[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S1409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1419. Ms. ERNST (for herself and Mr. King) submitted an amendment 
intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2657, to support 
innovation in advanced geothermal research and development, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following:

     SEC. 23__. WIND ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) Wind Technician Training Grant Program.--
       (1) 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) Definition of Eligible Entity.--In this section, the 
     term `eligible entity' means a community college or technical 
     school that offers a wind training program.
       ``(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 component equipment (such as nacelles, towers, 
     and blades) for use in training wind technician students.
       ``(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 $2,000,000 for each of 
     fiscal years 2020 through 2025.''.
       (2) 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.''.
       (b) Veterans in Wind Energy.--
       (1) In general.--Title XI of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
     (42 U.S.C. 16411 et seq.) (as amended by subsection (a)(1)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 1108. VETERANS IN WIND ENERGY.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program 
     to prepare veterans for careers in the wind energy industry 
     that shall be modeled off of the Solar Ready Vets pilot 
     program formerly administered by the Department of Energy and 
     the Department of Defense.
       ``(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.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents for the 
     Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58; 119 Stat. 601) 
     (as amended by subsection (a)(2)) is amended by inserting 
     after the item relating to section 1107 the following:
``Sec. 1108. Veterans in wind energy.''.
       (c) Study and Report on Wind Technician Workforce.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall convene a task force 
     comprised of 1 or more representatives of each of the 
     stakeholders described in paragraph (2) that shall--
       (A) conduct a study to assess the needs of wind technicians 
     in the workforce;
       (B) create a comprehensive list that--
       (i) lists each type of wind technician position available 
     in the United States; and
       (ii) describes the skill sets required for each type of 
     position listed under clause (i); and
       (C) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, make publicly available and submit to Congress a 
     report that--
       (i) describes the results of that study;
       (ii) includes the comprehensive list described in 
     subparagraph (B); and
       (iii) provides recommendations--

       (I) for creating a credentialing program that may be 
     administered by community colleges, technical schools, and 
     other training institutions; and
       (II) that reflect best practices for wind technician 
     training programs, as identified by representatives of the 
     wind industry.

       (2) Stakeholders described.--The stakeholders referred to 
     in paragraph (1) are--
       (A) the Department of Defense;
       (B) the Department of Education;
       (C) the Department of Energy;
       (D) the Department of Labor;
       (E) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
       (F) technical schools and community colleges that have wind 
     technician training programs; and
       (G) the wind industry.
       (3) 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 subsection $500,000.
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