Sec. 4. Invest in America competitive grants
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The Secretary may make planning grants to eligible entities to plan projects described in paragraph (2). The Secretary may make implementation grants to eligible entities to implement projects to support local and regional— economic expansion and resilience— by diversifying the commercial and industrial bases of local and regional economies; by removing barriers to growth; and by identifying means of encouraging such expansion, carried out in a manner that is increasingly proactive and predictive of future economic shifts, to build local and regional economic resilience; job creation, in new or existing industries; and workforce development and re-employment opportunities, by providing a range of workforce development activities, including occupational training, resulting in recognized postsecondary credentials for high-quality, in-demand jobs.
The planning grants awarded by the Secretary shall be used during a planning phase. During the planning phase, the eligible entities will prepare an Invest in America plan that— when reviewed and approved under subsection (c), will be used during the implementation phase described in subparagraph (B); and identifies industries and occupations to be targeted during the implementation phase. The implementation grants awarded by the Secretary shall be used during an implementation phase.
During the implementation phase, the eligible entities will implement their Invest in America plans, to support targeted economic expansion and resilience, job creation, and associated workforce development and re-employment opportunities. The amounts of the planning grants and implementation grants will be based on a variety of factors, including— long-term economic growth rates; prevalence of skill mismatches; long-term unemployment and underemployment; poverty and persistent poverty rates; and number and percent of workers and employers impacted by economic shifts, such as shifts caused by trade, changes in government policy or regulation, or technological innovation.
The Secretary shall make a planning grant in an amount of not less than $10,000 and not more than $500,000. The Secretary shall make an implementation grant in an amount of not less than $750,000 and not more than $7,500,000. The Secretary shall make a planning grant for a period of not more than 2 years. The Secretary shall make an implementation grant for a period of 3 years. The Secretary may extend the period of an implementation grant made under this section for an additional 2-year period if the grant recipient demonstrates to the Secretary that the recipient is achieving its grant objectives and, as applicable, is meeting or is likely to meet the applicable performance measures.
In this Act, the term eligible entity means any of the following: A consortium that— includes 2 or more entities described in any of subparagraphs
(A)through
(F)of paragraph (2); and may also include a State, regional, or local public or private organization, including a community-based organization, that is appropriate to meet the objectives for the grant involved, if the fiscal agent of the consortium is an entity described in any of subparagraphs
(A)through
(F)of paragraph (2). A partnership of 2 or more of the following entities: A local (including a county) or regional unit of government that is responsible for economic development. An economic development agency recognized by the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce. A local workforce development board, meaning a local board as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3102 ), or a consortium of such boards. A tribal organization. An area career and technical education school. A postsecondary educational institution. Each eligible entity that desires to receive a planning grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. In the case of an eligible entity described in subsection (b)(1), the application shall be prepared and submitted by 1 or more members of the consortium who are entities described in subsection (b)(1)(A). At a minimum, each application for a planning grant shall include— a description of the existing economic conditions of the community or region to be served by the eligible entity, drawing on existing analyses and reports, such as those within the comprehensive economic development strategy or corresponding local plans prepared under section 108 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3123 ); a description of existing workforce development activity resources and providers; the organizations within the eligible entity; a description of recent economic expansion and resiliency efforts in the community or region; a brief overview of the anticipated direction of the Invest in America plan to be developed; the period for which the planning grant is requested; and the budget for the planning activities. Each eligible entity that desires to receive an implementation grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. In the case of an eligible entity described in subsection (b)(1), the application shall be prepared and submitted by 1 or more members of the consortium who are entities described in subsection (b)(1)(A). At a minimum, each application for an implementation grant shall include— a detailed summary of the Invest in America plan and project resulting from the planning grant; a summary of the targeted industries and occupations; a summary of how the necessary workforce development activities will be undertaken, including, in the case of a program leading to a recognized postsecondary credential, a description of the program leading to the credential; the eligible entity’s plan for obtaining an independent evaluation of— the effectiveness of the project to be implemented with the grant funds; and the performance of the eligible entity in carrying out the project, including how the eligible entity will use performance measures that include— primary indicators of performance identified under section 116 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3141 ), core indicators of performance identified under section 113 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 ( 20 U.S.C. 2323 ), or evaluation criteria established under section 506(d) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3196(d) ), as appropriate, to determine that performance; and levels of performance approved through the application process; the levels of performance that the eligible entity proposes to use for purposes of subparagraph (D)(ii)(II); and information demonstrating that the eligible entity will provide the non-Federal share of the cost of implementing the project, as described in subsection (e). The Secretary shall design and review the grant applications, and award grants, in cooperation with— the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Interior; and as appropriate and necessary, the heads of other Federal departments and agencies. The Secretary shall ensure that an amount that is not less than 50 percent of the funds provided through the implementation grants for any fiscal year is made available for projects for which the eligible entity is located in a rural area. Notwithstanding clause (i), the Secretary shall reduce the amount of funds made available under such clause for such projects if the Secretary does not receive a sufficient number of applications of sufficient quality. The Secretary shall ensure that an amount that is not less than 25 percent of the funds provided through the implementation grants for any fiscal year is made available for projects for which the eligible entity is located in a medium-sized area. Notwithstanding clause (i), the Secretary shall reduce the amount of funds made available under such clause for such projects if the Secretary does not receive a sufficient number of applications of sufficient quality. The Secretary shall ensure that, to the greatest extent practicable, funds provided through the planning and implementation grants are made available for projects that will serve an economically distressed community or region. An eligible entity that receives an implementation grant may use the grant funds for a project to— support the creation of new businesses and jobs in a variety of industries and occupations with middle and high-skill jobs; implement local and regional strategies for job creation and growth and economic diversification; cultivate entrepreneurship, including strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem, developing entrepreneurship education, and developing business incubator programs; strengthen or develop existing or emerging industry clusters; strengthen or develop regional infrastructure that will benefit industry clusters; enhance access to and use of broadband services to support job creation through business creation and expansion; facilitate access to private capital investment; and provide related capacity-building and technical assistance concerning effective utilization of capital investment for business development and job creation; develop economic expansion and resilience strategies; and develop robust support systems for individuals who have families and who are trying to enter or re-enter the workforce, such as systems that provide access— to child care; to drug treatment resources; and to employment services for individuals with disabilities. In carrying out that project, the eligible entity that receives an implementation grant may use the grant funds to— establish or expand registered apprenticeship programs and pre-apprenticeship programs in industries and occupations with middle and high-skill jobs in the industries and occupations identified as part of the Invest in America plan prepared under the planning grant; expand and target career and technical education, occupational training programs, and training services (as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3102 )); provide enhanced services to dislocated workers (as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3102 )), which may be patterned after those services available under subchapter B of chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 ( 19 U.S.C. 2291 et seq.); offer and expand transitional jobs programs; focus resources on high-priority needs and populations, including— computer science education and training; entrepreneurship and start-up industry workforce skills; skills for veterans transitioning back into the civilian workforce; training for formerly incarcerated individuals re-entering the workforce; and underrepresented minorities, underrepresented women, and individuals with disabilities. build career pathway programs among and between high schools, area career and technical education schools, community colleges, regional 4-year postsecondary educational institutions, workforce development programs, and programs of community partners, including building the career pathway programs through memoranda of understanding and credit transfer agreements among the schools, colleges, institutions, and programs specified in this subparagraph; and expand integrated adult education and occupational training programs. The Federal share of the cost of implementing a project under this Act for a program year may not be more than 70 percent. The non-Federal share may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services. The eligible entity shall provide the non-Federal share from State or local sources, or private organizations. The Secretary may waive the requirement of paragraph (2), on a case-by-case basis, upon a showing of exceptional circumstances, such as— the difficulty of raising funds for a non-Federal share for a project to serve a rural area; and the difficulty of raising funds for a non-Federal share for a project involving a tribal organization. The Secretary shall establish performance measures for the projects carried out under this section. A portion of the performance measures shall be workforce-related performance measures with indicators and levels that shall include, at a minimum, the indicators and levels described in subsection (c)(2)(D)(ii), as appropriate. Each recipient of an implementation grant under this section shall obtain an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the project and the performance of the eligible entity as outlined under subsection (c)(2)(D). Each recipient of an implementation grant under this section shall submit an annual report to the Secretary that includes— a description of how the grant funds were used; the outcomes and impact of the project implemented; the levels of performance for the recipient on the applicable performance measures described in paragraph (1); and the results of the evaluation conducted under paragraph (2), if such an evaluation has been completed during the year covered by the report.
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Sec. 4
Invest in America competitive grants
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