[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4950 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4950

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act regarding Native 
                           American programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2024

   Mr. Lujan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act regarding Native 
                           American 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 ``Tribal Employment and Training 
Support Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO WIOA.

    Section 166 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3221) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) by striking ``(25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) and the'' 
                and inserting ``(25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), consistent 
                with the''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, and that is in furtherance of 
                the trust responsibility of the United States'' before 
                the period at the end;
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(25 U.S.C. 
                450b)'' and inserting ``(25 U.S.C. 5304)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``(20 U.S.C. 
                7517)'' before the period at the end;
            (3) in subsection (c) by striking ``, on a competitive 
        basis,'';
            (4) in subsection (d)(2), by striking subparagraph (B) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Administrative costs.--Not more than 15 
                percent of the funds made available to an entity under 
                subsection (c) may be used for the administrative costs 
                of the activities and services described in 
                subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Special rules.--
                            ``(i) Eligibility.--Notwithstanding any 
                        other provision of this section, individuals 
                        who were eligible to participate in programs 
                        under section 401 of the Job Training 
                        Partnership Act (as such section was in effect 
                        on the day before the date of enactment of the 
                        Workforce Investment Act of 1998) shall be 
                        eligible to participate in an activity assisted 
                        under this section.
                            ``(ii) Transfer of unobligated funds.--An 
                        entity receiving funds under subsection (c) may 
                        transfer such funds that are unobligated for an 
                        award year to the following award year for 
                        activities described in subparagraph (A)(i) in 
                        that following award year.'';
            (5) in subsection (e)(5), by striking ``which shall'' and 
        all that follows through ``such indicators'' and inserting 
        ``including the expected levels of performance for indicators 
        of such measures'';
            (6) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:
    ``(h) Performance Accountability Measures.--
            ``(1) Development of indicators and standards.--The 
        Secretary, in consultation with the Native American Employment 
        and Training Council, shall develop a set of performance 
        indicators and standards that, as provided in subsection 
        (e)(5), shall be applicable to programs under this section.
            ``(2) Special considerations.--Such performance indicators 
        and standards shall take into account--
                    ``(A) the purpose of this section as described in 
                subsection (a)(1);
                    ``(B) the needs of the groups served by this 
                section, including the differences in needs among such 
                groups in various geographic service areas; and
                    ``(C) the economic circumstances of the communities 
                served, including differences in circumstances among 
                various geographic service areas.'';
            (7) in subsection (i)--
                    (A) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) by striking ``Using'' and 
                                inserting the following:
                            ``(i) Establishment.--Using''; and
                                    (II) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(ii) Recommendations.--The Secretary 
                        shall meet, not less than annually, with the 
                        Council to consider recommendations from the 
                        Council on the operation and administration of 
                        the programs assisted under this section.''; 
                        and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) by striking ``The Council'' and 
                                inserting the following:
                            ``(i) In general.--The Council''; and
                                    (II) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(ii) Vacancies.--An individual appointed 
                        to fill a vacancy on the Council occurring 
                        before the expiration of the term for which the 
                        predecessor of such individual was appointed 
                        shall be appointed only for the remainder of 
                        that term. Such an individual may serve on the 
                        Council after the expiration of such term until 
                        a successor is appointed.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (5)--
                            (i) by striking ``is authorized to'' and 
                        inserting ``shall'';
                            (ii) by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Activities.--The technical assistance under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include the following 
                activities:
                            ``(i) Assisting entities described in 
                        subsection (c) that receive assistance under 
                        such subsection in understanding and navigating 
                        the Federal requirements for amounts awarded 
                        under this section.
                            ``(ii) Supporting such entities with the 
                        full range of services that can be supported, 
                        as permitted by Federal law, using amounts 
                        awarded under this section.
                            ``(iii) Supporting such entities in 
                        promoting the economic and social development 
                        of Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
                        communities in accordance with the distinct 
                        goals of those communities, including, as 
                        appropriate, by using program flexibilities 
                        that are--
                                    ``(I) authorized under paragraph 
                                (3); and
                                    ``(II) consistent with the 
                                principles of the Indian Self-
                                Determination and Education Assistance 
                                Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.);
                            ``(iv) Advising such entities on other 
                        funding opportunities authorized by this Act, 
                        including those that foster innovation in 
                        workforce development programs serving the 
                        needs of Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native 
                        Hawaiians.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (6)--
                            (i) by inserting ``or provided by another 
                        grantee that receives funds awarded under 
                        subtitle B from any State for adult, youth, or 
                        dislocated worker programs'' after ``this 
                        title''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or another grantee'' 
                        after ``the States''; and
            (8) in subsection (k), by striking paragraph (2) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection such 
        sums as may be necessary.''.
                                 <all>