[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 53 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1779-S1780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5012. Mr. SANDERS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 5002 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill H.R. 4521, to
provide for a coordinated Federal research initiative to ensure
continued United States leadership in engineering biology; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
In division B, at the end of title V insert the following:
SEC. __. WORKER OWNERSHIP, READINESS, AND KNOWLEDGE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Existing program.--The term ``existing program'' means
a program, designed to promote employee ownership and
employee participation in business decisionmaking, that
exists on the date on which the Secretary is carrying out a
responsibility authorized under this section.
(2) Initiative.--The term ``Initiative'' means the Employee
Ownership and Participation Initiative established under
subsection (b).
(3) New program.--The term ``new program'' means a program,
designed to promote employee ownership and employee
participation in business decisionmaking, that does not exist
on the date on which the Secretary is carrying out a
responsibility authorized under this section.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the
term under section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
(b) Employee Ownership and Participation Initiative.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Labor shall establish
within the Department of Labor an Employee Ownership and
Participation Initiative to promote employee ownership and
employee participation in business decisionmaking.
(2) Functions.--In carrying out the Initiative, the
Secretary shall--
(A) support within the States existing programs designed to
promote employee ownership and employee participation in
business decisionmaking; and
(B) facilitate within the States the formation of new
programs designed to promote employee ownership and employee
participation in business decisionmaking.
(3) Duties.--To carry out the functions enumerated in
paragraph (2), the Secretary shall--
(A) support new programs and existing programs by--
(i) making Federal grants authorized under subsection (d);
and
(ii)(I) acting as a clearinghouse on techniques employed by
new programs and existing programs within the States, and
disseminating information relating to those techniques to the
programs; or
(II) funding projects for information gathering on those
techniques, and dissemination of that information to the
programs, by groups outside the Department of Labor; and
(B) facilitate the formation of new programs, in ways that
include holding or funding an annual conference of
representatives from States with existing programs,
representatives from States developing new programs, and
representatives from States without existing programs.
(c) Programs Regarding Employee Ownership and
Participation.--
(1) Establishment of program.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
establish a program to encourage new programs and existing
programs within the States to foster employee ownership and
employee participation in business decisionmaking throughout
the United States.
(2) Purpose of program.--The purpose of the program
established under paragraph (1) is to encourage new and
existing programs within the States that focus on--
(A) providing education and outreach to inform employees
and employers about the possibilities and benefits of
employee ownership, business ownership succession planning,
and employee participation in business decisionmaking,
including providing information about financial education,
employee teams, open-book management, and other tools that
enable employees to share ideas and information about how
their businesses can succeed;
(B) providing technical assistance to assist employee
efforts to become business owners, to enable employers and
employees to explore and assess the feasibility of
transferring full or partial ownership to employees, and to
encourage employees and employers to start new employee-owned
businesses;
(C) training employees and employers with respect to
methods of employee participation in open-book management,
work teams, committees, and other approaches for seeking
greater employee input; and
(D) training other entities to apply for funding under this
subsection, to establish new programs, and to carry out
program activities.
(3) Program details.--The Secretary may include, in the
program established under paragraph (1), provisions that--
(A) in the case of activities described in paragraph
(2)(A)--
(i) target key groups, such as retiring business owners,
senior managers, unions, trade associations, community
organizations, and economic development organizations;
(ii) encourage cooperation in the organization of workshops
and conferences; and
(iii) prepare and distribute materials concerning employee
ownership and participation, and business ownership
succession planning;
(B) in the case of activities described in paragraph
(2)(B)--
(i) provide preliminary technical assistance to employee
groups, managers, and retiring owners exploring the
possibility of employee ownership;
(ii) provide for the performance of preliminary feasibility
assessments;
(iii) assist in the funding of objective third-party
feasibility studies and preliminary business valuations, and
in selecting and monitoring professionals qualified to
conduct such studies; and
(iv) provide a data bank to help employees find legal,
financial, and technical advice in connection with business
ownership;
(C) in the case of activities described in paragraph
(2)(C)--
(i) provide for courses on employee participation; and
(ii) provide for the development and fostering of networks
of employee-owned companies to spread the use of successful
participation techniques; and
(D) in the case of training described in paragraph (2)(D)--
(i) provide for visits to existing programs by staff from
new programs receiving funding under this section; and
(ii) provide materials to be used for such training.
(4) Guidance.--The Secretary shall issue formal guidance,
for recipients of grants awarded under subsection (d) and
one-stop partners (as defined in section 3 of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29
[[Page S1780]]
U.S.C. 3102)) affiliated with the workforce development
systems (as so defined) of the States, proposing that
programs and other activities funded under this section be--
(A) proactive in encouraging actions and activities that
promote employee ownership of, and participation in,
businesses; and
(B) comprehensive in emphasizing both employee ownership
of, and participation in, businesses so as to increase
productivity and broaden capital ownership.
(d) Grants.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the program established
under subsection (c), the Secretary may make grants for use
in connection with new programs and existing programs within
a State for any of the following activities:
(A) Education and outreach as provided in subsection
(c)(2)(A).
(B) Technical assistance as provided in subsection
(c)(2)(B).
(C) Training activities for employees and employers as
provided in subsection (c)(2)(C).
(D) Activities facilitating cooperation among employee-
owned firms.
(E) Training as provided in subsection (c)(2)(D) for new
programs provided by participants in existing programs
dedicated to the objectives of this section, except that, for
each fiscal year, the amount of the grants made for such
training shall not exceed 10 percent of the total amount of
the grants made under this section.
(2) Amounts and conditions.--The Secretary shall determine
the amount and any conditions for a grant made under this
subsection. The amount of the grant shall be subject to
paragraph (6), and shall reflect the capacity of the
applicant for the grant.
(3) Applications.--Each entity desiring a grant under this
subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at
such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
(4) State applications.--Each State may sponsor and submit
an application under paragraph (3) on behalf of any local
entity consisting of a unit of State or local government,
State-supported institution of higher education, or nonprofit
organization, meeting the requirements of this section.
(5) Applications by entities.--
(A) Entity applications.--If a State fails to support or
establish a program pursuant to this section during any
fiscal year, the Secretary shall, in the subsequent fiscal
years, allow local entities described in paragraph (4) from
that State to make applications for grants under paragraph
(3) on their own initiative.
(B) Application screening.--Any State failing to support or
establish a program pursuant to this section during any
fiscal year may submit applications under paragraph (3) in
the subsequent fiscal years but may not screen applications
by local entities described in paragraph (4) before
submitting the applications to the Secretary.
(6) Limitations.--A recipient of a grant made under this
subsection shall not receive, during a fiscal year, in the
aggregate, more than the following amounts:
(A) For fiscal year 2023, $300,000.
(B) For fiscal year 2024, $330,000.
(C) For fiscal year 2025, $363,000.
(D) For fiscal year 2026, $399,300.
(E) For fiscal year 2027, $439,200.
(7) Annual report.--For each year, each recipient of a
grant under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary a
report describing how grant funds allocated pursuant to this
subsection were expended during the 12-month period preceding
the date of the submission of the report.
(e) Evaluations.--The Secretary is authorized to reserve
not more than 10 percent of the funds appropriated for a
fiscal year to carry out this section, for the purposes of
conducting evaluations of the grant programs identified in
subsection (d) and to provide related technical assistance.
(f) Reporting.--Not later than the expiration of the 36-
month period following the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress a report--
(1) on progress related to employee ownership and
participation in businesses in the United States; and
(2) containing an analysis of critical costs and benefits
of activities carried out under this section.
(g) Authorizations of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated
for the purpose of making grants pursuant to subsection (d)
the following:
(A) For fiscal year 2023, $4,000,000.
(B) For fiscal year 2024, $7,000,000.
(C) For fiscal year 2025, $10,000,000.
(D) For fiscal year 2026, $13,000,000.
(E) For fiscal year 2027, $16,000,000.
(2) Administrative expenses.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for the purpose of funding the administrative
expenses related to the Initiative, for each of fiscal years
2023 through 2027, an amount not in excess of the lesser of--
(A) $350,000; or
(B) 5.0 percent of the maximum amount available under
paragraph (1) for that fiscal year.
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