[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5278 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5278
To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand the use of qualified
apprentices by military construction contractors.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 17, 2021
Mr. Neguse introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
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A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand the use of qualified
apprentices by military construction contractors.
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 ``Diversity in Apprenticeships Act''.
SEC. 2. USE OF QUALIFIED APPRENTICES BY MILITARY CONSTRUCTION
CONTRACTORS.
(a) Establishment of Apprenticeship Use Certification
Requirement.--Subchapter III of chapter 169 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 2870. Use of qualified apprentices by military construction
contractors
``(a) Certification Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall
require each offeror for a contract for a military construction project
to certify to the Secretary that, if awarded such a contract, the
offeror will--
``(1) establish a goal that not less than 20 percent of the
total workforce employed in the performance of such a contract
are qualified apprentices; and
``(2) ensure that each contractor and subcontractor that
employs four or more workers in a particular classification to
perform construction activities on such a contract shall employ
one or more qualified apprentices in the same classification
for the purpose of meeting the goal established pursuant to
paragraph (1).
``(b) Incentives.--
``(1) Incentives related to goals.--The Secretary of
Defense shall develop incentives for offerors for a contract
for military construction projects to meet or exceed the goals
described in subsection (a).
``(2) Incentives related to contractors.--To promote the
use of qualified apprentices by military construction
contractors, Congress encourages the Department of Defense to
contract with women-owned, minority-owned, and small
disadvantaged businesses.
``(c) Consideration of Use of Qualified Apprentices.--
``(1) Revision required.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense
shall revise the Department of Defense Supplement to the
Federal Acquisition Regulation to require that the system used
by the Federal Government to monitor or record contractor past
performance includes an analysis of whether the contractor has
made a good faith effort to meet or exceed the goal described
in subsection (a), including consideration of the actual number
of qualified apprentices used by the contractor on a contract
for a military construction project, as part of the past
performance rating of such contractor.
``(2) Implementation.--Upon revision of the Department of
Defense Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation,
contractors working on a military construction project shall
submit to the Department of Defense such reports or information
as required by the Secretary, which may include total labor
hours to be performed on a contract for a military construction
project, the number of qualified apprentices to be employed on
a contract for a military construction project, and demographic
information on nontraditional apprentice populations.
``(d) Qualified Apprentice Defined.--In this section, the term
`qualified apprentice' means an employee participating in an
apprenticeship program registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of
the Employment Training Administration of the Department of Labor or a
State apprenticeship agency recognized by the Office of Apprenticeship
pursuant to the Act of August 16, 1937 (popularly known as the National
Apprenticeship Act; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.).
``(e) Apprentice-to-Journeyworker Ratio.--Nothing in this section
shall relieve a contractor or subcontractor on a military construction
project of the obligation of the contractor or subcontractor to comply
with all applicable requirements for apprentice-to-journeyworker ratios
established by the Department of Labor or the State Apprenticeship
Agency, whichever applies in the State in which the military
construction project is carried out.
``(f) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to
each military construction project whose first advertisement for bid
occurs on or after the end of the one-year period beginning on the date
of the enactment of this section.''.
(b) Reports to Congress.--Not later than three months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, nine months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and upon revision of the Department of Defense
Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation required by subsection
(c) of section 2870 of title 10, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a
report providing a status update on the implementation of the
requirements of such section. Each status update shall identify major
milestones in such implementation, challenges to such implementation,
and such other information as the Secretary considers appropriate.
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