[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 121 (Thursday, July 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5517-S5518]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3170. Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. Peters) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1095. WORKFORCE DATA ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Workforce Data for Analyzing and Tracking Automation Act of
2024'' or the ``Workforce DATA Act''.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Automation.--The term ``automation'' means using
technology to produce a good or service previously produced
by human work.
(2) Board; subcommittee.--The term ``Board'' or
``Subcommittee'' means the advisory board or subcommittee
established or formed under subsection (d)(1).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
(c) Study by the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine on Measuring the Impact of
Automation on the Workforce.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall request the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to
enter into an arrangement with the Secretary for the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a
consensus study on how to measure the impact of automation on
the workforce, including job creation, job displacement, job
retention, and the shifting of skills in demand due to
automation.
(2) Contents.--The study under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) include a review of workforce data programs used by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of the date of enactment of
this Act, for measuring the impact of automation on the
workforce;
(B) identify and review other potential data sources for
measuring such impact;
(C) identify appropriate statistical methods for using and
integrating other data sources to supplement or enhance the
workforce data programs described in subparagraph (A); and
(D) advise the Bureau of Labor Statistics on research
needed to acquire, evaluate, and incorporate additional data
sources to adequately measure and assess, on an ongoing
basis--
(i) industry sectors and occupations significantly impacted
by automation;
(ii) jobs and occupations created or substantially changed
as a result of automation;
(iii) occupational shifts in labor demand, including the
number of workers displaced (or with a change in earnings)
due to automation, and the demographics of such workers, such
as the race, gender, age, level of education, location,
employment status, and earnings of such workers;
(iv) the consequences of displacement due to automation,
including the consequences of workers becoming subsequently
unemployed, exiting from the workforce, entering retraining,
changing positions within a company, and experiencing a
change in earnings;
(v) changes to workforce skills in demand as a result of
automation; and
[[Page S5518]]
(vi) additional data recommended by the Board or
Subcommittee under section (d)(3)(A)(ii)(III).
(3) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress, and make publicly available, a report on the
results of the study under paragraph (1).
(4) Plan for bureau of labor statistics.--Not later than 1
year after the date on which the Secretary submits the report
to Congress under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall make
publicly available a plan for how the Bureau of Labor
Statistics shall respond to the findings of the study
contained in such report.
(d) Input on Impact of Automation From Workforce Advisory
Board or Subcommittee.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish an advisory
board, or form a subcommittee of an advisory board that
exists on the date of enactment of this Act, to provide
recommendations on addressing the impact of automation on the
workforce.
(2) Membership.--The Board or Subcommittee shall consist of
nationally representative members, including the balanced
participation of--
(A) State boards, as defined in section 3 of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102);
(B) labor organizations;
(C) industry representatives;
(D) nonprofit entities, or community-based organizations,
with experience researching the impact of automation on the
workforce;
(E) academic experts in the field of workforce development,
labor economics, and program evaluation; and
(F) any other stakeholders the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(3) Duties.--
(A) Recommendations for additional data.--
(i) Initial evaluation.--Not later than 6 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Board or Subcommittee
shall--
(I) identify additional types of data related to the impact
of automation on the workforce that would inform actions of
business and labor stakeholders;
(II) identify administrative data needed to guide policy
formation related to easing impacts of automation; and
(III) for purposes of the assessment under subsection
(c)(2)(D), provide recommendations to the Secretary and the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
based on the additional data identified under subclauses (I)
and (II).
(ii) Annual updates.--Not later than 1 year after the date
on which the recommendations are provided under clause (i),
and each year thereafter, the Board or Subcommittee shall
evaluate the additional data identified under such
subparagraph, and provide updated recommendations to the
Secretary based on such evaluation.
(B) Recommendations based on bureau of labor statistics
measurements.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, the Board or
Subcommittee shall--
(I) evaluate strategies for workforce development, based on
measurements of impact on the workforce due to automation
determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and on other
relevant evidence; and
(II) provide recommendations to the Secretary and to
Congress based on such evaluation.
(ii) Public access.--The Secretary shall disseminate the
strategies recommended under clause (i) to relevant
stakeholders and make such strategies available to the
public.
(4) Nonapplicability of federal advisory committee act.--
Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to
the Board or Subcommittee.
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