[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 82 (Wednesday, June 3, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6033-S6035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD:
  S. 1173. A bill to establish a demonstration project to train 
unemployed workers for employment as health care professionals, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I introduce the Community-Based 
Health Care Retraining Act, which would amend the Workforce Investment 
Act to help communities with both significant job losses and shortages 
in the health care professions create programs to retrain displaced 
workers for high-demand health care jobs. I have introduced similar 
legislation in the past to help workers who are displaced from the 
manufacturing and service sectors.
  In light of the state of our economy and the tremendous increase in 
unemployment across this country, I have tried to broaden the bill to 
cover workers from all sectors. According to the Department of Labor, 
in the last year the number of unemployed people in the United States 
has increased by 6 million. In April alone, private sector employment 
fell by 539,000, bringing the unemployment rate to 8.9 percent. In my 
home State of Wisconsin, the unemployment rate is up to 8.8 percent.
  In Wisconsin, we have seen the loss of many manufacturing jobs, 
including at the idled General Motors automobile assembly plant in my 
hometown of Janesville, and in Kenosha, where Chrysler recently 
announced that the Kenosha Chrysler plant will cease production in 
2010. But these large factories are just the tip of the iceberg. Some 
small manufacturing businesses are also going out of business in 
communities around Wisconsin, and others are struggling to survive.
  In addition, the economic troubles in the last few years have 
permeated other industries besides manufacturing, including 
construction, business, and also the retail industry.
  The people in my State are facing tough economic challenges, but they 
are meeting them head-on. Wisconsin has a determined workforce that is 
a tremendous asset as we look to rebuild this economy. These talented, 
hard-working people are ready, willing, and able to work, and Congress 
should be doing more to help connect them with jobs in growing 
industries.
  That is exactly what I am proposing to do as I introduce this 
Community-Based Health Care Retraining Act. This bill will help more 
dislocated workers find jobs in the growing health care industry. My 
bill would create $25 million in grants to help workforce development 
boards in our communities identify health care job openings and train 
people for these positions. This bill is also paid for, so it won't 
increase the deficit. This bill is a small step toward two critically 
important goals: helping the hard-working Americans whose jobs have 
disappeared and providing all Americans with the health care they 
deserve.
  The Community-Based Health Care Retraining Act puts control in the 
hands of the local communities. It allows local workforce development 
boards to partner with institutions of higher education and other 
community leaders to design programs that can retrain dislocated 
workers for jobs in the health care industry. Allowing the local 
workforce boards and their partners to apply for the grant funds and 
design the programs means that each community can use the funds 
differently to address the specific needs it faces. Particularly in 
such challenging economic times, I think a one-size-fits-all approach 
will not work; communities know best about the resources they need to 
run an efficient program. I believe the Federal programs should be 
flexible enough to allow partnerships to tailor the programs to meet 
the needs of individual communities.

[[Page S6034]]

  For years, despite limited resources and increases in demand for 
their services, our workforce development boards have worked tirelessly 
to retrain workers for new employment. These boards are a tremendous 
asset for local economies, bringing together members of the labor, 
business, education, and other communities to ensure that the boards 
are doing their best to provide the most valuable services and 
training. In Wisconsin, workforce development boards are leading the 
way in finding innovative solutions to retraining workers for new 
careers on shoestring budgets. I look forward to the long overdue 
reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act this year and to the 
opportunity to provide better support for these boards.
  I wish to take this time to commend the leaders of these boards in 
Wisconsin and across the country for their dedication and hard work. 
Workforce development agencies in Wisconsin have already been training 
people for health care jobs. But in these difficult times, we have to 
do more to support our communities in these efforts. We must do our 
best to ensure that communities across the country have the resources 
they need to help employ more dislocated workers.
  As we face the challenge of helping Americans who lose jobs, we must 
look to industries that continue to grow and demand more workers. As 
many of my colleagues know, there is, in fact, a real shortage of 
health care workers in the United States. Congress continues to fund 
programs that address nursing shortages and recently provided stimulus 
funds for health care retraining, but we need to develop longer term 
and wider ranging programs. Shortages of health care professionals of 
all sorts pose a real threat to the health of our communities by 
impacting access to timely, high-quality health care.
  As Congress looks forward to reforming our Nation's health care 
system, we must also ensure that there are enough trained professionals 
to provide services. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we 
are going to need an additional 700,000 nursing aides, home health 
aides, and other health professionals in long-term care before the year 
2016.
  This bill will help provide communities with the resources they need 
to run retraining programs for the health professions.
  Partnerships funded by the legislation will be able to use these 
funds for a variety of purposes, including for implementing training 
programs, providing tuition assistance, providing transportation 
assistance, and also to increase capacity for existing training 
programs that are already working but could use more resources.
  We must ensure we are doing what we can to train laid-off Americans 
into fields such as health care that continue to demand more workers, 
and this Community-Based Health Care Retraining Act takes a small but 
important step toward that goal.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and 
a list of supporters be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1173

       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 ``Community-Based Health Care 
     Retraining Act''.

     SEC. 2. HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

       Section 171 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
     U.S.C. 2916) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Health Professions Training Demonstration Project.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Covered community.--The term `covered community' 
     means a community or region--
       ``(i) that has experienced a significant percentage decline 
     in rates of employment; and
       ``(ii)(I) that is determined by the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services (in consultation with the medical community) 
     to be an area with a shortage of health care professionals 
     described in subparagraph (C)(i); or
       ``(II) that is underserved by the health care structure, 
     such as a rural community, a community with a significant 
     minority population, or a community for which an applicant 
     can otherwise demonstrate need for increased training for 
     health care professionals.
       ``(B) Covered worker.--The term `covered worker' means an 
     individual who--
       ``(i)(I) has been terminated or laid off, or who has 
     received a notice of termination or layoff;
       ``(II)(aa) is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to 
     unemployment compensation; or
       ``(bb) has been employed for a duration sufficient to 
     demonstrate, to the appropriate entity at a one-stop center 
     referred to in section 134(c), attachment to the workforce, 
     but is not eligible for unemployment compensation due to 
     insufficient earnings or having performed services for an 
     employer that were not covered under a State unemployment 
     compensation law; and
       ``(III) is unlikely to return to a previous industry or 
     occupation;
       ``(ii)(I) has been terminated or laid off, or has received 
     a notice of termination or layoff, as a result of any 
     permanent closure of, or any substantial layoff at, a plant, 
     facility, or enterprise; or
       ``(II) is employed at a facility at which the employer has 
     made a general announcement that such facility will close 
     within 180 days; or
       ``(iii) is an incumbent worker employed in a health care 
     profession, and whose training will provide an opportunity 
     for employment of other individuals by increasing--

       ``(I) the number of instructors serving the covered 
     community; or
       ``(II) the number of vacant positions in the covered 
     community.

       ``(C) Health care professional.--The term `health care 
     professional'--
       ``(i) means an individual who is involved with--

       ``(I) the delivery of health care services, or related 
     services, pertaining to--

       ``(aa) the identification, evaluation, management, and 
     prevention of diseases, disorders, or injuries; or
       ``(bb) home-based or community-based long-term care;

       ``(II) the delivery of dietary and nutrition services;
       ``(III) the delivery of dental services; or
       ``(IV) rehabilitation and health systems management; and

       ``(ii) includes individuals in health care professions for 
     which there is a shortage in the community involved, as 
     determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
     consultation with the medical community) or as otherwise 
     demonstrated by the applicant.
       ``(D) Tribal college or university.--The term `tribal 
     college or university' means a Tribal College or University, 
     as defined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)).
       ``(2) Establishment of project.--In accordance with 
     subsection (b), the Secretary shall establish and carry out a 
     health professions training demonstration project.
       ``(3) Grants.--In carrying out the project, the Secretary, 
     after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, shall make grants to eligible entities to pay for 
     the Federal share of the cost of enabling the entities to 
     carry out programs in covered communities to train covered 
     workers for employment as health care professionals (referred 
     to in this subsection as `training programs'). The Secretary 
     shall make each grant in an amount of not less than $100,000 
     and not more than $500,000, and each such grant shall be for 
     a period of 5 years.
       ``(4) Eligible entities.--Notwithstanding subsection 
     (b)(2)(B), to be eligible to receive a grant under this 
     subsection to carry out a training program in a covered 
     community, an entity shall be a partnership that consists 
     of--
       ``(A) a local workforce investment board established under 
     section 117 that is serving the covered community; and
       ``(B) an institution of higher education, as defined in 
     sections 101 and 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1001, 1002), in partnership with at least 1 of the 
     following:
       ``(i) A health clinic or hospital.
       ``(ii) A home-based or community-based long-term care 
     facility or program.
       ``(iii) A health care facility administered by the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
       ``(iv) A tribal college or university.
       ``(v) A labor organization, or an industry or industry 
     group.
       ``(vi) A local economic development entity serving the 
     covered community.
       ``(vii) A joint labor-management partnership.
       ``(5) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
     under this subsection, an entity shall submit an application 
     to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Secretary may require, including, at 
     a minimum--
       ``(A) a proposal to use the grant funds to establish or 
     expand a training program in order to train covered workers 
     for employment as health care professionals, including 
     information that demonstrates the long-term viability of the 
     training program beyond the period of the grant;
       ``(B) information demonstrating the need for the training 
     and support services to be provided through the training 
     program;
       ``(C) information describing the manner in which the entity 
     will expend the grant funds, and the activities to be carried 
     out with the funds;
       ``(D) information demonstrating that the entity meets the 
     requirements of paragraph (4);
       ``(E) with respect to training programs carried out by the 
     applicant, information--
       ``(i) on the graduation rates of the training programs 
     involved;
       ``(ii) on the retention measures carried out by the 
     applicant;

[[Page S6035]]

       ``(iii) on the length of time necessary to complete the 
     training programs of the applicant; and
       ``(iv) on the number of qualified covered workers that are 
     refused admittance into the training programs because of lack 
     of capacity; and
       ``(F) a description of how the applicant has engaged all 
     relevant stakeholders, including the health care industry to 
     be served by the training program, local labor organizations 
     and other workforce groups, and local industry, in the design 
     of the training program to be served with grant funds.
       ``(6) Selection.--In making grants under paragraph (3), the 
     Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services, shall--
       ``(A) consider the information submitted by the eligible 
     entities under paragraph (5)(E);
       ``(B) select--
       ``(i) eligible entities submitting applications that meet 
     such criteria as the Secretary of Labor determines to be 
     appropriate; and
       ``(ii) among such entities, the eligible entities serving 
     the covered communities with the greatest need for the grants 
     and the greatest potential to benefit from the grants; and
       ``(C) give preference to eligible entities--
       ``(i) submitting applications to serve covered workers who 
     have been terminated or laid off or have received a notice of 
     termination or layoff from a manufacturing, service, or 
     construction industry, or another industry with significant 
     decline in employment as determined by the Secretary; and
       ``(ii) with a demonstrated history of similar and 
     successful partnerships with State boards or local boards, 
     institutions of higher education (as defined in paragraph 
     (4)(B)), industry groups, and labor organizations.
       ``(7) Use of funds.--
       ``(A) In general.--An entity that receives a grant under 
     this subsection shall use the funds made available through 
     the grant for training and support services that meet the 
     needs described in the application submitted under paragraph 
     (5), which may include--
       ``(i) implementing training programs for covered workers;
       ``(ii) providing support services for covered workers 
     participating in the training programs, such as--

       ``(I) providing tuition assistance;
       ``(II) establishing or expanding distance education 
     programs;
       ``(III) providing transportation assistance; or
       ``(IV) providing child care; or

       ``(iii) increasing capacity, subject to subparagraph (B), 
     at an educational institution or training center to train 
     individuals for employment as health professionals, such as 
     by--

       ``(I) expanding a facility, subject to subparagraph (B);
       ``(II) expanding course offerings;
       ``(III) hiring faculty;
       ``(IV) providing a student loan repayment program for the 
     faculty;
       ``(V) establishing or expanding clinical education 
     opportunities;
       ``(VI) purchasing equipment, such as computers, books, 
     clinical supplies, or a patient simulator; or
       ``(VII) conducting recruitment.

       ``(B) Limitation.--Any such grant funds that are used to 
     expand facilities may only be used to rent or modernize 
     existing facilities, not to build additional facilities. The 
     entity shall use not less than 50 percent of the grant funds 
     to carry out activities described in clause (i) or (ii) of 
     subparagraph (A), unless the entity demonstrates, in the 
     application submitted under paragraph (5), a need to spend 
     more than 50 percent of the grant funds on activities 
     described in subparagraph (A)(iii).
       ``(8) Federal share.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Federal share of the cost described 
     in paragraph (3) shall be--
       ``(i) for the first year of the grant period, 95 percent;
       ``(ii) for the second such year, 85 percent;
       ``(iii) for the third such year, 75 percent;
       ``(iv) for the fourth such year, 65 percent; and
       ``(v) for the fifth such year, 55 percent.
       ``(B) Non-federal share.--The eligible entity shall provide 
     the non-Federal share of the cost in cash or in kind, fairly 
     evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services.
       ``(9) Evaluation.--
       ``(A) In general.--Under the Secretary's existing authority 
     under section 172, not more than 1 percent of the funds 
     provided under this subsection shall be used for evaluation 
     of the training programs described in paragraph (3). Eligible 
     entities receiving grants under this section shall use not 
     more than 1 percent of the grant funds for purposes of 
     evaluation or documentation of the training programs.
       ``(B) Contents.--In conducting an evaluation under 
     subparagraph (A), an eligible entity shall provide data 
     detailing the success of the training program carried out by 
     the entity under paragraph (3), including--
       ``(i) information on the number and percentage of 
     participating covered workers who complete a training 
     program, including those who earn a degree or certificate 
     through such training programs;
       ``(ii) information on the rate of employment of covered 
     workers who have completed the training program;
       ``(iii) an assessment of how well the needs of the health 
     care community were addressed by the training program; and
       ``(iv) any other data determined to be relevant by the 
     entity to demonstrate the success of the training program.
       ``(C) Report.--The Secretary shall compile the information 
     resulting from the evaluation or documentation conducted 
     under subparagraph (A), and shall submit a report to Congress 
     containing the information.
       ``(10) Funding.--Of the amounts appropriated to, and 
     available at the discretion of, the Secretary or the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services for programmatic and 
     administrative expenditures, a total of $25,000,000 shall be 
     used to establish and carry out the demonstration project 
     described in paragraph (2) in accordance with this 
     subsection.''.
                                  ____

       Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Wisconsin 
     Hospital Association, Wisconsin Workforce Development 
     Association, University of Wisconsin System, Southwest 
     Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, Workforce Development 
     Board of South Central Wisconsin, Moraine Park Technical 
     College, Gundersen Lutheran, American Health Care 
     Association, South Central AHEC, Rural Wisconsin Health 
     Cooperative, National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network 
     (3RNet), American Indian Higher Education Consortium, 
     Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, Madison Area 
     Technical College, Wisconsin Community Action Program 
     Association (WISCAP), UMOS, Fox Valley Technical College, 
     Columbia County Economic Development Corporation, Lakeshore 
     Technical College, Western Technical College, Workforce 
     Connections Inc., Blackhawk Technical College, Mid-State 
     Technical College, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, 
     Southwest Technical College, Chippewa Valley Technical 
     College, Northcentral Technical College, Gateway Technical 
     College.
                                 ______