holds who are forty-five years of age or older and are unemployed and those who are not in the labor force and are under 65 bears to the total population, as determined for the United States on the basis of the most satisfactory current data and estimates available to the Secretary.

(3) The Secretary shall establish criteria designed to achieve an equitable distribution of assistance under this part among the States and between urban and rural areas.

(d) In order to carry out the purposes of this section the Secretary is authorized to appoint such advisory committees composed of private citizens and public officials who, by reason of their experience or training, are knowledgeable in the area of job opportunities for middle-aged and older individuals, as he deems desirable to advise him with respect to his functions under this section; and (e) (1) The Secretary is authorized to enter into grants, contracts, and other arrangements with public and private agencies and institutions to conduct such research and demonstration projects as he determines will contribute to carrying out the purposes of this section.

(2) In carrying out the purposes of this section the Secretary is authorized to publish and disseminate materials and other information relating to training and job opportunities for middle-aged and older individuals and to conduct such special informational and educational programs as he determines appropriate. (f) There is hereby established a comprehensive mid-career development service program, by which the Secretary will assist middle-aged and older workers to find employment by providing training, counseling, and special supportive services to such workers.

(g) (1) The Secretary is authorized to make loans and grants to public and private nonprofit agencies, institutions, and organizations and to individuals for training, including on-the-job, institutional, residential, and other training, designed to upgrade the work skills and capabilities of middle-aged and older persons who are at least forty-five years of age.

(2) Any grant or loan made pursuant to this subsection may be used to pay all or part of the cost of training under any such programs plus such stipends (including allowances for subsistence or other expenses) for such persons and their dependents as he may determine to be consistent with prevailing practices under comparable Federal programs.

(3) A grant or loan under this subsection shall be made on such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall prescribe and may be made only upon application to the Secretary at such time or times and containing such information as he deems necessary. The Secretary shall not approve an application unless it sets forth a program for training which meets criteria established by him, including training costs and tuition schedules.

(4) The Secretary shall pay to each applicant who has an application approved by him part or all of the cost of the program provided for in such application. (5) Individuals receiving payments under the provisions of this subsection while undergoing training shall continue to receive such payments only during such period as the Secretary finds that they are maintaining satisfactory proficiency in such training program.

(h) The Secretary shall establish and carry out specialized services for older workers who desire to improve their employability, to receive training to improve their capabilities at their present employment, or to obtain counseling in planning to maximize earning opportunities for the rest of their working lives.

(1) (1) The Comptroller General of the United States is authorized and directed to undertake a study of part-time employment in the executive branch of the Government of the United States and to make a report of his findings, together with any recommendations he considers appropriate or desirable, to the Congress on or before July 1, 1975. Such study shall include a determination of—

(A) the extent to which part-time employment exists in the executive branch:

(B) the limitations, if any, that are imposed by Federal statutes, regulations, or administrative policies or practices on such part-time employment, and the extent to which such lmiitations are justified; and

(C) the measures that may be taken to increase the number of part-time positions available in the executive branch which may be filled by older persons without resulting in the displacement of currently employed workers (including partial displacement such as a reduction in the hours of nonovertime work or wages or employment benefits).

(2) The Comptroller General is further authorized and directed to undertake a study of the feasibility of redesigning positions in the executive branch of the Government of the United States without impairing the effectiveness of efficiency of operations of any department, agency, or independent establishment, with a view to increasing the number of positions which are available to older individuals at the subprofessional level. The Comptroller General shall make a report of his findings, together with any recommendations he considers appropriate or desirable, to the Congress on or before July 1, 1974. Such study shall include a determination of—

(1) the extent to which positions can be redesigned, resulting in an increase in the number of positions in the executive branch available to older individuals;

(2) the limitations, if any imposed by Federal statutes, regulations, or administrative policies or practices on redesigning positions in the executive branch to increase the number of subprofessional positions available to older individuals and the extent to which such limitations are justified;

(3) the measures that may be taken to redesign positions so that the number of subprofessional positions available to older individuals may be increased; and

(4) the programs which would be needed to train older individuals to fill subprofessional positions created as a result of redesigning such position.

TITLE V-RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL OFFICERS

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 501. (a) To assist the Nation in expanding work opportunities and assuring access to those opportunities for all who desire it, the Secretary shall establish a comprehensive program of manpower research utilizing the methods techniques, and knowledge of the behavioral and social sciences and such other methods, techniques, and knowledge problems. This program will include, but not be limited to, studies, the findings of which may contribute to the formulation of manpower policy; development or improvement of manpower programs; increased knowledge about labor market processes; reduction of unemployment and its relationships to price stability; promotion of more effective manpower development, training, and utilization; improved national, regional, and local means of measuring future labor demand and supply; enhancement of job opportunities; upgrading of skills; meeting of manpower shortages; easing of transition from school to work, from one job to another, and from work to retirement, opportunities and services for older persons who desire to enter or reenter the labor force, and for improvements of opportunities for employment and advancement through the reduction of discrimination and disadvantage arising from poverty, ignorance, or prejudice.

(b) The Secretary shall establish a program of experimental, developmental, demonstration, and pilot projects, through grants to or contracts with public or private nonprofit organizations, or through contracts with other private organizations, for the purpose of improving techniques and demonstrating the effectiveness of specialized methods in meeting the manpower, employment, and training problems. In carrying out this subsection with respect to programs designed to provide employment and training opportunities for low-income people, the Secretary shall consult fully with the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity. In carrying out this subsection the Secretary of Labor shall, where appropriate, also consult with the Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare, Commerce, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, and such other agencies as may be appropriate. Where programs under this section require institutional training, appropriate arrangements for such training shall be agreed to by the Secetary of Labor and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

(c) The Secretary shall conduct such research and investigations as give promise of furthering the objectives of this Act either directly or through grants, contracts, or other arrangements.

LABOR MARKET INFORMATION AND COMPUTERIZED JOB BANK

SEC. 502. (a) The Secretary of Labor shall develop a comprehensive system of labor market information on a national, State, local, or other appropriate basis, including but not limited to information regarding—

(1) the nature and extent of impediments to the maximum development of individual employment potential including the number and characteristics of all persons requiring manpower services;

(2) job opportunities and skill requirements;

(3) labor supply in various skills;

(4) occupational outlook and employment trends in various occupations; and

(5) in cooperation and after consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, economic and business development and location trends.

(b) The Secretary shall develop and establish a computerized job bank program for the purpose of

(1) identifying sources of available manpower supply and job vacancies; (2) providing an expeditious means of matching the qualifications of unemployed, underemployed, and disadvantaged persons with employer requirements and job opportunities on a national, State, local, or other appropriate basis;

(3) referring and placing such persons in jobs; and

(4) distributing and assuring the prompt and ready availability of information concerning manpower needs and resources to employers, employees, public and private job placement agencies, and other interested individuals and agencies.

Maximum effective use shall be made of electronic data processing and telecommunications systems in the development and administration of the program. The program established under this part shall be coordinated with the comprehensive manpower services program established under title I.

(c) For the purpose of carrying out the program established in subsection (b), the Secretary is authorized to make grants to State or local agencies for the planning and administration of the program, including the purchase or other acquisition of necessary equipment. The Secretary may conduct the program on a regional or interstate basis either directly or through grants, contracts, or other arrangements with public or private agencies and organizations. He may also conduct the program when he finds that a State or local program will not adequately serve the purposes of this part. The Secretary may require that any information concerning manpower resources or job vacancies utilized in the operation of job-bank programs financed under this part be furnished to him at his request. He may, in addition, require the integration of any information concerning job vacancies or applicants into a job-bank system assisted under this part.

(d) To assure the effectiveness of the program provided for in this section, the Secretary shall develop an early warning system and standby capability that will assure a timely and adequate response to economic dislocations arising from changing markets, rapid technological change, plant shutdowns, or business failure.

(e) Information collected under this section shall be developed and made available in a timely fashion to meet in a comprehensive manner the needs of public and private users, including the need for such information in recruitment, counseling, education, training, placement, job development, and other appropriate activities under this Act and under the Economic Opportunity Act, the Social Security Act, the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, the Wagner-Peyser Act, the Vocational Education Act of 1963, the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966, and other relevant Federal statutes.

EVALUATION

SEC. 503. (a) The Secretary shall provide for a system of continuing evaluation of all programs and activities conducted pursuant to this Act, including their cost in relation to their effectiveness in achieving stated goals, their impact on communities and participants, their implication for related programs, the extent to which they meet the needs of persons of various ages, and the adequacy of their mechanism for the delivery of services. He shall also arrange for obtaining the opinions of participants about the strengths and weaknesses of the programs.

(b) As a part of his activities under subsection (a), the Secretary shall measure the relative and, where programs can be compared appropriately, compara

73-737-72-3

tive effectiveness of the programs authorized under the Act. The data so developed shall include information on

(1) enrollee characteristics, including age, sex, race, health, education level, and previous wage and employment experience;

(2) duration in training and employment situations, including information on the duration of employment of program participants for at least a year following the termination of participation in federally assisted programs and comparable information on other employees or trainees of participating employers; and

(3) total dollar cost per trainee, including breakdown between salary or stipend, training and supportive services and administrative costs. The Secretary shall compile such information on a State, regional, and national basis.

(c) The Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity is authorized to conduct, either directly or by way of contract, grant, or other arrangement, a thorough evaluation of all programs and activities conducted pursuant to this Act to determine the effectiveness of such programs and activities in meeting the special needs of disadvantaged, chronically unemployed, and low-income persons for meaningful employment opportunities and supportive services to continue or resume their education and employment and to become more responsible and productive citizens. The Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity shall report to the Secretary on the evaluation authorized by this subsection at least once in each calendar year.

REMOVAL OF ARTIFICIAL BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT AND ADVANCEMENT

SEC. 504. The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, shall conduct a continuing study of the extent to which artificial barriers to employment and occupation advancement, including civil service requirements and practices relating thereto, within agencies, conducting programs under this Act restrict the opportunities for employment and advancement within such agencies and shall develop and promulgate guidelines, based upon such study, setting forth recommendations for task and skill requirements for specific jobs and recommended job descriptions at all levels of employment. designed to encourage career employment and occupational advancement within such agencies.

TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

SEC. 505. In carrying out his responsibilities under this Act, the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, where appropriate, shall provide, directly or through grants, contracts, or other arrangements, preservice and inservice training for specialized. supportive, and supervisory or other personnel and technical assistance which is needed in connection with the programs established under this Act or which otherwise pertains to the purposes of this Act. Upon request, the Secretary of Labor may make special assignments of personnel to public or private agencies, institutions, or employers to carry out the purposes of this section; but no such special assignments shall be for a period of more than two years. In order to encourage the establishment and operation by low-income persons and their representatives of centers on the local level which are designed to provide comprehensive employment and related services for low-income persons who are unemployed or underemployed, the Secretary of Labor shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, wherever feasible. provide training and technical assistance by grants, contracts, or other arrangements with individuals and organizations who have demonstrated a capacity to establish and operate such programs.

EMPLOYMENT IMPACT OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

SEC. 506. The Secretary is hereby authorized to undertake studies of the contribution of Federal grants-in-aid and other Federal assistance programs to the overall employment level. Such studies may include but are not limited to collection and analysis of information on the number of positions wholly or partially supported by Federal assistance programs, their occupational structure, wage, and salary levels, projections for future growth, requirements and qualifications for entry into such positions, promotional and career development oppor

tunities, the educational, vocational, and other relevant characteristics of those who occupy such positions, and the effects of such employment on employment generally. The heads of all Federal departments and agencies administering grants-in-aid or other Federal assistance programs are hereby directed to cooperate fully with the Secretary in the conduct of such studies. They shall transmit to the Secretary annually estimates of the employment increases or decreases expected to result from the planned expansion or reduction of such programs, and as conditions warrant, on call from the Secretary, contingency plans and estimates relating to the increase in employment which would be created if such programs are expanded under conditions of persistent high unemployment and underemployment.

EMPLOYMENT OF DISADVANTAGED IN FEDERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

SEC. 507. (a) The Secretary of Labor is authorized to conduct experimental, developmental, demonstration, and pilot programs to determine the degree to which Federal assistance programs can provide increased employment opportunities for the disadvantaged. In the conduct of these programs, the Secretary is authorized to enter into agreements with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies administering grants-in-aid and other forms of Federal assistance to establish annual and multiyear goals for the employment of disadvantaged persons in employment wholly or partially supported through such Federal assistance. For the purposes of carrying out these agreements, Federal departments and agencies may provide, notwithstanding any other provision of law, that the fulfillment of such goals shall be a condition for receiving such assistance.

(b) Programs under this section shall, to the extent practicable, be designed to eliminate artificial barriers to employment and occupational advancement, including merit system requirements and practices related thereto, which restrict opportunities for the employment and advancement of disadvantaged persons. (e) Funds made available for the purpose of carrying out this section may be allocated and expended, or transferred to other Federal agencies for expenditure, as the Secretary of Labor deems necessary for carrying out the provisions hereof. (d) Activities for which funds made available under this section may be expended shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) extraordinary costs of training and supportive services necessary to improve the performance of disadvantaged persons who are employed pursuant to agreement under this section;

(2) costs of providing orientation, counseling, testing, follow-up, and other similar manpower services determined necessary to assist such individuals to achieve success in employment.

TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS IN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS

SEC. 508. The Secretary of Labor shall develop and carry out experimental and demonstration programs of training and education for persons in correctional institutions who are in need thereof to obtain employment upon release. Arrangements for such education and training shall be made after consultation with the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and with the appropriate area manpower development and training advisory committee. Programs shall be conducted through agreements with officials of Federal, State, and local correctional institutions. To the fullest extent practicable, the Secretary of Labor shall utilize the available services of other Federal departments and agencies. Programs may include vocational education; vocational rehabilitation; special job development and placement activities; prevocational, basic, and secondary education, and counseling, where appropriate; supportive and followup services and such other assistance as is deemed necessary.

TITLE VI-GENERAL PROVISIONS

AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 601. To the extent necessary to enable the Secretary to make funds available to carry out any grant or contract entered into prior to the effective date of this Act under the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962, as amended, or title I of the economic Opportunity Act of 1964, as amended, the Secretary may transfer funds from amounts allocated for newly authorized programs under this Act.