[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8957 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8957

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a grant program for 
           training wind technicians, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2020

Ms. Finkenauer (for herself, Mrs. Axne, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Cartwright, and 
  Mr. Cole) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a grant program for 
           training wind technicians, 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 ``Wind Workforce Modernization and 
Training Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. WIND TECHNICIAN TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Title XI of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 16411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1107. WIND TECHNICIAN TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered participant.--The term `covered participant' 
        means a participant enrolled, on the date on which an eligible 
        entity receives a grant under this section, in the training 
        program with respect to which the grant is received.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a 
        provider of training services that--
                    ``(A) is on the list of eligible providers of 
                training services described in section 122(d) of the 
                Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
                3152(d)), including joint labor-management 
                organizations and postsecondary vocational 
                institutions; and
                    ``(B) offers a training program for technicians in 
                the wind energy industry.
            ``(3) Final participation date.--The term `final 
        participation date' means, for an eligible entity receiving a 
        grant under this section, the date on which the last covered 
        participant exits the training program with respect to which 
        the grant is received.
    ``(b) Grant Program.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
eligible entities to purchase large pieces of wind turbine component 
equipment (such as nacelles, towers, and blades) for use in training 
wind technician students.
    ``(c) Reporting.--Not later than 1 year after the final 
participation date, an eligible entity receiving a grant under this 
section shall submit to the Secretary, with respect to the covered 
participants, a report containing a description of the levels of 
performance achieved with respect to each of the primary indicators of 
performance described in subclauses (I) through (VI) of section 
116(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A)(i)).
    ``(d) Funding.--Of the amounts made available to the Secretary for 
administrative expenses to carry out other programs under the authority 
of the Secretary, the Secretary shall use to carry out this section 
$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58; 119 Stat. 601) is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 1106 the following:

``Sec. 1107. Wind technician training grant program.''.

SEC. 3. VETERANS IN WIND ENERGY.

    (a) In General.--Title XI of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 16411 et seq.) (as amended by section 2(a)) is further amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1108. VETERANS IN WIND ENERGY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the eligible 
entities defined in section 1107(a)(2), including joint labor-
management organizations and postsecondary vocational institutions, 
shall design, establish, and administer a program to prepare veterans 
for careers in the wind energy industry by providing classroom 
instruction and work-based learning.
    ``(b) Funding.--Of the amounts made available to the Secretary for 
administrative expenses to carry out other programs under the authority 
of the Secretary, the Secretary shall use to carry out this section 
$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58; 119 Stat. 601) (as amended by 
section 2(b)) is further amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 1107 the following:

``Sec. 1108. Veterans in wind energy.''.

SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT ON WIND TECHNICIAN WORKFORCE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy (referred to in this 
section as the ``Secretary'') shall convene a task force comprised of 1 
or more representatives of each of the stakeholders described in 
subsection (b) that shall--
            (1) conduct a study to assess the training needs of 
        technicians working in the wind energy industry;
            (2) create a comprehensive list that--
                    (A) lists each type of wind energy industry 
                technician position available in the United States; and
                    (B) describes the skill sets required for each type 
                of position listed under subparagraph (A); and
            (3) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, make publicly available and submit to Congress a 
        report that--
                    (A) describes the results of that study;
                    (B) includes the comprehensive list described in 
                paragraph (2); and
                    (C) provides recommendations--
                            (i) for creating a credentialing program 
                        for wind energy industry technicians that may 
                        be administered by eligible entities (as 
                        defined in section 1107(a)(2) of the Energy 
                        Policy Act of 2005, as added by section 2(a) of 
                        this Act); and
                            (ii) that reflect best practices for 
                        training programs for technicians in the wind 
                        energy industry, as identified by 
                        representatives of the wind energy industry.
    (b) Stakeholders Described.--The stakeholders referred to in 
subsection (a) are--
            (1) the Department of Defense;
            (2) the Department of Education;
            (3) the Department of Energy;
            (4) the Department of Labor;
            (5) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
            (6) eligible entities (as defined in section 1107(a)(2) of 
        the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as added by section 2(a) of this 
        Act), including joint-labor management organizations and 
        postsecondary vocational institutions; and
            (7) the wind energy industry.
    (c) Funding.--Of the amounts made available to the Secretary for 
administrative expenses to carry out other programs under the authority 
of the Secretary, the Secretary shall use to carry out this section 
$500,000.
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