Build Local, Hire Local Act
A BILL
To establish an expansive infrastructure program to create local jobs and raise the quality of life in every community, to launch middle class career pathways in infrastructure, and to invest in high-quality American jobs, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds that—
infrastructure plays a vital role in the lives of all people in the United States;
the aging infrastructure of the United States is in need of a significant investment to repair, rebuild, and modernize, and in the process, the Federal Government can take necessary steps to address economic and racial injustices that have limited opportunities for far too many people of the United States;
decades of disinvestment and exclusionary policies have isolated many people of color, low-income people, and disabled individuals in the United States from opportunity across the urban centers, deindustrialized cities, rural regions, and Tribal areas of the United States, including horribly inadequate investment to ensure universal access to clean air and water, safe and reliable transportation, affordable housing, quality living wage jobs, high-speed internet, modernized schools, and parks and community facilities;
while the construction of the National Highway System remains one of the most transformative achievements in the history of the United States, it came at the expense of many low-income communities as well as minority neighborhoods of all income levels that were destroyed by the construction and isolated from the broader community and from economic opportunity;
investing in repairing, rebuilding, and modernizing the infrastructure of the United States presents an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and reimagine how communities can design and build infrastructure to be more equitable, helping to address structural inequities faced by marginalized communities nationwide, including a lack of good paying jobs, affordable, accessible, and inclusive housing, decaying roads, bridges, and schools, inadequate access to technology, and exposure to toxic emissions and poisoned water;
accessibility to quality infrastructure, training, and jobs is an issue across the United States, spanning from rural and Tribal areas to urban and suburban areas;
transportation infrastructure has a significant impact on access to jobs, education, healthcare, healthy foods, and other essential services;
accessibility to essential services is defined not only by speed, but also by ease of access, which includes the ability to safely and conveniently access services by all modes of travel;
with a shortage of construction firms that are ready and able to take on the large-scale infrastructure projects the United States demands, the close to 478,000 specialty trade contractors in smaller minority, women, and disadvantaged businesses could be supported to meet this demand;
small businesses and under-represented contractors, including minority-, women-, veteran-owned businesses, and businesses owned by disabled individuals should have the opportunity to rebuild their communities and employ hardworking people of the United States along the way;
as of 2018, about ¼ of the infrastructure workforce is projected to retire or permanently leave their jobs over the next decade, compounding the infrastructure crisis in the United States;
as of 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System finds that skilled trades and many occupations that do not require a 4-year degree are not considered to be at significant risk of automation;
infrastructure jobs include a wide range of employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors, including design, manufacturing, construction, operation, governance, and maintenance of infrastructure assets in the United States;
more than 1 in 10 jobs in the United States is a transportation- or infrastructure-related job;
many infrastructure jobs provide competitive wages with low barriers to entry, many of which require on-the-job training in lieu of formal 4-year degree higher education programs;
in spite of rising income inequality, infrastructure jobs paid approximately 30 percent more to low income individuals than other occupations in 2018;
women, people of color, and particularly women of color are underrepresented in construction jobs;
while women across all occupations currently make up about 50 percent of the workforce, women in construction and extraction occupations has hovered around 3 percent for the last 3 decades;
while Black Americans make up about 12 percent of the overall workforce, Black Americans only represent 7 percent of construction and extraction occupations;
by focusing on improving workforce development systems through targeted employment strategies, the Federal Government can improve the quality of future projects and better ensure that all communities benefit from investments that—
protect workers;
expand opportunities for advancement;
establish strong labor standards; and
redress discriminatory policies that have unfairly burdened low-income communities and communities of color with pollution and geographic isolation; and
the Federal Government should make concerted efforts to close the workforce gap, through coordination with States and units of local government, workforce development agencies, national and regional nonprofit intermediaries, labor organizations, and institutions of higher education and other educational institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions, to recruit, train, and retain the next generation of infrastructure workers in the United States, with a focus on—
achieving gender, ethnic, racial, and ability diversity; and
recruiting and training individuals from communities with high unemployment rates, including African-American communities, Hispanic communities, Indian Tribes, the disabled community, and the LGBTQ community.
Sec. 3 Definitions
In this Act:
Covered infrastructure program— The term covered infrastructure program means any of the following:
Direct and guaranteed loans and grants under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)).
Distance learning and telemedicine grants under section 2333 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 950aaa–2).
Broadband loans and loan guarantees under title IV of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.).
The community connect grant program established under title III of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations, 2004 (Public Law 108–199; 118 Stat. 29).
Solid waste management grants under section 310B(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(b)).
A program or project carried out under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.).
Financial assistance for development, implementation, or modification of a State energy conservation plan under section 363 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6323).
State water pollution control revolving funds established under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.).
State drinking water treatment revolving loan funds established under section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12).
Grants for construction of health centers provided by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Grants for construction, renovation, or repair of non-Federal research facilities provided by the Director of the National Institutes of Health.
The public transportation security assistance grant program under section 1406 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1135).
Assistance provided under the Public Housing Capital Fund established under section 9(d) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d)).
The community development block grant program under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
The Indian housing block grant program under section 101 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4111).
The rural water supply program under section 103 of the Rural Water Supply Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 2402).
Financial assistance provided under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (33 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.).
Assistance provided under title 23, United States Code.
Assistance provided under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code.
Programs for civil works projects, including water resources projects, under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers.
Assistance provided for a freight or passenger rail project under subtitle V of title 49, United States Code.
Assistance provided for an airport development project under chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code.
Assistance for an environmental cleanup project under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
Assistance provided under section 7007 and 7008 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7707, 7708).
Mutual and self-help housing assistance provided under section 523 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490c).
Site development loans provided under section 524 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490d).
Loan guarantees for rural rental housing provided under section 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490p–2).
Assistance provided by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund established under section 104(a) of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)).
Grants awarded from the Capital Magnet Fund established under section 1339 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4569).
Assistance provided under the Connect America Fund of the Federal Communications Commission under subpart D of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).
The Connect Communities Program under section 144.
Any similar program, as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the heads of the relevant Federal agencies.
Disabled individual— The term disabled individual means an individual with a disability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)).
Head of the relevant Federal agency— The term head of the relevant Federal agency means the head of a Federal department or agency that administers or has jurisdiction over a covered infrastructure program.
Local workforce development board— The term local workforce development board has the meaning given the term local board in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
Registered apprenticeship program— The term registered apprenticeship program has the meaning given the term in section 3131(e)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
State workforce development board— The term State workforce development board has the meaning given the term State board in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
Veteran— The term veteran has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.