[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3668 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3668
To require recipients of assistance for certain water infrastructure
projects to provide job training, apprenticeships, and other employment
opportunities for low-income persons and very low-income persons, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 1, 2021
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in
addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require recipients of assistance for certain water infrastructure
projects to provide job training, apprenticeships, and other employment
opportunities for low-income persons and very low-income persons, 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 ``Ensuring Water Investments Benefit
Communities Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) Federal water infrastructure investments provide State
and local governments and other recipients of Federal financial
assistance with substantial support for activities that produce
significant employment and other economic opportunities;
(2) low-income persons and very low-income persons, who
live in the areas in most need of such investments, often have
restricted access to employment and other economic
opportunities;
(3) the employment and other economic opportunities
generated by projects and activities that receive Federal water
infrastructure investments offer an effective means of
empowering low-income persons and very low-income persons,
particularly those who live in the areas where these funds are
being used to improve water infrastructure; and
(4) Federal efforts to invest in water infrastructure
should also help create employment and other economic
opportunities for low-income persons and very low-income
persons in areas where these projects are taking place.
SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency shall require a covered entity, to the greatest extent feasible,
and consistent with existing Federal, State, and local laws and
regulations, to provide job training, apprenticeships, and other
employment opportunities on a covered project for low-income persons
and very low-income persons in the area in which the covered project is
located, and to business concerns that provide employment opportunities
to low-income persons and very low-income persons.
(b) Priority.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator
shall require a covered entity to provide job training,
apprenticeships, and other employment opportunities in the following
order of priority:
(1) To low-income persons and very low-income persons
residing within the service area of the covered project or the
neighborhood in which the covered project is located.
(2) To low-income persons and very low-income persons
residing within the metropolitan area (or nonmetropolitan
county) in which the covered assistance is expended.
(3) To residents of an area described in paragraph (1) or
(2) who are provided any assistance under a means-tested
program administered by a Federal agency, including housing,
supplemental nutrition, and temporary needy family assistance.
(4) To participants in YouthBuild programs under section
171 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3226) or the Job Corps program under subtitle C of title I of
such Act (29 U.S.C. 3191 et seq.).
(c) State Plans and Reports.--With respect to a covered entity that
is a State, the Administrator shall require the State to--
(1) submit to the Administrator for approval a plan for
carrying out the requirements of this section; and
(2) annually submit to the Administrator a report
containing data on job training, apprenticeship, employment,
and contract opportunities created in the State pursuant to
this section, including, for each covered project carried out
by the State or for which covered assistance is provided by the
State--
(A) how many jobs and other opportunities were
created to comply with this section;
(B) the total of amount of covered assistance used
on the covered project; and
(C) the amount of covered assistance used to hire
low-income persons and very low-income persons to
comply with this section.
(d) Regulations.--
(1) Deadline.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue
regulations to implement this section.
(2) Application date.--The regulations issued under
paragraph (1) shall apply to covered assistance made available
beginning in the first full fiscal year following the date of
enactment of this Act.
(3) Complaint process.--The Administrator shall include in
the regulations issued under paragraph (1) a process by which
affected persons or entities may file a complaint alleging a
violation of this section.
(e) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the Administrator
shall consult with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator
of the Small Business Administration, and such other Federal agencies
as the Administrator determines are necessary.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Apprenticeship.--The term ``apprenticeship'' means an
apprenticeship registered under the Act of August 16, 1937
(commonly known as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 50
Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.).
(3) Business concern that provides economic
opportunities.--The term ``business concern that provides
economic opportunities'' has the meaning given such term in
section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12
U.S.C. 1701u).
(4) Covered assistance.--The term ``covered assistance''
means financial assistance provided under or pursuant to
section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-
12), title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), or the Water Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act of 2014 (33 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.).
(5) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means--
(A) an entity that receives covered assistance; and
(B) a contractor or subcontractor of such entity
with respect to a covered project.
(6) Covered project.--The term ``covered project'' means a
project for which an entity receives covered assistance.
(7) Low-income person; very low-income person.--The terms
``low-income person'' and ``very low-income person'' have the
same meanings given the terms ``low-income families'' and
``very low-income families'', respectively, in section 3(b) of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
<all>