H.R. 3681

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3681 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3681

To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to certain entities to 
establish workforce training programs.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 3, 2025

Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Edwards) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to certain entities to 
establish workforce training programs.

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 ``Leveraging Educational Opportunity 
Networks Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) About 60 percent of workers in the United States do not 
hold a 4-year college degree. These almost 70,000,000 workers 
in the United States without a bachelor's degree have gained 
marketable skills through on-the-job training, boot camps, 
micro-credentialing programs, community colleges, and many 
other types of job training programs. Short-term workforce 
training programs have been growing in demand. Polling data 
finds that people in the United States are increasingly seeking 
education programs that are relevant for work and suited to 
their personal needs. Over the past 2 years, even as community 
college enrollment has dropped, boot camps, and online training 
programs are growing in size and market share.
(2) Federal job training policy should focus on making more 
funding available to support high-quality sectoral training 
programs, including wraparound supports. Policymakers should 
prioritize options that boosts Federal funding for cohort-based 
sectoral training programs, including through the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act. Complementary models could 
include grant competitions that encourage cross-sector 
partnerships and support training investments for high priority 
roles (e.g. the Department of Commerce's Good Jobs Challenge).
(3) Further, the working poor are a pool of invisible 
talent and the source for a revitalized workforce to fill high-
demand jobs in manufacturing, energy, health, technology, and 
science sectors of the economy. More than 32 percent of the 
United States labor force, or 51.9 million workers, currently 
make less than $15 an hour and 1.1 million workers earn wages 
at the prevailing Federal minimum wage ($7.25 an hour, or 
$14,137 a year).
(4) Using United States Census Bureau data, the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics determined that 6,300,000 workers were living 
at or below the official poverty level in 2020, which 
represented 4.1 percent of the total workforce (U.S. Department 
of Labor, September 2022) and 25 percent of working families 
can be considered working poor.
(5) The United States is experiencing a long-term labor 
shortage, ``The Demographic Drought''. As the size of the 
United States working age population shrinks, the country is 
experiencing record-low rates of labor participation, and it 
has the lowest birth rates in history.
(6) Economic growth is dependent on a reliable supply of 
skilled and ready to work employees. The economy is expected to 
add 12,000,000 jobs between 2020 and 2030. Science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics (``STEM'') occupations will 
experience the highest growth rates. Occupations in the STEM 
field are expected to grow 8 percent by 2029, compared with 3.7 
percent for all other occupations.
(7) As of April 2023, there were 10,100,000 job openings 
and only 5,700,000 people looking for work (U.S. Department of 
Labor April 2023 Employment Report).
(8) About 60 percent of workers do not have a bachelor's 
degree, and about 45 percent of workers have a bachelor's 
degree.
(9) More than 39 million people in the United States have 
attended some college but earned no degree.
(10) A 2015 evaluation by the Aspen Institute's Economic 
Opportunities Program documented that poor, unemployed, and 
under employed students who earned an industry-recognized 
credential landed high skill entry level positions and earned 
18 percent more in income than a similar group of people who 
did not receive this type of training.
(11) African American men face a range of challenges in the 
labor market which hinder their employment opportunities. 
African American men comprise about 13 percent of the male 
population, but 35 percent of those incarcerated. One in 3 
African American men born today can expect to be incarcerated 
in his lifetime, compared to 1 in 6 Latino men and 1 in 17 
White men. African American women are similarly affected where 
1 in 18 African American women born in 2001 are likely to be 
incarcerated sometime in her life, compared to 1 in 111 white 
women. The effect of these realities is devastating and 
enduring, formerly incarcerated people are unemployed at a rate 
of over 27 percent which is higher than the total United States 
unemployment rate during any historical period, including the 
Great Depression.
(12) More must be done to break the cycle of generational 
poverty and reduce racial, economic, and social disparities in 
the United States.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.

(a) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Labor shall award grants, 
on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to develop and 
implement workforce training programs.
(2) Geographic diversity.--To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Secretary shall ensure geographical diversity 
in selecting eligible entities to receive grants under 
subsection (a).
(b) Eligible Entity.--An eligible entity is a consortium of the 
following:
(1) An organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3));
(2) A national training organization with dues paying 
affiliated members in at least 10 States;
(3) An accredited institution, not including an institution 
of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 101)); or
(4) An institution that operates a post-secondary, career 
and technical network of accredited, dues paying institutions.
(c) Uses of Funds.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
under this Act shall use such grant to--
(A) develop and implement a career and technical 
education program as described in subsection (d);
(B) offer a program to enrollees prior to the 
participation of such enrollees in a workforce training 
program that supports the enrollees in transitioning to 
a learning environment, which shall include--
(i) opportunities to foster camaraderie 
among enrollees;
(ii) prepare enrollees for training 
success;
(iii) tutoring and employment readiness 
coaching; and
(iv) cognitive behavioral techniques to 
support a change in the perception and thinking 
of enrollees;
(C) provide--
(i) need-based stipends to enrollees in a 
workforce training program to assist enrollees 
in completing training programs;
(ii) conflict resolution services and 
regular check-ins on a monthly basis to an 
employer that employs an enrollee who has 
completed a workforce training program offered 
by the eligible entity; and
(iii) supportive services to enrollees;
(D) partner with an employer that--
(i) pays a living wage;
(ii) provides avenues for career growth and 
professional development to enrollees who 
complete a program of an eligible entity that 
the employer partnered with; and
(iii) engages in the career training 
process, including--
(I) serving on an industry advisory 
group;
(II) assisting the eligible entity 
with establishing a career and 
technical education program as 
described in subsection (d);
(III) sponsoring internships; and
(IV) participating in mock 
interview hiring sessions and hiring 
fairs;
(E) determine the qualifications and credentials 
required for employment by the employers identified in 
paragraph (4);
(F) assess and understand the demand of employers 
for employees in the local areas in which;
(G) identify employers that pay a living wage in 
the local areas in which an eligible entity operates a 
career and technical education program;
(H) identify employers and industry sectors in 
which job growth is expected to occur;
(I) produce--
(i) an analysis of existing and emerging 
in-demand industry sectors and occupations and 
the employment needs of employers in such 
industry sectors; and
(ii) an analysis of the knowledge and 
skills needed to meet the employment needs of 
the employers in the States in which the entity 
operates a career and technical education 
program; and
(J) implement strategies to recruit individuals 
into the workforce training program and assess 
prospective enrollees.
(2) Required allocation of funds.--An eligible entity that 
receives a grant under this Act shall use at least 70 percent 
of such grant for the uses of funds described in subparagraphs 
(A) and (C)(i).
(d) Career and Technical Education Program.--A career and technical 
education program developed and implemented under this Act shall--
(1) be developed to meet the in-demand needs of employers 
in the local area in which such program is being implemented;
(2) pay enrollees a living wage;
(3) be at least 12 weeks in duration;
(4) upon an enrollee completing such a program, result in 
the enrollee earning a recognized post-secondary credential;
(5) operate in at least 10 States;
(6) prioritize enrollees who read at no higher than the 6th 
grade reading level; and
(7) ensure that at least 50 percent of the individuals 
enrolled the program are--
(A) offenders (as defined in section 3(38) of the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
3102(3)(38)));
(B) low-income and economically isolated 
individuals (including individuals who are from rural, 
urban, and historically disadvantaged communities); and
(C) from populations that have been underserved or 
adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.
(e) Application.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this Act, an eligible entity shall submit an application at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require.
(2) Priority.--The Secretary shall prioritize eligible 
entities that propose to carry out a workforce training program 
in the following industries:
(A) Construction.
(B) Disaster relief and recovery services.
(C) Industrial manufacturing.
(D) Food manufacturing.
(E) Supply chain management and services.
(F) Information technology.
(G) Financial services.
(H) Ship building and other defense-related 
industries.
(I) Health care.
(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after and eligible entity 
receives a grant under this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter, 
each eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary of Labor a report on 
the following:
(1) The earnings of each enrollee--
(A) prior to entering into a career and technical 
education program operated by such eligible entity; and
(B) 6 months after completing such program.
(2) The percentage of program participants who are in 
unsubsidized employment--
(A) after 30 days and prior to 90 days after exit 
from such program; and
(B) after 280 days and prior to 365 days after exit 
from such program;
(3) The starting wages of the program participants 
described in paragraph (2)(A); and
(4) The percentage of program participants who obtain a 
recognized postsecondary credential during participation in, or 
within 1 year after exit from, the program.
(g) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Career and technical education.--The term ``career and 
technical education'' has the meaning given the term in section 
3(5) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act 
of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).
(2) Living wage.--The term ``living wage'' means a wage 
that one full-time worker earns that covers the cost of the 
minimum basic needs of the worker and the family of the worker 
for the area in which such worker lives.
(3) Supportive services.--The term ``supportive services'' 
means services such as transportation, child care, dependent 
care, housing, and needs-related payments, that are necessary 
to enable an individual to participate in a career and 
technical education program carried out under this Act.
(4) WIOA terms.--The terms ``local area'' and ``recognized 
postsecondary credential'' have the meanings given the terms in 
section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3102).

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated 
$30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2026 through 2029.
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