[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1403 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1403
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to create a new
national program to support mid-career workers, including workers from
underrepresented populations, in reentering the STEM workforce, by
providing funding to small- and medium-sized STEM businesses so the
businesses can offer paid internships or other returnships that lead to
positions above entry level.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 7, 2023
Ms. Houlahan (for herself and Mr. Baird) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to create a new
national program to support mid-career workers, including workers from
underrepresented populations, in reentering the STEM workforce, by
providing funding to small- and medium-sized STEM businesses so the
businesses can offer paid internships or other returnships that lead to
positions above entry level.
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 ``STEM Restoring Employment Skills
through Targeted Assistance, Re-entry, and Training Act'' or the ``STEM
RESTART Act''.
SEC. 2. RETURNING SKILLED WORKERS TO THE STEM WORKFORCE.
(a) In General.--Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 172 (29 U.S.C. 3227) as
section 173; and
(2) by inserting after section 171 the following:
``SEC. 172. GRANTS TO SUPPORT SKILLED WORKERS IN RETURNING OR
TRANSITIONING TO THE STEM WORKFORCE.
``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
``(1) The Brookings Institution expects the coronavirus
pandemic will have lasting effects on the labor market and
could change the composition of available jobs indefinitely,
with the ensuing economic decline ushering in a new era of
automation. Employers will likely shed less skilled workers and
replace them with higher-skilled technology workers, which
increases labor productivity as a recession tapers off.
``(2) The current pipeline of engineering talent does not
include many college graduates from large cohorts of the
population. Women represent over 57 percent of college
graduates but only 22 percent of the engineers entering the
workforce. Within the workforce, only 14 percent of engineers
are women. Women also leave the engineering profession in
greater numbers than men do.
``(3) A 2018 Pew Research Center study showed there are
wide racial gaps among current STEM workers regarding reasons
why so few Black and Hispanic people work in STEM. For example,
over 70 percent of Black STEM workers view lack of access to
education and discriminatory hiring and promotion practices as
reasons there are so few Black men and women in the STEM
fields. By comparison, less than 30 percent of White and Asian
STEM workers view that lack of access and those practices as
barriers to Black people entering the fields. Additionally, 62
percent of Black STEM workers say they have faced
discrimination in their jobs compared to just 13 percent of
White STEM workers.
``(4) Among the 25,300,000 United States women ages 25
through 54 with a bachelor's degree or higher degree in 2017,
4,200,000 were out of the labor force. While some of those
women were disabled or retired, the remaining 3,600,000 women
may be candidates to return to work.
``(5) The Center for Talent Innovation's research shows
that while 93 percent of women who left the workforce want to
resume their careers, only 74 percent manage to get any kind of
job at all and just 40 percent successfully return to work
full-time.
``(6) Mid-career internship and other returnship programs
are an effective way to address the difficulties of former STEM
employees seeking to return to work, as the programs provide a
probationary period and also an opportunity to obtain
mentorship, professional development, and support as the
participants transition back to work. Even more important,
returnship programs allow an employer to base a hiring decision
on an actual work sample instead of a series of interviews. At
the same time, the programs give participants an opportunity to
return to work together, in a cohort of similarly situated
returners.
``(7) Fortune 500 companies like Apple, Honeywell, Northrop
Grumman, Ingersoll Rand, and The Procter & Gamble Company have
taken the initiative to try to close the gender gap among STEM
professionals by providing mid-career internships for returning
technical professionals. However, a 2008 study by Anthony
Breitzman and Diana Hicks for the Office of Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration, entitled `An Analysis of Small
Business Patents by Industry and Firm Size', found that `Small
firms are much more likely to develop emerging technologies
than are large firms. This is perhaps intuitively reasonable
given theories on small firms effecting technological change,
but the quantitative data here support this assertion.
Specifically, although small firms account for only 8 percent
of patents granted, they account for 24 percent of the patents
in the top 100 emerging clusters.'.
``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are to--
``(1) prioritize expanding opportunities, through high-
quality internships or other returnships in STEM fields for
unemployed or underemployed workers, particularly workers from
underrepresented populations and workers from rural areas, who
are mid-career skilled workers seeking to return or transition
to in-demand industry sectors or occupations within the STEM
workforce, at positions and compensation above entry level; and
``(2) establish grant funding and other incentives for
small-sized and medium-sized companies in in-demand industry
sectors or occupations to establish programs that provide on-
the-job evaluation, education, and training for mid-career
skilled workers described in paragraph (1).
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Medium-sized enterprise.--The term `medium-sized',
used with respect to an enterprise, means an entity that
employs more than 499 and fewer than 10,000 employees.
``(2) RESTART grant.--The term `RESTART grant' means a
grant made under subsection (d).
``(3) Returnship.--The term `returnship' shall mean any
internship, apprenticeship, re-entry opportunity, direct hiring
opportunity with support, or other similar opportunity designed
to provide workers seeking to return or transition to the STEM
workforce with positions that--
``(A) are above entry level;
``(B) provide salaries, stipends, or other
payments, and benefits, that are above entry level; and
``(C) provide training that leads workers toward
full-time careers and provides pathways toward
advancement and leadership.
``(4) Rural area.--The term `rural area' means an area that
is not an urban area (within the meaning of the notice of final
program criteria entitled `Urban Area Criteria for the 2010
Census' (76 Fed. Reg. 53030 (August 24, 2011))).
``(5) Small-sized enterprise.--The term `small-sized', used
with respect to an enterprise, means an entity that employs
more than 49 and fewer than 500 individuals.
``(6) STEM.--The term `STEM' has the meaning given the term
in section 2 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of
2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621 note).
``(7) Underrepresented population.--The term
`underrepresented population' means a group that is
underrepresented in science and engineering, as determined by
the Secretary of Education under section 637.4(b) of title 34,
Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of
enactment of the STEM RESTART Act).
``(8) Unemployed or underemployed individual.--The term
`unemployed or underemployed individual' means--
``(A) an unemployed or underemployed individual as
defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and
``(B) a displaced or furloughed worker.
``(d) Grant.--
``(1) In general.--From the amounts made available to carry
out this section, the Secretary shall award grants, on a
competitive basis, to eligible entities, to carry out
returnship programs that provide opportunities above entry
level in STEM fields for mid-career skilled workers, and
achieve the purposes described in subsection (b).
``(2) Periods.--The Secretary shall award the grants for an
initial period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5
years.
``(3) Amounts.--In awarding grants under this subsection,
the Secretary shall award a grant--
``(A) for a small-sized enterprise, in an amount so
that each annual payment for the grant is not less than
$100,000 or more than $1,000,000; and
``(B) for a medium-sized enterprise or consortium,
in an amount so that each annual payment for the grant
is not less than $500,000 or more than $5,000,000.
``(e) Eligibility.--
``(1) Eligible entities.--To be eligible to receive a
RESTART grant under this section, an entity shall--
``(A)(i) be located in the United States and have
significant operations and employees within the United
States;
``(ii) not be a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding,
within the meaning of section 4003(c)(3)(D)(i)(V) of
the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9042(c)(3)(D)(i)(V)) or under
a State bankruptcy law; and
``(iii) be within an in-demand industry sector or
occupation in a STEM field; and
``(B) be--
``(i) a small-sized enterprise;
``(ii) a medium-sized enterprise; or
``(iii) a consortium of small-sized or
medium-sized enterprises.
``(2) Eligible providers.--
``(A) In general.--An eligible entity that desires
to partner with a provider in order to carry out a
returnship program under this section shall enter into
an arrangement with an eligible provider.
``(B) Provider.--To be eligible to enter into such
an arrangement, a provider--
``(i) may or may not directly employ
skilled workers in STEM fields but--
``(I) shall have expertise in human
resources-related activities, such as
identifying or carrying out staffing
with skilled workers or
underrepresented populations; and
``(II) shall be capable of
providing high-quality education and
training services; and
``(ii) may be--
``(I)(aa) an institution of higher
education (as defined in section 101 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001)); or
``(bb) a non-degree-granting
institution that is governed by the
same body that governs an institutions
of higher education described in item
(aa);
``(II) a public, private for-
profit, or private nonprofit service
provider, approved by the local board;
``(III) a joint labor-management
organization;
``(IV) an eligible provider of
adult education and literacy activities
under title II; or
``(V) an established nonprofit
organization that conducts research or
provides training on technical, social
and emotional, and employability skills
and knowledge aligned to the needs of
adult learners and workers.
``(f) Applications.--
``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a RESTART
grant to carry out a returnship program, an entity shall submit
an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner
as the Secretary may reasonably require.
``(2) Contents.--Such an application shall include--
``(A) a description of the demand for skilled
workers in STEM fields and how the RESTART grant will
be used to help meet that demand;
``(B) a description of how the program will lead to
employment of unemployed or underemployed individuals,
particularly workers from underrepresented populations
or from rural areas, who seek to return or transition
to the STEM workforce;
``(C) if the entity has entered into or plans to
enter into an arrangement with an eligible provider as
described in subsection (e)(2) to carry out a
returnship program, information identifying the
eligible provider, and a description of how the
arrangement will help the entity build the knowledge
and skills of skilled workers participating in the
program;
``(D) a description of how the eligible entity will
develop and establish, or expand, a returnship program
that adds to the number of full-time employees employed
by the entity, but does not displace full-time
employees currently (as of the date of submission of
the application) employed by the entity;
``(E) an assurance that any new or existing
returnship program developed and established, or
expanded, with the grant funds will last for at least
10 weeks and provide compensation to participants in
the form of a salary, stipend, or other payment, and
benefits, that are offered to full-time employees with
equivalent experience and expertise, such as health
care or child care benefits; and
``(F) if the returnship program leads to a
recognized postsecondary credential, information on the
quality of the program that leads to the credential.
``(3) Priority.--In making grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to entities who are proposing
programs that prioritize returnships for workers from
underrepresented populations or from rural areas.
``(g) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--An entity that receives a grant under
this section shall use the grant funds to carry out a
returnship program, of not less than 10 weeks, through which
the entity provides for--
``(A) the education and training of returnship
participants; and
``(B) the services of existing employees (as of the
date the program begins) of the entity who are working
with returnship participants in an educational,
training, or managerial role, to maximize the retention
rate and effectiveness of the returnship program.
``(2) Specific uses.--The grant funds may be used--
``(A) to pay for the evaluation, and entry into the
program, and education and training of returnship
participants, including payment for the duration of the
program for the participants for--
``(i) equipment, travel, and (as necessary)
housing;
``(ii) mentorship and career counseling;
and
``(iii) salaries, stipends, or payments,
and benefits, described in subsection
(f)(2)(E);
``(B) to supplement, and not supplant, the
compensation of those existing employees of the entity
who are directly supporting a returnship program
through the work described in paragraph (1)(B); and
``(C) to enter into an arrangement with an eligible
provider to carry out a returnship program.
``(3) Existing employees.--Not more than 20 percent of the
grant funds may be used to provide compensation for the
existing employees performing the work described in paragraph
(1)(B).
``(4) Coordination with state workforce boards.--An entity
that receives a grant under this section shall coordinate
activities with the State workforce development board
established under section 101, to ensure collaboration and
alignment of workforce programs.
``(h) Reporting and Evaluation Requirements.--
``(1) Report to the secretary.--An entity that receives a
grant under this section for a returnship program shall
prepare, certify the contents of, and submit to the Secretary
an annual report containing data regarding--
``(A) the total number of the participants, and the
number of such participants disaggregated by sex, race,
and ethnicity;
``(B) the total number of the participants
transitioned into full-time employment, and the number
of such transitioned participants disaggregated by sex,
race, and ethnicity; and
``(C) if the returnship program includes
participants in an internship, the conversion rate of
the internship participants to employees, for the total
number of those participants and the conversion rate of
those participants disaggregated by sex, race, and
ethnicity.
``(2) Evaluation and report by the secretary.--Not later
than 180 days after receiving the annual reports from grant
recipients under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
``(A)(i) prepare a report that presents the data
collected through the reports, including data
disaggregated by sex, race, and ethnicity, and an
evaluation based on that data of the best practices for
effectively implementing returnship (including
internship) programs; and
``(ii) submit the report to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
``(B) post information on a website on best
practices described in subparagraph (A)(i).
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $50,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is amended--
(1) by redesignating the item relating to section 172 as
the item relating to section 173; and
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 171 the
following:
``Sec. 172. Grants to support skilled workers in returning or
transitioning to the STEM workforce.''.
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