[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2907 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2907

    To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a 
  comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy-
                             related jobs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 2014

 Ms. Landrieu (for herself and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a 
  comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy-
                             related jobs.

    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 ``21st Century Energy Workforce 
Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) there are, as of the date of enactment of this Act and 
        for well into the future, significant opportunities for 
        African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans throughout the energy 
        industry at each level of education and training, but raising 
        the educational achievement for large segments of the upcoming 
        generation is resource-intensive and will take decades to 
        achieve, although the payoff of an increased skilled labor pool 
        would be enormous to society in general and United States 
        industry in particular;
            (2) African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans represent an 
        important talent pool to help meet the demands of the projected 
        growth in the energy industry, and workforce training and 
        education in business, finance, science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics will prove vital in achieving that 
        growth, as noted by the American Petroleum Institute;
            (3) improving minority preparation in science-, technology-
        , engineering-, and mathematics-related disciplines at the 
        primary and secondary school levels is crucial to increasing 
        the share of minority science-based degree attainment in 4-year 
        and 2-year programs of higher education, as well as for 
        increasing attainment of vocational certificates;
            (4) the rates at which African-Americans and Hispanic-
        Americans attain employment in the energy industry is in part 
        related to the choice of the field of study for college degrees 
        (4-year or 2-year) and vocational certificates;
            (5) data from the National Center for Education Statistics 
        suggest that, over the 2001 through 2010 period, African-
        American and Hispanic-American students chose and completed 4-
        year college degrees applicable to employment in the oil and 
        natural gas industry at rates \1/5\ and \1/2\, respectively, 
        the rates of the total student population;
            (6) with respect to 2-year associate degrees and 
        certificates, data from the National Center for Education 
        Statistics suggest that over the same time period, African-
        American and Hispanic-American students chose and completed 
        programs of study or training applicable to employment in the 
        oil and natural gas industry at rates roughly \1/10\ above and 
        \1/3\ below, respectively, the rates of the total student 
        population;
            (7) the American Petroleum Institute projects 525,000 new 
        job opportunities in the oil and natural gas industry by 2020, 
        with 166,000, or 31 percent of the jobs, expected to be held by 
        African-American and Hispanic-American workers, and, with 
        forward-looking policies, that number could increase to a 
        projected 811,000 new job opportunities, with more than 
        285,000, or 35 percent, of the jobs being filled by minorities, 
        by 2030;
            (8) the American Petroleum Institute projects that more 
        than 50 percent of all jobs created in the oil and natural gas 
        industry by 2020 would be high-paying skilled and semiskilled 
        blue collar jobs, with a significant range of opportunities at 
        the scientific or managerial level requiring a college degree;
            (9) the American Petroleum Institute projects that over \1/
        2\ of the future potential job growth in the oil and natural 
        gas industry, approximately 417,000 jobs, is expected in the 
        Gulf region, with the East region expected to contribute nearly 
        140,000 job opportunities, the Rockies region nearly 116,000 
        job opportunities, and the West, Alaska, and Central regions 
        expected to contribute approximately 138,000 job opportunities 
        combined;
            (10) the National Mining Association reports that the coal 
        mining industry supported a total of 805,680 jobs in 2011, 
        including 204,580 direct jobs, including mine workers 
        (143,520), support activities (7,280), and transportation 
        (53,780);
            (11) broad occupational categories of potential job 
        creation in the upstream oil and gas industry include--
                    (A) management, business, and financial jobs;
                    (B) professional and related jobs;
                    (C) service jobs;
                    (D) sales and related jobs;
                    (E) office and administrative support jobs;
                    (F) skilled blue collar jobs;
                    (G) semiskilled blue collar jobs; and
                    (H) unskilled blue collar jobs;
            (12) potential job creation in the upstream oil and gas 
        industry by selected detailed occupational category include--
                    (A) derrick, rotary drill, and service unit 
                operators;
                    (B) oil and gas roustabouts;
                    (C) operating engineers and other construction 
                workers;
                    (D) equipment operators;
                    (E) construction laborers;
                    (F) first-line supervisors or managers of 
                construction and extraction workers;
                    (G) heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers;
                    (H) pump operators and wellhead pumpers;
                    (I) helpers and other extraction workers;
                    (J) petroleum engineers; and
                    (K) secretaries;
            (13) the National Petroleum Council estimates that over the 
        decade beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 30,000 
        miles of new long-distance natural gas pipelines will be needed 
        to manage the new sources of shale natural gas supply, while a 
        2007 Survey of Business Owners of the Census Bureau estimated 
        that a very small percentage of pipelines were owned by 
        minority-owned and woman-owned firms compared to the total 
        owned by nonminority males;
            (14) in 2013, the Energy Information Administration 
        estimated that relatively low natural gas prices, maintained by 
        growing shale natural gas production, will spur increased use 
        of natural gas in the industrial and electric power sectors by 
        16 percent, from 6,800,000,000 cubic feet per year in 2011 to 
        7,800,000,000,000 cubic feet per year in 2025, while total 
        consumption of natural gas in the United States will continue 
        to grow in the electric power sector from 16 percent of 
        generation in 2000 to 30 percent in 2040, which will lead to a 
        significant number of new jobs in the natural gas sector;
            (15) the Energy Information Administration estimates 
        natural gas production in the United States will increase 
        annually, outpacing domestic consumption and making the United 
        States a net exporter of natural gas by 2019, while continued 
        low levels of liquefied natural gas imports, combined with 
        increased United States exports of domestically sourced 
        liquefied natural gas, position the United States as a net 
        exporter of liquefied natural gas by 2016, creating an 
        abundance of new jobs and investment opportunities;
            (16) the Energy Information Administration estimates that 
        coal-fired electricity generation will remain a dominant 
        resource in the total generation portfolio of the United 
        States, representing 34 percent of United States baseload 
        electricity in 2035;
            (17) in 2013, a report by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance 
        research team estimated that clean energy investment is most 
        likely to grow by 230 percent to a projected $630,000,000,000 
        annually in 2030, driven by further improvements in the cost-
        competitiveness of wind and solar technologies and an increase 
        in the roll-out of nonintermittent clean energy sources 
        (including hydropower, geothermal, and biomass) requiring 
        additional investment in science, technology, engineering, and 
        mathematics education;
            (18) a 2013 report by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance 
        research team estimated that renewable energy projects 
        (including wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass) will account 
        for 70 percent of new power generation capacity between 2012 
        and 2030, and, by 2030, renewable energy will account for \1/2\ 
        of the generation capacity worldwide, up from 28 percent in 
        2012, requiring additional investment in supporting 
        infrastructure, including long distance transmission systems, 
        smart grids, storage, and demand response; and
            (19) the Energy Information Administration found that since 
        2005 renewable energy has garnered more than $1,300,000,000,000 
        worth of investment and the Energy Information Administration 
        estimates that global energy consumption will increase by 47 
        percent between 2010 and 2035, with clean energy providing more 
        than \1/2\ of that new capacity and attracting up to 
        $5,900,000,000,000 worth of investment, leading to new 
        employment and investment opportunities.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001).
            (2) Program.--The term ``program'' means the comprehensive 
        program to improve education and training for energy-related 
        jobs established under section 4.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (4) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' means science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics.

SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR ENERGY-RELATED JOBS FOR THE 21ST 
              CENTURY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish and carry out a 
comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy-
related jobs to increase the number of skilled minorities and women 
trained to work in energy-related jobs, including by--
            (1) encouraging minority and women students to enter into 
        the energy STEM fields;
            (2) ensuring that the educational system of the United 
        States is equipping students with the skills, training, and 
        technical expertise necessary to fill the employment 
        opportunities vital to managing and operating the energy 
        industry of the United States; and
            (3) providing students and other candidates with the 
        necessary skills and certifications for skilled, semiskilled, 
        and highly skilled energy-related jobs.
    (b) Priority.--The Secretary shall make educating and training 
minorities and other workers for energy-related jobs a national 
priority under the program.
    (c) Direct Assistance.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary 
shall provide direct assistance (including grants, technical expertise, 
mentorships, and partnerships) to community colleges, workforce 
development organizations, and minority-serving institutions.
    (d) Clearinghouse.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary 
shall establish a clearinghouse--
            (1) to maintain and update information and resources on 
        training and workforce development programs for energy-related 
        jobs; and
            (2) to act as a resource, and provide guidance, for 
        schools, institutions of higher education, workforce 
        development programs, and labor organizations that would like 
        to develop and implement energy-related training programs.
    (e) Collaboration.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary 
shall--
            (1) collaborate with schools, institutions of higher 
        education, workforce training organizations, labor 
        organizations, National Laboratories, State energy offices, and 
        the energy industry;
            (2) encourage and foster collaboration, mentorships, and 
        partnerships among organizations (including schools, 
        institutions of higher education, workforce development 
        organizations, labor organizations, and industry) that provide 
        effective job training programs in the energy field and 
        institutions (including schools, institutions of higher 
        education, and workforce development programs) that seek to 
        establish those types of programs to share best practices and 
        approaches that best suit local, State, and national needs; and
            (3) collaborate with the Energy Information Administration 
        and the Bureau of the Census to develop a comprehensive and 
        detailed understanding of the energy workforce needs and 
        opportunities by State and by region.
    (f) Guidelines for Educational Institutions.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the program, the 
        Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Education and 
        the Secretary of Labor, shall develop guidelines for 
        educational institutions of all levels, including for programs 
        at elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher 
        education, to help provide graduates with the skills necessary 
        to work in energy-related jobs.
            (2) Input.--The Secretary shall solicit input from the oil, 
        gas, coal, renewable, nuclear, utility, and pipeline industries 
        in developing guidelines under paragraph (1).
            (3) Energy efficiency and conservation initiatives.--The 
        guidelines developed under paragraph (1) shall include grade-
        specific guidelines for teaching energy efficiency and 
        conservation initiatives to educate students and families.
            (4) STEM education.--The guidelines developed under 
        paragraph (1) shall promote STEM education as STEM education 
        relates to job opportunities in energy-related fields of study 
        in schools and institutions of higher education nationally.
    (g) Outreach to MSIs.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary 
shall--
            (1) give special consideration to increasing outreach to 
        minority serving institutions (including historically black 
        colleges and universities, predominantly black institutions, 
        Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal institutions);
            (2) make resources available to minority-serving 
        institutions with the objective of increasing the number of 
        skilled minorities and women trained to go into the energy 
        sector; and
            (3) encourage industry to improve the opportunities for 
        students of minority-serving institutions to participate in 
        industry internships and cooperative work and study programs.
    (h) Guidelines To Develop Skills for an Energy Industry 
Workforce.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall 
collaborate with representatives from the energy industry (including 
the oil, gas, coal, nuclear, utility, pipeline, renewable, and nuclear 
sectors) to identify the areas of highest need in each sector and to 
develop guidelines for the skills necessary to develop a workforce 
trained to enter--
            (1) the energy efficiency industry, including work in 
        energy efficiency, conservation, weatherization, or 
        retrofitting, or as inspectors or auditors;
            (2) the pipeline industry, including work in pipeline 
        construction and maintenance or work as engineers or technical 
        advisors;
            (3) the utility industry, including as utility workers, 
        linemen, electricians, pole workers, or repairmen;
            (4) alternative fuels, including work in biofuel 
        development and production;
            (5) the nuclear industry, including work as scientists, 
        engineers, technicians, mathematicians, or security personnel;
            (6) the oil and gas industry, including work as scientists, 
        engineers, technicians, mathematicians, petrochemical 
        engineers, or geologists;
            (7) the renewable industry, including work in the 
        development and production of renewable energy sources (such as 
        solar, hydropower, wind, or geothermal energy); and
            (8) the coal industry, including work as coal miners, 
        engineers, developers, and manufacturers of state-of-the-art 
        coal facilities, technology vendors, coal transportation 
        workers and operators, and mining equipment vendors.
    (i) Enrollment in Training and Apprenticeship Programs.--In 
carrying out the program, the Secretary shall work with labor and 
community-based workforce organizations to help identify students and 
other candidates, including from historically underserved communities 
such as minorities, women, and veterans, to enroll into training and 
apprenticeship programs for energy-related jobs.
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