[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1542 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1542

To establish a program that promotes reforms in workforce education and 
skill training for manufacturing in States and metropolitan areas, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 10, 2015

 Mr. Coons (for himself and Ms. Ayotte) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a program that promotes reforms in workforce education and 
skill training for manufacturing in States and metropolitan areas, 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 ``Manufacturing Skills Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        State or a metropolitan area.
            (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' means each of the 
        following:
                    (A) An institution of higher education, as defined 
                in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
                    (B) A postsecondary vocational institution, as 
                defined in section 102(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
                1002(c)).
            (3) Manufacturing sector.--The term ``manufacturing 
        sector'' means a manufacturing sector classified in code 31, 
        32, or 33 of the most recent version of the North American 
        Industry Classification System developed under the direction of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            (4) Metropolitan area.--The term ``metropolitan area'' 
        means a standard metropolitan statistical area, as designated 
        by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
            (5) Partnership.--The term ``Partnership'' means the 
        Manufacturing Skills Partnership established in section 101(a).
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
        the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the United 
        States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands.

                 TITLE I--MANUFACTURING SKILLS PROGRAM

SEC. 101. MANUFACTURING SKILLS PROGRAM.

    (a) Manufacturing Skills Partnership.--The Secretary of Commerce, 
Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Defense, and 
Director of the National Science Foundation shall jointly establish a 
Manufacturing Skills Partnership consisting of the Secretaries and the 
Director, or their representatives. The Partnership shall--
            (1) administer and carry out the program established under 
        this title;
            (2) establish and publish guidelines for the review of 
        applications, and the criteria for selection, for grants under 
        this title; and
            (3) submit an annual report to Congress on--
                    (A) the eligible entities that receive grants under 
                this title; and
                    (B) the progress such eligible entities have made 
                in achieving the milestones identified in accordance 
                with section 102(b)(2)(H).
    (b) Program Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--From amounts appropriated to carry out 
        this title, the Partnership shall award grants, on a 
        competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible 
        entities to carry out their proposals submitted in the 
        application under section 102(b)(2), in order to promote 
        reforms in workforce education and skill training for 
        manufacturing in the eligible entities.
            (2) Grant duration.--A grant awarded under paragraph (1) 
        shall be for a 3-year period, with grant funds under such grant 
        distributed annually.
            (3) Second grants.--If amounts are made available to award 
        grants under this title for subsequent grant periods, the 
        Partnership may award a grant to an eligible entity that 
        previously received a grant under this title after such first 
        grant period expires. The Partnership shall evaluate the 
        performance of the eligible entity under the first grant in 
        determining whether to award the eligible entity a second grant 
        under this title.

SEC. 102. APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS.

    (a) In General.--An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant 
under this title shall--
            (1) establish a task force, consisting of leaders from the 
        public, nonprofit, and manufacturing sectors, representatives 
        of labor organizations, representatives of elementary schools 
        and secondary schools, and representatives of institutions of 
        higher education, to apply for and carry out a grant under this 
        title; and
            (2) submit an application at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Partnership may require.
    (b) Application Contents.--The application described in subsection 
(a)(2) shall include--
            (1) a description of the task force that the eligible 
        entity has assembled to design the proposal described in 
        paragraph (2);
            (2) a proposal that--
                    (A) identifies, as of the date of the application--
                            (i) the current strengths of the State or 
                        metropolitan area represented by the eligible 
                        entity in manufacturing; and
                            (ii) areas for new growth opportunities in 
                        manufacturing;
                    (B) identifies, as of the date of the application, 
                manufacturing workforce and skills challenges 
                preventing the eligible entity from expanding in the 
                areas identified under subparagraph (A)(ii), such as--
                            (i) a lack of availability of--
                                    (I) strong career and technical 
                                education;
                                    (II) educational programs in 
                                science, technology, engineering, or 
                                mathematics; or
                                    (III) a skills training system; or
                            (ii) an absence of customized training for 
                        existing industrial businesses and sectors;
                    (C) identifies challenges faced within the 
                manufacturing sector by underrepresented and 
                disadvantaged workers, including veterans, in the State 
                or metropolitan area represented by the eligible 
                entity;
                    (D) provides strategies, designed by the eligible 
                entity, to address challenges identified in 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C) through tangible projects and 
                investments, with the deep and sustainable involvement 
                of manufacturing businesses;
                    (E) identifies and leverages innovative and 
                effective career and technical education or skills 
                training programs in the field of manufacturing that 
                are available in the eligible entity;
                    (F) leverages other Federal funds in support of 
                such strategies;
                    (G) reforms State or local policies and governance, 
                as applicable, in support of such strategies; and
                    (H) holds the eligible entity accountable, on a 
                regular basis, through a set of transparent performance 
                measures, including a timeline for the grant period 
                describing when specific milestones and reforms will be 
                achieved; and
            (3) a description of the source of the matching funds 
        required under subsection (d) that the eligible entity will use 
        if selected for a grant under this title.
    (c) Award Basis.--
            (1) Selection basis and maximum number of grants.--
                    (A) In general.--The Partnership shall award grants 
                under this title, by not earlier than January 1, 2016, 
                and not later than March 31, 2016, to the eligible 
                entities that submit the strongest and most 
                comprehensive proposals under subsection (b)(2).
                    (B) Maximum number of grants.--For any grant 
                period, the Partnership shall award not more than 5 
                grants under this title to eligible entities 
                representing States and not more than 5 grants to 
                eligible entities representing metropolitan areas.
            (2)  Amount of grants.--
                    (A) In general.--The Partnership shall award grants 
                under this title in an amount that averages, for all 
                grants issued for a 3-year grant period, $10,000,000 
                for each year, subject to subparagraph (C) and 
                paragraph (3).
                    (B) Amount.--In determining the amount of each 
                grant for an eligible entity, the Partnership shall 
                take into consideration the size of the industrial base 
                of the eligible entity.
                    (C) Insufficient appropriations.--For any grant 
                period for which the amounts available to carry out 
                this title are insufficient to award grants in the 
                amount described in subparagraph (A), the Partnership 
                shall award grants in amounts determined appropriate by 
                the Partnership.
            (3) Funding contingent on performance.--In order for an 
        eligible entity to receive funds under a grant under this title 
        for the second or third year of the grant period, the eligible 
        entity shall demonstrate to the Partnership that the eligible 
        entity has achieved the specific reforms and milestones 
        required under the timeline included in the eligible entity's 
        proposal under subsection (b)(2)(H).
            (4) Consultation with policy experts.--The Partnership 
        shall assemble a panel of manufacturing policy experts and 
        manufacturing leaders from the private sector to serve in an 
        advisory capacity in helping to oversee the competition and 
        review the competition's effectiveness.
    (d) Matching Funds.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under 
this title shall provide matching funds toward the grant in an amount 
of not less than 50 percent of the costs of the activities carried out 
under the grant. Matching funds under this subsection shall be from 
non-Federal sources and shall be in cash or in-kind.

SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this title such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016.
    (b) Availability.--Funds appropriated under this section shall 
remain available until expended.

        TITLE II--AUDIT OF FEDERAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS TRAINING

SEC. 201. AUDIT OF FEDERAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS TRAINING.

    (a) Audit.--By not later than March 31, 2016, the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, acting through the 
Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, shall conduct an audit 
of all Federal education and skills training programs related to 
manufacturing to ensure that States and metropolitan areas are able to 
align Federal resources to the greatest extent possible with the labor 
demands of their primary manufacturing industries. In carrying out the 
audit, the Director shall work with States and metropolitan areas to 
determine how Federal funds can be more tailored to meet their 
different needs.
    (b) Report and Recommendations.--By not later than March 31, 2016, 
the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
shall prepare and submit a report to Congress that includes--
            (1) a summary of the findings from the audit conducted 
        under subsection (a); and
            (2) recommendations for such legislative and administrative 
        actions to reform the existing funding for Federal education 
        and skills training programs related to manufacturing as the 
        Director determines appropriate.

                           TITLE III--OFFSET

SEC. 301. RESCISSION OF DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FUNDS.

    (a) Rescission of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, an amount equal to the amount of funds made available to carry out 
title I for a fiscal year shall be rescinded, in accordance with 
subsection (b), from the unobligated discretionary funds available to 
the Secretary from prior fiscal years.
    (b) Return of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
by not later than 15 days after funds are appropriated or made 
available to carry out title I, the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall--
            (1) identify from which appropriations accounts available 
        to the Secretary of Labor the rescission described in 
        subsection (a) shall apply; and
            (2) determine the amount of the rescission that shall apply 
        to each account.
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