S 1146 CDS
102d CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1146
To establish a national advanced technician training program, utilizing
the resources of the Nation's two-year associate-degree-granting colleges
to expand the pool of skilled technicians in strategic advanced-technology
fields, to increase the productivity of the Nation's industries, and to
improve the competitiveness of the United States in international trade,
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 23 (legislative day, APRIL 25), 1991
Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. COCHRAN, and Mr. SANFORD)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources
October 2 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 30), 1992
Committee discharged
A BILL
To establish a national advanced technician training program, utilizing
the resources of the Nation's two-year associate-degree-granting colleges
to expand the pool of skilled technicians in strategic advanced-technology
fields, to increase the productivity of the Nation's industries, and to
improve the competitiveness of the United States in international trade,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the
`National Advanced Technician Training Act'.
STATEMENT OF FINDINGS

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(1) the United States is at a technological disadvantage in global economic
competition because many competitors have workforces with stronger technical
education;
(2) the quality of mathematics and science education has a direct and
pervasive bearing upon the quality of the Nation's skill base, particularly
in technician training;
(3) the United States has no national competitiveness strategy to develop
and maintain the technically trained workforce needed for self-sufficiency
in strategic advanced-technology fields, to improve productivity, to
make industries competitive in international markets, and to revitalize
declining industries;
(4) there are shortages of technically trained workers to produce, operate,
and service highly technical equipment, systems, and processes;
(5) many dislocated workers and unemployed adults who lack the training
to meet industry's technological needs face uncertain career prospects;
(6) the United States' increasing dependence on foreign producers
for advanced-technology equipment is undermining the United States'
self-sufficiency, economic independence, and national security;
(7) the Nation's workforce needs continual upgrading to produce, operate,
and service advanced-technology systems to increase the productivity and
profitability of industry;
(8) the Nation's associate-degree-granting colleges have become American
education's leading source of the competency-based technical training and
short-cycle retraining which is required to meet industry needs and the
skill demands of advancing technology;
(9) a national strategy is needed to intensify collaboration among
associate-degree-granting colleges, private industry and labor to develop
skilled advanced technicians needed for economic growth, industrial
development, and reindustrialization;
(10) national security can be enhanced by advanced technician training,
designed to produce technicians in strategic advanced-technology fields
and to increase national self-sufficiency in these fields; and
(11) a national advanced technician training program will give men and women
from all backgrounds more opportunities to gain competencies consistent
with the needs of business and industry.
PURPOSE

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technician training program in the Nation's associate-degree-granting
colleges, with matching non-Federal funds, to--
(1) expand the skilled workforce needed to make the Nation self-sufficient
in strategic advanced-technology fields, to increase the productivity of
our Nation's industries, to improve the competitiveness of the United States
in international trade, and to increase the Nation's national security;
(2) prepare technicians and skilled craftsmen, retrain persons whose
skills need updating, and upgrade employed technicians in strategic
advanced-technology fields; and
(3) provide a highly skilled workforce capable of producing, operating,
and servicing the advanced technology needed to modernize the Nation's
industrial complex and to revitalize the Nation's economy.
NATIONAL ADVANCED TECHNICIAN TRAINING PROGRAM

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referred to as the `Director') is authorized and directed, in accordance
with section 6 and the other provisions of this Act, to carry out an advanced
technician training program under which accredited associate-degree-granting
colleges, using matching non-Federal funds, will provide training in
technical competencies in strategic fields. Such program shall include
emphasis on collaborative programs with local employers and technical
occupational training and shall place emphasis on attracting men and
women to the program who are in need of retraining or upgrading in order
to retain their jobs, or who are unemployed, especially workers dislocated
by plant closings and technological change, and persons who have recently
completed high school or who left high school prior to graduation.
(b) In carrying out the national advanced technician training program,
the Director shall--
(1) award grants on a competitive basis to accredited
associate-degree-granting colleges which demonstrate the ability to provide
competency-based technical training; and
(2) work with the Nation's network of associate-degree-granting colleges to
establish and maintain, at the National Science Foundation or by contract,
a readily accessible inventory of advanced technician training programs
which are serving public and private employers and addressing the changing
workforce demands of technology.
(c) Each college awarded a grant shall provide an associate degree training
program in designated advanced-technology occupational fields in accordance
with the provisions of this Act.
(d) No grant awarded under this section shall exceed $500,000 per year.
(e) To assure that the national advanced technician training program is
consistent with the needs of industries, the Director shall appoint a
15-member National Advisory Council on Advanced Technician Training, which
shall have the responsibility of advising the Director on the goals and
implementation of the program, reviewing the effectiveness of the program,
and reporting annually to the Director and the Congress. The Council shall
include representatives of industry, labor, associate-degree-granting
colleges, the military, and economic development organizations. The
chairman of the Council shall be a president or governing board chairman
of a associate-degree-granting college.
(f) The Council and the Director shall prepare and submit to the National
Science Foundation, and directly to the Congress without review by the
National Science Foundation or the Office of Management and Budget, an annual
report on the national advanced technician training program, together with--
(1) a review and evaluation of the effectiveness of the program;
(2) a catalog of the associate-degree-granting college programs identified
by the required inventory;
(3) a recommendation on the feasibility of expanding the program; and
(4) such other recommendations, including recommendations for legislation,
as the Council and the Director deem necessary.
(g) In carrying out the duties imposed by this section, the Director shall
consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the programs and policies of the
Department of Commerce and other relevant Federal agencies including the
Departments of Labor, Education, and Defense.
(h) The national advanced technician training program shall give emphasis
to training programs described in subsection (c) which--
(1) include flexibility in scheduling in order to accommodate working
people and parents; and
(2) take steps to meet the adaptive and training needs of handicapped
young people and adults.
NATIONAL CENTERS OF TECHNICIAN TRAINING

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among associate-degree-granting colleges. Five such centers shall
be associate-degree-granting with exceptional programs of advanced
technician training, which will serve as national and regional
clearinghouses for the benefit of other colleges that are striving to
upgrade their technical education programs. Five such centers shall be
other associate-degree-granting colleges that excel in undergraduate
education in mathematics and science, which shall serve as national and
regional clearinghouses for the benefit of both colleges and secondary
schools that are striving to upgrade mathematics and science courses. These
centers shall be geographically distributed and chosen by a competitive
application process from among colleges that pledge operating resources,
in cash or in kind, to match the Federal grants made under subsection (b).
(b) The Director shall make no fewer than 20 grants annually, to
associate-degree-granting colleges for the purpose of developing and
strengthening partnerships in mathematics and science education with
secondary schools in the community served by the college. These grants
shall be made by a competitive application process from among colleges
that pledge operating resources, in cash or in kind, to match the Federal
grants made under this subsection. No grant made to a college under this
subsection shall exceed $500,000.
USE OF FUNDS

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(1) to establish, strengthen, and expand under section 4 the advanced
technician training capabilities of associate-degree-granting colleges,
including--
(A) the development of associate degree and training programs in
advanced-technology occupations by accredited associate-degree-granting
colleges, and by consortia of such colleges, with particular emphasis
on model instructional programs to prepare and upgrade technicians
and to retrain dislocated workers in state-of-the-art competencies in
advanced-technology occupations;
(B) the development in such colleges of faculty and instructors, both full-
and part-time, in advanced-technology fields such as laser technology,
robotic technology, nuclear technology, computer technology, and fiber
optics, and in advanced-technology applications that integrate and synthesize
emerging and existing technologies;
(C) the establishment of innovative partnership arrangements among
associate-degree-granting colleges, the private sector, and the government
to enhance the exchange of technical and scientific personnel, including
programs providing faculty opportunities to have short-term assignments
with industry;
(D) the development of cooperative advanced technician training programs
with business, industry, labor, and government;
(E) the purchase or lease of state-of-the-art instrumentation essential to
training and education programs designed to prepare and upgrade technicians
in advanced-technology fields;
(F) the stimulation of private sector participation in advanced technician
training programs in associate-degree-granting colleges through the sharing
of program costs, equipment loans and donations, and the cooperative
use of laboratories, plants, and other facilities as training sites and
to provide relevant state-of-the-art work experience opportunities for
students enrolled in such programs; and
(G) the development and dissemination of instructional materials in support
of advanced technician training programs in degree-granting colleges; and
(2) to make grants to establish the centers of excellence and the
partnerships described in section 5.
Of the funds appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out this Act, 60
percent shall be expended for activities described in section 4 and 40
percent for activities described in section 5.
DEFINITIONS

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(1) the terms `advancing technology' and `advanced-technology' include
or refer to advanced technical activities such as the modernization,
miniaturization, integration, and computerization of electronic,
hydraulic, pneumatic, laser, nuclear, chemical, telecommunication, and
other technological applications to enhance productivity improvements
in manufacturing, communication, transportation, commercial, and similar
economic and national security activities; and
(2) the term `associate-degree-granting college' means a postsecondary
educational institution that has authority to award an associate degree
or comparable technical certificate and has the mission of offering
comprehensive education and training services to meet the needs of a
prescribed community, including a two-year junior college, technical
institute, or other postsecondary institution offering comprehensive
associate-degree programs in technical fields.
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

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year 1992 and $40,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1993 and 1994 to
carry out the provisions of this Act.

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Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992

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