Description:
S. 1739 would authorize the appropriation of $5 million annually through 2024 for the Department of Energy (DOE), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), to establish the Department of Energy National Lab Jobs ACCESS Program. Under the proposed program, DOE would award five-year grants and provide technical assistance to entities that facilitate preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that provide postsecondary credentials and prepare students for obtaining technician positions at the National Laboratories and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The bill also would require DOL to report to the Congress on the proposed program. CBO estimates that implementing S. 1739 would cost $14 million over the 2020-2024 period and $11 million after 2024, assuming appropriation of the specified amounts and that the bill is enacted near the end of 2019. Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for similar programs, adjusted for the timing of assumed implementation. The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, would fall within budget functions 270 (energy) and 500 (education, training, employment, and social services).
