[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1738 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1738
To require the Secretary of Labor to take initiatives to measure the
impact of automation on the workforce in order to inform workforce
development strategies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2019
Mr. Peters introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Labor to take initiatives to measure the
impact of automation on the workforce in order to inform workforce
development strategies, and for other purposes.
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 ``Workforce Data for Analyzing and
Tracking Automation Act of 2019'' or the ``Workforce DATA Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(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 section 4(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
SEC. 3. STUDY BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND
MEDICINE ON MEASURING THE IMPACT OF AUTOMATION ON THE
WORKFORCE.
(a) 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.
(b) Contents.--The study under subsection (a) shall--
(1) 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;
(2) identify and review other potential data sources for
measuring such impact;
(3) identify appropriate statistical methods for using and
integrating other data sources to supplement or enhance the
workforce data programs described in paragraph (1); and
(4) 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--
(A) industry sectors and occupations significantly
impacted by automation;
(B) jobs and occupations created or substantially
changed as a result of automation;
(C) 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;
(D) 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;
(E) changes to workforce skills in demand as a
result of automation; and
(F) additional data recommended by the Board or
Subcommittee under section 4(c)(1)(A)(iii).
(c) 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 subsection (a).
(d) Plan for Bureau of Labor Statistics.--Not later than 1 year
after the date on which the Secretary submits the report to Congress
under subsection (c), 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.
SEC. 4. INPUT ON IMPACT OF AUTOMATION FROM WORKFORCE ADVISORY BOARD OR
SUBCOMMITTEE.
(a) 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.
(b) Membership.--The Board or Subcommittee shall consist of
nationally representative members, including the balanced participation
of--
(1) State boards, as defined in section 3 of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102);
(2) labor organizations;
(3) industry representatives;
(4) nonprofit entities, or community-based organizations,
with experience researching the impact of automation on the
workforce;
(5) academic experts in the field of workforce development,
labor economics, and program evaluation; and
(6) any other stakeholders the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(c) Duties.--
(1) Recommendations for additional data.--
(A) 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
section 3(b)(4), provide recommendations to the
Secretary and the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine based on
the additional data identified under clauses
(i) and (ii).
(B) Annual updates.--Not later than 1 year after
the date on which the recommendations are provided
under subparagraph (A), 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.
(2) Recommendations based on bureau of labor statistics
measurements.--
(A) 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.
(B) Public access.--The Secretary shall disseminate
the strategies recommended under subparagraph (A) to
relevant stakeholders and make such strategies
available to the public.
(d) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Board or Subcommittee.
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