;
            ``(3) provide specialized safety, health, and skills 
        training to construction workers on how to protect themselves, 
        coworkers, and the public from safety and health hazards 
        inherent in disaster response activities;
            ``(4)(A) establish community-based registries of certified 
        skilled workers who are considered on call and who can be 
        identified and mobilized when needed; and
            ``(B) pilot integration of such community-based registries 
        into a national registry system;
            ``(5) establish a national, State, and local system to 
        maintain the readiness of construction personnel and equipment 
        through regular training, recertification, and exercises with 
        first responders; and
            ``(6) develop agreements with construction industry 
        contractors and joint labor-management organizations that have 
        disaster response capabilities and with designated first 
        response coordinating agencies for on-call responses in the 
        event of a disaster.
    ``(c) Coordination.--In developing the national program under 
subsection (a), the Director shall coordinate and consult with the 
Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, other relevant agencies, and private organizations, 
including construction industry contractors, joint labor-management 
training funds, and building trade unions, that are experienced in 
providing rescue and recovery assistance to first responders, and in 
the cleanup, demolition, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of disaster 
sites after recovery operations.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 
and each subsequent fiscal year. Such authorization is in addition to 
any other authorization of appropriations that is available for such 
purpose.''.
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