[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1525 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1525
To establish a Federal agenda to transform, heal, and renew the United
States by investing in a vibrant economy, to provide funds to certain
Federal investment programs that meet related labor, equity, and
environmental standards, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2021
Mr. Markey (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Merkley) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Federal agenda to transform, heal, and renew the United
States by investing in a vibrant economy, to provide funds to certain
Federal investment programs that meet related labor, equity, and
environmental standards, 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 ``Transform, Heal, and Renew by
Investing in a Vibrant Economy Act'' or the ``THRIVE Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE; POLICY GOALS; AGENDA.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to mobilize Federal
efforts to respond, in a manner that is bold and holistic, to the
urgent concurrent crises of racial injustice, the undermining of Tribal
sovereignty, mass unemployment and economic inequality, the Coronavirus
Disease 2019 pandemic, and climate change by establishing a national
agenda to transform, heal, and renew the United States to create a
society that enables and supports--
(1) greater racial, Indigenous, gender, environmental, and
economic justice;
(2) dignified work opportunities;
(3) healthy communities;
(4) a stable climate; and
(5) healthy ecosystems.
(b) Policy Goals.--It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to create and sustain millions of good, safe, family-
sustaining jobs with appropriate access to labor organizations;
(2) to increase the power of workers to fight inequality in
the workplace;
(3) to invest in historically underserved and impacted
communities, including Black, Tribal, Indigenous, Latinx, Arab,
Asian, and Pacific Islander communities, to increase the
capacity of those communities to counteract racial, ethnic,
gender, and other social and economic injustices;
(4) to strengthen and heal the nation-to-nation
relationship between the United States and sovereign Indian
Tribes;
(5) to combat environmental injustice and ensure healthy
lives for all people;
(6) to avert further climate and environmental catastrophe;
(7) to ensure fairness for workers and communities affected
by economic transitions; and
(8) to reinvest in public sector institutions that enable
workers and communities to thrive.
(c) Agenda.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the President, in consultation with
the Board, shall establish a 10-year plan, to be known as the
``Agenda to Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a
Vibrant Economy'', in accordance with which the purpose and
policy goals described in subsections (a) and (b),
respectively, shall be achieved.
(2) Submission.--The agenda established under paragraph (1)
shall be submitted to--
(A) the National Economic Council; and
(B) the Office of Management and Budget for
inclusion in each annual budget request submitted to
Congress under section 1105 of title 31, United States
Code, during the 10-year period covered by the agenda.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administering agency.--The term ``administering
agency'' means a Federal department or agency with
administrative jurisdiction over a qualified investment
program.
(2) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Transform, Heal,
and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy Recovery Board
established under section 4(a).
(3) Care worker.--The term ``care worker'' means any
individual who provides paid or unpaid child care or dependent
adult care, including--
(A) a domestic worker;
(B) a health care worker;
(C) a home health aide; and
(D) a nanny.
(4) Environmental justice community.--
(A) In general.--The term ``environmental justice
community'' means a low-income or low-wealth community
facing environmental injustice.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``environmental justice
community'' includes any community that, as determined
by the Board, in consultation with the White House
Environmental Justice Advisory Council and the National
Environmental Justice Advisory Council--
(i) is located nearest to an existing area
of grave environmental pollution and
degradation;
(ii) bears a burden of negative public
health effects of pollution;
(iii) includes 1 or more sites of--
(I) a facility that is a part of a
polluting industry;
(II) a waste dump; or
(III) a facility for resource
extraction;
(iv) experiences a high incidence of
climate change impacts and extreme weather
disasters;
(v) has been excluded or harmed by racist
or discriminatory policies that have resulted
in economic or health disparities;
(vi) has a land-based or food subsistence
culture that is experiencing ecosystem
disruption and devastation;
(vii) faces relocation and resettlement
resulting from--
(I) climate change;
(II) impacts to the environment and
ecosystems; or
(III) impacts associated with
economic inequities; or
(viii) is an Indigenous community.
(5) Equity assessment.--The term ``equity assessment'',
with respect to an investment, program, plan, regulation, or
operational decision, mean an assessment (which may include the
assignment of an equity score)--
(A) to evaluate the social, economic, and
environmental impacts of the investment, program, plan,
regulation, or decision on--
(i) impacted communities; and
(ii) environmental justice communities; and
(B) the goals of which are--
(i) to address historic inequality;
(ii) to ensure an equitable outcome;
(iii) to prevent further concentration of
pollution in areas experiencing an already high
concentration of a pollutant or other toxic
substance; and
(iv) to minimize inadvertent
disproportionate social, economic, and
environmental effects of the investment,
program, plan, regulation, or decision.
(6) Family-sustaining job.--The term ``family-sustaining
job'' means an employment opportunity that provides an
individual with a wage that is sufficient to cover necessary
expenses for the family of the individual, such as food,
medical care, child care, housing, and transportation, without
requiring reliance by the family on financial assistance from
any other source.
(7) Federal spending program.--The term ``Federal spending
program'' means any program, project, or other activity--
(A) carried out by, or pursuant to a contract with,
a Federal department or agency; and
(B) for which Federal funds are made available.
(8) High-road labor, equity, or environmental condition.--
The term ``high-road labor, equity, or environmental
condition'' means any condition on the provision of Federal
funding for a qualified investment program, as established by
the President, based on advice of the Board, under section
5(d)(3)(A).
(9) Impacted community.--
(A) In general.--The term ``impacted community''
means a community that is harmed by environmental,
economic, or socioeconomic injustice.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``impacted community''
includes--
(i) an environmental justice community; and
(ii) a community that, as determined by the
Board, in consultation with the White House
Environmental Justice Advisory Council and the
National Environmental Justice Advisory
Council--
(I) has a high concentration of
low-income and low-wealth households,
including households comprised
primarily of members of groups that
have historically experienced
discrimination on the basis of race,
gender, national origin, or ethnicity
(including Black, Indigenous, Latinx,
Arab, Asian, and Pacific Islander
communities); or
(II) faces economic transition,
deindustrialization, historic
underinvestment, and poverty.
(10) Implementing entity.--The term ``implementing entity''
means any public or private entity (including any Federal,
Tribal, State, or local agency and any firm, supplier, or
subcontractor throughout the supply chain) that carries out a
qualified investment program using public support.
(11) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' means an
Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village,
or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to
exist as an Indian Tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized
Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130 et seq.).
(12) Indigenous community.--The term ``Indigenous
community'' means--
(A) an Indian Tribe;
(B) a Native Hawaiian organization;
(C) a State-recognized Indian tribe;
(D) any reservation-based, urban Indigenous, or
intertribal community, group, organization, or
coalition; and
(E) an Alaska Native village.
(13) Public support.--
(A) In general.--The term ``public support'' means
any financial or in-kind contribution provided by the
President under section 5 for the administration,
development, or implementation of a qualified
investment program carried out under this Act.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``public support''
includes--
(i) technical support;
(ii) grants;
(iii) loans;
(iv) investments; and
(v) equity stakes.
(14) Qualified investment program.--The term ``qualified
investment program'' means any Federal spending program
certified by the President pursuant to section 5(c).
(15) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) a State;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
(D) any other territory or possession of the United
States.
SEC. 4. THRIVE RECOVERY BOARD.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall establish an advisory board,
to be known as the ``Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a
Vibrant Economy Recovery Board'', to advise the President and the heads
of appropriate Federal departments and agencies regarding the
implementation of this Act.
(b) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of 20 members
who, as determined by the President--
(A) provide diverse and fair representation from--
(i) impacted communities;
(ii) allies identified by impacted
communities;
(iii) Indigenous communities; and
(iv) labor organizations; and
(B) are qualified, through education, training, and
experience, to evaluate information relating to matters
referred to the Board.
(2) Appointment.--
(A) In general.--The members of the Board shall be
appointed by the President from among individuals
recommended by interested individuals and entities.
(B) Prohibition.--A member of the Board may not be
an employee or former employee of the Federal
Government.
(3) Term; vacancies.--
(A) Term.--A member of the Board--
(i) shall be appointed to serve the Board
for an initial term of 3 years; and
(ii) may be reappointed to serve not more
than 1 additional term of not longer than 3
years.
(B) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Board--
(i) shall not affect the powers of the
Board; and
(ii) shall be filled in the same manner as
the original appointment was made.
(4) Chairperson.--The Board shall select a chairperson from
among the members of the Board.
(5) Initial meeting.--Not later than 14 days after the date
on which all members of the Board have been appointed, the
Board shall hold the initial meeting of the Board.
(6) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at the call of the
chairperson.
(7) Quorum.--A majority of members of the Board shall
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold
hearings.
(8) Treatment and compensation.--A member of the Board
shall be--
(A) a full-time employee of the Board; and
(B) compensated at such rate as the President may
establish, not to exceed the maximum amount of
compensation payable to a member of the Senior
Executive Service under section 5382(b) of title 5,
United States Code.
(c) Duties.--
(1) Proposed criteria.--
(A) Precertification and investment requirements.--
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Board shall develop and submit to the
President proposed criteria for--
(i) precertification of existing Federal
spending programs under section 5(c)(1)(A); and
(ii) certification of existing and new
Federal spending programs as qualified
investment programs with respect to required
investments, in accordance with section
5(d)(2).
(B) High-road labor, equity, and environmental
conditions.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Board shall develop and submit to the President
proposed criteria for certification of existing
and new Federal spending programs as qualified
investment programs with respect to high-road
labor, equity, and environmental conditions, in
accordance with section 5(d)(3)(A).
(ii) Public participation.--In developing
the proposed criteria relating to high-road
labor, equity, and environmental conditions
under clause (i), the Board shall--
(I) make the proposed criteria
available for public comment; and
(II) host public hearings and other
direct engagement opportunities for
impacted communities and Indigenous
communities.
(iii) Publication.--Not later than 190 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the
President shall publish in the Federal Register
the proposed criteria developed by the Board
under clause (i).
(2) Study.--
(A) In general.--Not less frequently than annually,
the Board shall conduct a study of all matters relating
to qualified investment programs.
(B) Inclusions.--The study conducted by the Board
under subparagraph (A) shall include an evaluation of--
(i) any legislative or administrative
actions (including with respect to investment
requirements and other criteria under section
5(d)) carried out under this Act during the
period covered by the study;
(ii) the degree to which qualified
investment programs have contributed to
achieving the policy goals described in section
2(b);
(iii) the effectiveness of the criteria
relating to investment requirements established
under section 5(d)(2) in achieving those policy
goals; and
(iv) practicable modifications to those
requirements to better achieve those goals.
(3) Recommendations.--The Board shall develop
recommendations regarding--
(A) the method by which the President can
effectuate the Agenda to Transform, Heal, and Renew by
Investing in a Vibrant Economy established under
section 2(c)(1) pursuant to the annual budget request
submitted to Congress under section 1105 of title 31,
United States Code;
(B) the means by which Federal spending programs
may be certified under section 5(d) as qualified
investment programs to receive public support under
this Act;
(C) legislative and administrative actions
(including with respect to investment requirements and
other criteria) to best achieve the purpose and policy
goals described in section 2;
(D) the effectiveness of the criteria relating to
investment requirements established under section
5(d)(2) in achieving those policy goals; and
(E) modifications to those criteria, if any.
(4) Reports.--
(A) Study and recommendations.--
(i) In general.--Not less frequently than
annually, the Board shall submit to the
President and Congress a report that contains--
(I) a detailed statement of the
findings and conclusions of the Board
under paragraph (2); and
(II) the recommendations of the
Board under paragraph (3).
(ii) Publication.--The President shall
publish each report submitted by the Board
under clause (i) in the Federal Register.
(B) High-road labor, equity, and environmental
conditions.--
(i) In general.--Not less frequently than
once every 2 years, the Board shall submit to
the President and Congress a report assessing--
(I) the degree of compliance by
implementing entities with applicable
high-road labor, equity, and
environmental conditions; and
(II) the relative efficacy of
enforcement by administering agencies
of those high-road labor, equity, and
environmental conditions.
(ii) Community impact assessments.--The
Board shall conduct regular regional community
impact assessments to gather information for
each report submitted under clause (i).
(d) Powers.--
(1) Hearings.--The Board may hold such hearings, meet and
act at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive
such evidence as the Board considers to be advisable to carry
out this Act.
(2) Information from agencies.--
(A) In general.--The Board may secure directly from
a Federal department or agency such information as the
Board considers to be necessary to carry out this Act.
(B) Provision of information.--On request of the
chairperson of the Board, the head of a Federal
department or agency shall provide any requested
information to the Board.
(3) Postal services.--The Board may use the United States
mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other
Federal departments and agencies.
(4) Gifts.--The Board may accept, use, and dispose of gifts
or donations of services or property.
(e) Inapplicability of FACA.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Board.
SEC. 5. TRANSFORM, HEAL, AND RENEW BY INVESTING IN A VIBRANT ECONOMY
(THRIVE) QUALIFIED INVESTMENT PROGRAMS.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The President shall establish and carry
out a program under which the President shall provide public
support in accordance with this Act to implementing entities to
carry out 1 or more qualified investment programs certified by
the President, in consultation with the Board, under subsection
(d).
(2) Condition of receipt.--As a condition of receiving
public support under this section, an implementing entity shall
agree to carry out each applicable qualified investment
program--
(A) pursuant to a contract or agreement with the
administering agency; and
(B) subject to oversight by--
(i) the administering agency; and
(ii) the President, in consultation with
the Board.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the President to carry out the program
under this section such sums as are necessary, but not less
than $1,000,000,000,000, for each of fiscal years 2022 through
2032.
(b) Targets.--In selecting implementing entities to receive public
support under this section, the President shall ensure that, in the
aggregate, the qualified investment programs funded under this section
will enable--
(1) the creation and support of not fewer than 15,500,000
family-sustaining jobs;
(2) the achievement of--
(A) full employment; and
(B) economic security for all individuals;
(3) the meaningful and measurable counteraction of racial,
ethnic, Indigenous, gender, and other social, economic, and
environmental injustices;
(4) by not later than December 31, 2025, 100 percent of all
newly constructed buildings in the United States (including
territories) to be zero-emission buildings;
(5) a rapid transition to ensure--
(A) 100 percent of all new vehicles purchased in
the United States (including territories) are zero-
emission vehicles; and
(B) the deployment of a nationwide network of zero-
emission vehicle infrastructure;
(6) by not later than December 31, 2030, the majority of
the population of the United States (including territories) to
reside within walking distance of frequent, high-quality,
affordable, clean energy-powered or zero-emission public
transit and bikeable and walkable transportation infrastructure
to reduce emissions from the transportation sector;
(7) by not later than December 31, 2035, the achievement of
100-percent clean energy generation throughout the United
States (including territories), with priority given to
deployment of renewable energy; and
(8) by not later than December 31, 2035, the conversion of
all school buses in operation in the United States as of that
date (including diesel school buses) to zero-emission school
buses.
(c) Certification of Federal Spending Programs as Qualified
Investment Programs.--
(1) Process.--
(A) Regular certification.--
(i) In general.--The President shall
establish a process under which the President,
in consultation with the Board, may certify, in
accordance with this section, an existing or
new Federal spending program that is the
subject of a nomination under paragraph (2) as
a qualified investment program.
(ii) Precertification.--The process under
clause (i) shall include a process for
precertification by the President of existing
Federal spending programs as qualified
investment programs, if the President
determines that the existing Federal spending
programs are consistent with the policy goals
described in section 2(b).
(B) Expedited process for interim certification.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 60 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the
President, in coordination with the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, the
Chairperson of the Council on Environmental
Quality, and the White House Domestic Climate
Advisor, shall establish an expedited process
to provide interim certification of appropriate
existing Federal spending programs as qualified
investment programs for receipt of public
support under this section to enable the rapid
disbursal of funds urgently needed for economic
recovery.
(ii) Inclusion.--The expedited process
established under clause (i) shall include an
expedited process for nomination by interested
Federal departments and agencies, Indian
Tribes, stakeholders, and members of the public
of existing Federal spending programs for
interim certification under this subparagraph.
(iii) Use of criteria.--The criteria
described in subsection (d) shall apply to the
expedited process established under clause (i).
(2) Nominations.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 240 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, any interested Federal
department or agency, Indian Tribe, stakeholder, or
member of the public may submit to the President and
the Board a nomination of an existing or new Federal
spending program for certification as a qualified
investment program under this subsection.
(B) Effect.--The President may not certify a
Federal spending program as a qualified investment
program under this subsection unless the Federal
spending program is the subject of a nomination
submitted under subparagraph (A).
(3) Certification.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 300 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, for each Federal
spending program nominated under paragraph (2), the
President, in consultation with the Board, shall--
(i) determine whether the Federal spending
program--
(I) achieves compliance with the
applicable criteria described in
subsection (d); and
(II) includes or establishes an
environmental justice screening in
accordance with subparagraph (B), for
the purpose of preventing projects from
concentrating pollution and
disproportionate health and economic
burdens on impacted communities; and
(ii) on making a positive determination
under each of subclauses (I) and (II) of clause
(i)--
(I) approve the nomination of the
Federal spending program under
paragraph (2); and
(II) certify the Federal spending
program as a qualified investment
program for purposes of this Act.
(B) Environmental justice screening.--An
environmental justice screening under subparagraph
(A)(i)(II) shall include an evaluation, over the
lifecycle of the applicable Federal spending program,
of--
(i) lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions
under the Federal spending program, including
direct, indirect, and supply chain emissions,
taking into consideration materials and
operations;
(ii) the cumulative toxic pollution emitted
under the Federal spending program;
(iii) resource depletion caused by the
Federal spending program;
(iv) the biodiversity and climate change
impacts of the Federal spending program; and
(v) the lifecycle social and cultural
impacts of the Federal spending program.
(C) Publication.--Each determination of the
President under subparagraph (A) relating to a Federal
spending program shall be published in the Federal
Register, together with the rationale of the President
and the Board for approving or disapproving the
nomination of the Federal spending program.
(4) Distribution of funding.--The President shall
distribute to implementing entities the amounts made available
to carry out this section, on an equitable basis pursuant to
paragraph (5)--
(A) as soon as practicable for each qualified
investment program for which an interim certification
is provided under the expedited process under paragraph
(1)(B); and
(B) by not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act for each qualified investment
program certified under paragraph (3).
(5) Equitable allocation of funds.--In distributing amounts
under paragraph (4), the President, in consultation with the
Board, shall collaborate with the head of each administering
agency to ensure that--
(A) of the total amount of public support provided
under this Act for qualified investment programs under
the jurisdiction of the administering agency, not less
than 50 percent shall be invested in impacted
communities in a meaningful and measurable manner,
subject to the condition that the public support shall
be distributed--
(i) proportionately, and with priority
given to communities that have been
disenfranchised from generational wealth--
(I) to repair past harm; and
(II) to advance equity; and
(ii) based on a mandatory equity
assessment--
(I) to identify potential
disproportionate impacts; and
(II) to support more equitable
outcomes of--
(aa) investments; and
(bb) programs, plans,
regulations, and operational
decisions;
(B) the public support provided to the
administering agency under this Act shall be equitably
distributed across all States, based on population size
and poverty level, subject to the condition that the
shares of funding for each of the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States
Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other territory or
possession of the United States shall be--
(i) not less than proportional to the
population of that jurisdiction; and
(ii) responsive to the unique and specific
challenges faced by the residents of those
jurisdictions; and
(C) Tribal, State, and local units of government
shall be adequately funded to develop, administer,
service, support, and monitor qualified investment
programs, as applicable, to ensure that no unfunded
mandate is imposed on those governments.
(d) Criteria.--
(1) Establishment.--The President shall establish such
criteria as the President determines to be appropriate, in
accordance with paragraphs (2) through (4) and taking into
consideration the proposed criteria developed by the Board
under section 4(c)(1), for--
(A) the precertification of existing Federal
spending programs under subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii); and
(B) the certification of new Federal spending
programs and existing Federal spending programs that
receive precertification under subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii)
as qualified investment programs under subsection
(c)(3), if the Federal spending programs--
(i) are consistent with the policy goals
described in section 2(b); and
(ii) achieve compliance with, as
applicable--
(I) the investment requirements
described in paragraph (2);
(II) the high-road labor, equity,
and environmental conditions described
in paragraph (3); and
(III) the prohibitions described in
paragraph (4).
(2) Investment requirements.--To be eligible for
certification as a qualified investment program under
subsection (c), a Federal spending program shall invest in 1 or
more of the following:
(A) Infrastructure.--Upgrades to inadequate
infrastructure and infrastructure operations to expand
access to--
(i) pollution-free, renewable, and
affordable energy, including wind and solar
energy;
(ii) transportation;
(iii) high-speed broadband internet; or
(iv) drinking water and wastewater,
particularly for public systems.
(B) Social infrastructure.--Support of care workers
and social infrastructure, by--
(i) rebuilding vital public services;
(ii) strengthening social infrastructure to
address, mitigate, and adapt to crises; or
(iii) expanding the low-carbon public
health care infrastructure of the United
States, including through investment in--
(I) hospitals;
(II) public or Tribal schools;
(III) child care;
(IV) home care or elder care;
(V) mental health care;
(VI) care workers;
(VII) expanding access to quality,
secure, affordable health care and
homes; or
(VIII) increasing jobs, employment
protection, wages, and benefits for
historically underpaid, unpaid, and
undervalued care workers.
(C) Housing.--Expanded access to housing, without
displacing existing residents or community-serving
entities, by--
(i) investing in housing by modernizing and
retrofitting homes, schools, offices,
industrial buildings, and apartment buildings,
including tenant-owned and community-owned
properties--
(I) to decrease pollution; and
(II) to maintain affordability by
decreasing costs to low-income
communities and Indigenous communities;
(ii) ensuring an increase in accessible
units for individuals with disabilities and
chronic illnesses; or
(iii) mitigating and adapting to extreme
weather impacts.
(D) Ecosystems.--Supporting ecosystems, by--
(i) protecting and restoring biodiversity
or natural habitat, including wetlands,
forests, prairies, deserts, aquifers,
groundwater, public land, and Indian land;
(ii) remediating pollution in impacted
communities, including--
(I) Superfund sites on the National
Priorities List developed by the
President in accordance with section
105(a)(8)(B) of that Act (42 U.S.C.
9605(a)(8)(B));
(II) brownfield sites (as defined
in section 101 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9601)); and
(III) abandoned fossil fuel
infrastructure; or
(iii) ensuring sustainable resource use.
(E) Agriculture.--Supporting agriculture, by--
(i) creating opportunities for family,
Indigenous, and Black farmers and ranchers,
rural communities, and urban agriculture,
including by disentangling the
hyperconsolidated food supply chain;
(ii) supporting agroecology;
(iii) supporting regenerative agriculture;
or
(iv) investing in local and regional food
systems that support farmers, agricultural
workers, healthy soil, and climate resilience.
(F) Industry.--Developing and transforming the
industrial base of the United States, while creating
high-skill, high-wage manufacturing jobs and
nonextractive, nature-based jobs and opportunities for
locally and Tribally owned businesses throughout the
United States, including by--
(i) expanding manufacturing of clean
technologies;
(ii) reducing industrial pollution; and
(iii) prioritizing domestic production for
an investment described in clause (i) or (ii).
(3) High-road labor, equity, and environmental
conditions.--
(A) Conditions.--To be eligible for certification
as a qualified investment program under subsection (c),
a Federal spending program shall achieve compliance
with, as applicable, the following high-road labor,
equity, and environmental conditions:
(i) Empowering workers against
inequality.--Increase the power of workers to
oppose inequality by--
(I) ensuring that no investment
made under the Federal spending program
degrades the quality of jobs or
obstructs the right of workers--
(aa) to form or join a
labor organization;
(bb) to bargain
collectively over terms and
conditions of employment; or
(cc) to engage in other
concerted activities for mutual
aid or protection;
(II) creating quality jobs that
provide--
(aa) family-sustaining job
benefits and wages equal to not
less than the greater of--
(AA) $15 per hour;
and
(BB) the prevailing
wage for jobs of a
similar nature;
(bb) the right of workers
to form or join a labor
organization and engage in
collective bargaining, free of
harassment and intimidation;
(cc) child care support;
(dd) not fewer than 84 days
per calendar year of paid
family leave;
(ee) not fewer than 14 days
per calendar year of paid sick
leave;
(ff) not fewer than 14 days
per calendar year of paid
vacation;
(gg) robust worker safety
standards; and
(hh) the right of workers
to not be disciplined or
discharged except for just
cause;
(III) including all affected care
workers and agricultural workers in
worker protections and investments
under the Federal spending program;
(IV) advancing principles and
policies that ensure or support--
(aa) more effective and
timely remedies in cases in
which employers interfere with
the rights of workers;
(bb) expanded freedom for
workers to organize without
employer interference;
(cc) requiring employers to
submit to interest arbitration
for purposes of establishing an
initial collective bargaining
agreement following the initial
certification or recognition of
a collective bargaining
representative in any case in
which, after a reasonable
period, collective bargaining
fails to produce an initial
collective bargaining
agreement;
(dd) allowing collective
bargaining agreements covering
private-sector workers to
include agency shop agreements,
subject to the condition that
those agreements shall be valid
and enforceable,
notwithstanding--
(AA) section 14(b)
of the National Labor
Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 164(b)); or
(BB) any applicable
State or territorial
law;
(ee) protecting strikes and
other concerted worker
activities, including by
prohibiting permanent
replacement of striking
workers; and
(ff) expansion of
organizing and bargaining
rights for workers;
(V) with respect to the engagement
of employers by the Federal spending
program--
(aa) avoiding the use of
any employer that--
(AA) misclassifies
employees as
independent
contractors; or
(BB) seeks to use a
corporate structure to
hinder collective
bargaining on a
companywide, regional,
or national basis; and
(bb) giving preference to
the use of any employer that
recognizes, and agrees to
collectively bargain with, any
labor organization that obtains
written authorization from a
majority of employees in any
appropriate bargaining unit
stating that the employees wish
to be represented by the labor
organization;
(VI) using project labor agreements
or community workforce agreements,
where appropriate;
(VII) supporting domestic job
creation by applying and fortifying
domestic content standards, such as the
standards under chapter 83 of title 41,
United States Code (formerly known as
the ``Buy American Act''), including
among contractors and subcontractors of
a primary employer;
(VIII) creating pathways of
opportunity, particularly for priority
groups described in subparagraph (B),
including by supporting--
(aa) community benefits
agreements;
(bb) local hire standards;
(cc) high-road training
partnerships; and
(dd) access to registered
apprenticeship and
preapprenticeship programs in
communities of all sizes across
the United States; and
(IX) where appropriate, using the
rescission of a contract under the
Federal spending program as an
enforcement mechanism in any case in
which an employer engaged by the
Federal spending program has violated--
(aa) a provision of an
applicable contract; or
(bb) a Federal labor or
employment law (including
regulations).
(ii) Historically underserved and impacted
communities.--Invest in historically
underserved communities and impacted
communities, to increase the power of those
communities and counteract racial, ethnic,
gender, and other social and economic
injustices by--
(I) ensuring no investment made
under the Federal spending program--
(aa) damages such a
community; or
(bb) reduces the ability of
residents, businesses, and
institutions of the community
to live and operate with equity
and dignity;
(II) ensuring that those
communities have--
(aa) the ability to
democratically plan, implement,
and administer projects under
the Federal spending program,
where applicable, including
through partnership with, and
oversight by, community
residents, scholars, and
community-based organizations;
and
(bb) meaningful involvement
in the implementation and
governance of proposed
activities under the Federal
spending program;
(III) including a mandatory equity
assessment to identify potential
disproportionate impacts and support
more-equitable outcomes of investments,
programs, plans, regulations, and
operational decisions;
(IV) addressing historic
discriminatory practices in hiring,
investment, and procurement by
prioritizing local and equitable hiring
and contracting that creates
opportunities for priority groups
described in subparagraph (B),
including a requirement to hire and
contract with members of those priority
groups at a rate that is not less than
twice the average rate reflected in the
industry standard of that hiring;
(V) including specific fair hire
provisions, including those similar to
``Ban the Box'' provisions, that
support traditionally marginalized
workers;
(VI) increasing equitable public
education opportunities by including
career and technical education pathways
that prepare youth (especially youth
who are members of historically
marginalized communities or impacted
communities) for high-quality jobs,
including access to quality workforce
training and registered
apprenticeships;
(VII)(aa) ensuring that any
investment made under the Federal
spending program to upgrade a building
does not displace any existing resident
or community-serving entity occupying
the building; and
(bb) investing in the creation of
new low- or zero-emission public
housing and affordable housing,
including through community land
trusts;
(VIII) centering and uplifting
historically underserved communities,
impacted communities, and workers
located in rural areas, including by
developing provisions--
(aa) to improve the status
of impacted agricultural
producers and workers; and
(bb) for Federal spending
programs carried out by the
Department of Agriculture, to
end the systematic mistreatment
of those producers and workers
by the Department;
(IX) directing funds to support,
create, and provide debt relief, where
appropriate, to community-owned and
operated organizations, including--
(aa) electric cooperatives;
(bb) worker-owned
cooperatives engaging in
sustainability initiatives;
(cc) community land trusts;
and
(dd) publicly owned or
community-owned entities,
including--
(AA) not-for-profit
public power utilities;
(BB) not-for-profit
public water utilities;
and
(CC) tribally owned
or operated utilities;
and
(X) directing funds to support and
diversify local economies and create
opportunities for entrepreneurship.
(iii) Indian tribes and indigenous
communities.--Heal and reinforce the nation-to-
nation relationship between the United States
and Indian Tribes by--
(I) carrying out the
responsibilities of the administering
agency described in section 6(b);
(II) preserving and protecting
sacred and cultural sites of
significance to Indian Tribes and
Indigenous communities in carrying out
the Federal spending program;
(III) providing significantly
expanded funding to Indian Tribes and
Indigenous communities for recovery and
relief with respect to establishing
sustainable economies and jobs based on
the principle known as ``Indigenous
Just Transition'';
(IV) prioritizing investments in
Tribal and local community-based
projects that contribute to--
(aa) improved
infrastructure, health care,
clean water, and sanitation;
(bb) food sovereignty and
agroecological farming;
(cc) housing, with
significantly expanded
investments in local and
community-based housing; and
(dd) renewable energy;
(V) providing equitable funding for
environmental and ecosystems
management, clean-up, and remediation
of contaminated and hazardous sites on
and near Indian land, including Federal
and State land located near Indian land
or Indigenous communities;
(VI) addressing Tribal housing
needs by--
(aa) significantly
expanding funding to meet
housing and community
development needs on Indian
land, including needs relating
to health, water, and
sanitation;
(bb) advancing the goals of
the Native American Housing
Assistance and Self-
Determination Act of 1996 (25
U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and
(cc) allowing for
innovative and alternative
community-based housing
programs based on traditional
Indigenous design, the use of
local natural materials, and
localized training and
employment; and
(VII) adequately and equitably
addressing violence against Indigenous
women, Indigenous trans women and
femmes, and Indigenous children, in a
manner that is inclusive of the
inherent authority of Indian Tribes
with respect to that violence.
(iv) Environmental justice.--Combat
environmental injustice and ensure healthy
lives for all individuals by--
(I) promoting and including
meaningful involvement by impacted
communities, particularly the most
vulnerable environmental justice
communities, in the implementation and
governance of proposed programs and
expenditures in a manner that aligns
and is consistent with the principles
entitled ``Jemez Principles for
Democratic Organizing'' and dated
December 1996;
(II) holding polluting corporations
accountable by establishing penalties
and liabilities for historic,
persistent, and concentrated pollution
in environmental justice communities in
a manner that ensures that the costs of
those penalties and liabilities are not
passed through to ratepayers,
consumers, or workers;
(III) prioritizing investment in
remediation of polluted sites located
in environmental justice communities,
including--
(aa) Superfund sites on the
National Priorities List
developed by the President in
accordance with section
105(a)(8)(B) of that Act (42
U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B));
(bb) brownfield sites (as
defined in section 101 of the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9601));
(cc) abandoned mines and
factories; and
(dd) retired fossil fuel,
defense, and nuclear energy
sites;
(IV) reducing toxic pollution at
the source and fortifying the
regulation and accounting of the
cumulative health impacts of toxic
pollution;
(V) developing provisions to
increase equitable access to public
health resources in historically
underserved communities (including
rural communities) and impacted
communities; and
(VI) recognizing the
disproportionate burden of health
impacts in historically underserved
communities (including rural
communities) and impacted communities
and the historic disinvestment in
public health resources, including
public hospitals, mental health
services, care worker services, and
other facilities and services in those
communities.
(v) Climate and environment.--Avert
additional climate and environmental
catastrophe by--
(I) ensuring that the Federal
spending program supports the emissions
reductions necessary--
(aa) to maintain an
increase in global temperature
due to global warming of less
than 1.5 degrees Celsius; and
(bb) to achieve the targets
described in subsection (b);
(II) ensuring that the Federal
spending program will not expand--
(aa) the extraction,
processing, or use of fossil
fuels or uranium at any level
of the supply chain;
(bb) the use of emissions
offsets;
(cc) geoengineering; or
(dd) the use of any other
energy source that would not
pass the environmental justice
screening described in
subsection (c)(3)(B);
(III) investing in--
(aa) the protection of
ecosystems and biodiversity;
and
(bb) the sustainable use of
natural resources;
(IV) requiring the use of climate-
resilient designs for infrastructure
and low-emissions operations, as
applicable;
(V) requiring that materials shall
be produced with high standards for
environmental sustainability,
including--
(aa) technologically
feasible limits on embodied
greenhouse gas emissions;
(bb) restrictions on toxic
pollution; and
(cc) requirements for
sustainable resource use and
the protection of ecosystems
and biodiversity;
(VI) requiring that materials and
appliances meet high environmental
performance standards, including
standards relating to energy efficiency
and climate resilience;
(VII) ensuring that environmental
standards apply across the
international supply chain; and
(VIII) supporting public and
community-based services and actions
for increased mitigation of, and
adaptation to, the impacts of climate
change, particularly in communities
vulnerable to climate impacts,
including flooding, storms, fires, sea-
level rise, extreme heat or cold, and
other impacts.
(vi) Fairness during economic transition.--
Ensure fairness for workers and communities
affected by economic transitions by directing
funding and support--
(I) to displaced workers, including
by providing--
(aa) wage and benefit
replacement for a period of not
less than 5 years;
(bb) housing assistance;
(cc) fully funded pensions;
(dd) support for crisis,
trauma, and early retirement;
(ee) skills training;
(ff) education; and
(gg) equitable job
placement;
(II) to cover local budget
shortfalls due to the closure of
facilities or a decline in economic
activity;
(III) to economic development and
diversification in communities affected
by economic transitions, including to
address historic injustices, as
determined by community- and worker-led
planning processes;
(IV) to ensure adequate physical
and social infrastructure and services
in economically transitioning
communities, including--
(aa) public health
services;
(bb) social services;
(cc) child care and
dependent adult care; and
(dd) broadband internet
investment; and
(V) to the reorganization,
conversion, reclamation, and
remediation of closed and abandoned
facilities and sites.
(vii) Public institutions.--Reinvest in
public institutions that enable all communities
and workers to thrive by--
(I) preventing privatization of--
(aa) any public land,
water, or natural resource; or
(bb) existing public sector
jobs;
(II) prioritizing public
educational institutions as centers of
innovation and pathways to green collar
jobs through investments in vocational
and technical education in public
schools, trade schools, and community
colleges that connect to labor
organization apprenticeship and other
high-road jobs;
(III) directing funding to support
and expand public health care systems,
public education, and other public
services at the State and local levels
to address the health, environmental,
and socioeconomic impacts of climate
crises, especially in impacted
communities, including by supporting--
(aa) climate mitigation
efforts and resilience; and
(bb) access to nature; and
(IV) directing funding to
institutional reforms that reorganize
the process of Federal decisionmaking
regarding the allocation of funds to
make government investments more
coordinated, effective, accountable to
impacted communities, and appropriate
to respond to the full scale of the
major challenges expected to occur
during the period of calendar years
2022 through 2032.
(viii) THRIVE resolution.--Compliance with,
as applicable--
(I) the labor, equity, and
environmental provisions described in
Senate Resolution 43, 117th Congress,
introduced on February 8, 2021; and
(II) such additional, specific
labor, equity, and environmental
conditions as are required to make the
resolution described in subclause (I)
operable, as determined by the
President, based on the advice of the
Board under section 4(c)(1)(B).
(B) Priority groups.--A priority group referred to
in subparagraph (A) is any group comprised of low-
income and low-wealth individuals, subject to the
condition that highest priority shall be given to a
group comprised of low-income and low-wealth
individuals who have been excluded from economic
opportunities, including individuals who are--
(i) members of impacted communities;
(ii) members of any other groups that have
historically experienced discrimination on the
basis of race, gender, national origin, or
ethnicity (including Black, Indigenous, Latinx,
Arab, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities);
(iii) immigrants to the United States
(regardless of immigration status);
(iv) formerly incarcerated individuals;
(v) women;
(vi) LGBTQIAP+ individuals;
(vii) individuals with disabilities or
chronic illness;
(viii) young or elderly;
(ix) young adults exiting the foster care
system; and
(x) unhoused individuals.
(4) Prohibitions.--To be eligible for certification as a
qualified investment program under subsection (c), a Federal
spending program shall not--
(A) exacerbate any racial, Indigenous, gender, or
income disparity;
(B) privatize any public infrastructure, service,
land, water, or natural resource;
(C) violate human rights;
(D) destroy any ecosystem;
(E) decrease labor organization density or
membership;
(F) in any investment made under the Federal
spending program to upgrade a building, displace any
resident or community-serving entity occupying the
building; or
(G) invest or participate in the use of emissions
offset or geoengineering programs.
(e) Monitoring.--
(1) In general.--The President, in consultation with the
Board, shall monitor qualified investment programs that receive
public support under this section to ensure that each qualified
investment program--
(A) contributes to the policy goals described in
section 2(b); and
(B) continues to achieve compliance with all
applicable high-road labor, equity, and environmental
conditions under subsection (d)(3).
(2) Revocation.--The President shall revoke any public
support provided under this section for a qualified investment
program if the President determines that the qualified
investment program--
(A) fails to achieve compliance with subparagraph
(A) or (B) of paragraph (1); or
(B) displaces workers or depresses wages or
benefits due to increased costs associated with
participating in the public support program under this
section.
SEC. 6. TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY.
(a) Recognition.--Congress recognizes that--
(1) the authority, obligations, and fiduciary trust
responsibilities of United States to provide programs and
services to Indians Tribes and individual Indians have been
established in--
(A) Acts of Congress;
(B) treaties; and
(C) jurisprudence; and
(2) the United States and Indian Tribes have a unique legal
and political relationship.
(b) Responsibilities of Administering Agencies.--The head of each
administering agency shall, in any relevant agency actions--
(1) establish, by regulation, a special initiative that
reflects and supports the relationship between the United
States and Indian Tribes described in subsection (a)(2);
(2) confirm that each Indian Tribe may exercise full and
inherent civil regulatory and adjudicatory authority over all
land and resources within the exterior boundaries of the
reservation or other land subject to the jurisdiction of the
Indian Tribe;
(3) establish, by regulation, standards and procedural
requirements--
(A) to secure free, prior, and informed consent of
Indian Tribes--
(i) to agency actions that affect Indian
land, water, livelihoods, and culture
(including off-reservation treaty-reserved
rights to hunting, fishing, gathering, and
protection of, and access to, sacred sites);
and
(ii) on an ongoing basis, to any measure or
other action carried out by the administering
agency under this Act; and
(B) to include consideration of the tangible and
intangible cultural heritage, intellectual property,
and traditional Indigenous knowledge of Indian Tribes
and Indigenous communities in agency actions and
programs;
(4) take into consideration the provisions and standards
contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, dated September 13, 2007, without
qualification;
(5)(A) strengthen and support Tribal sovereignty by
ensuring that all treaties and agreements with Indian Tribes
and members of Indian Tribes and Indigenous communities are
observed and respected in their entirety; and
(B) protect and enforce that sovereignty by taking
effective measures to extend the fiduciary trust
responsibilities of the United States to Indian Tribes to--
(i) environmental, socioeconomic, health,
education, and agricultural issues; and
(ii) trade issues between and among Indigenous
communities, the United States, Canada, and Mexico; and
(6) ensure that the standards, processes, and criteria for
qualified investment programs of the administering agency, and
the allocation of funds under those qualified investment
programs, shall incur obligations relating to a mandatory set-
aside of investments and funding for Indian Tribes and
Indigenous communities.
SEC. 7. AGENCY ENFORCEMENT; GAO REPORT.
(a) Agency Enforcement.--Not later than 2 years after the date on
which public support is initially provided to an administering agency
under this Act, the head of the administering agency shall promulgate
regulations, in consultation with the Board, to ensure that each
qualified investment program of the administering agency achieves
compliance with applicable high-road labor, equity, and environmental
conditions, in accordance with existing authorities, by--
(1) including in any contract with an implementing entity
those high-road labor, equity, and environmental conditions;
(2) ensuring that public implementing entities receive
funding to adequately ensure compliance with applicable
implementation, monitoring, compliance, and enforcement
requirements in a manner that avoids establishing any unfunded
mandate for a Tribal, State, or local government agency;
(3) certifying, on an annual basis, that all implementing
entities throughout the supply chain that benefit from support
under the qualified investment program achieve compliance with
all applicable high-road labor, equity, and environmental
conditions;
(4) issuing a warning and directives for corrective action
relating to instances of noncompliance with applicable high-
road labor, equity, and environmental conditions;
(5) establishing a process for implementing entities to
appeal the classification of an action as noncompliant with an
applicable high-road labor, equity, or environmental condition;
and
(6) revoking public support from any implementing entity
that fails to rectify an instance of noncompliance with a high-
road labor, equity, or environmental condition, as applicable--
(A) for a major instance of noncompliance, by the
date that is 60 days after the date of receipt of a
warning relating to that instance under paragraph (4);
or
(B) for a minor instance of noncompliance, by such
deadline as the head of the administering agency, in
consultation with the Board, may establish.
(b) GAO Report.--Not less frequently than once every 3 years, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall prepare and publish a
report assessing--
(1) the degree of compliance by implementing entities with
high-road labor, equity, and environmental conditions; and
(2) the relative efficacy of enforcement by administering
agencies of those high-road labor, equity, and environmental
conditions.
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