TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

SEC. 455. (a) The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate officials, shall provide directly or through grants, contracts, or other arrangements, appropriate preservice and inservice training for specialized, supportive, supervisory, or other personnel, including job skills teachers, and appropriate technical assistance (including technical assistance to training programs for housing for migrant and seasonal farmworkers) with respect to programs under this Act including the development and attainment of performance goals. Such activities may include the utilization of training and technical assistance capabilities which exist at the State and service delivery area level.

(b) The Secretary shall establish a national clearinghouse to disseminate materials and information gained from exemplary program experience which may be of use in the innovation or improvement of other programs conducted pursuant to this Act.

PART E-LABOR MARKET INFORMATION

LABOR MARKET INFORMATION; AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

SEC. 461. (a) The Secretary shall set aside, out of sums available to the Department for any fiscal year including sums available for this title, such sums as may be necessary to maintain a comprehensive system of labor market information on a national, regional, State, local, or other appropriate basis, which shall be made publicly available in a timely fashion.

(b) Funds available for purposes of this part shall also be available for purposes of section 125 (relating to State labor market information).

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds available to other Federal agencies for carrying out chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, the Vocational Education Act of 1963, and the Act of June 6, 1933 (popularly known as the Wagner-Peyser Act), may be made available by the head of each such agency to assist in carrying out the provisions of this part.

COOPERATIVE LABOR MARKET INFORMATION PROGRAM

SEC. 462. (a) The Secretary shall develop and maintain for the Nation, State, and local areas, current employment data by occupation and industry, based on the occupational employment statistics program, including selected sample surveys, and projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of employment and openings by occupation. (b) The Secretary shall maintain descriptions of job duties, training and education requirements, working conditions, and characteristics of occupations.

(c) In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Secretary shall assure that

(1) departmental data collecting and processing systems are consolidated to eliminate overlap and duplication;

(2) the criteria of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, are met; and

(3) standards of statistical reliability and national standardized definitions of employment, unemployment, and industrial and occupational definitions are used.

(d) (1) The Secretary is authorized to develop data for an annual statistical measure of labor market related economic hardship in the Nation. Among the factors to be considered in developing such a measure are unemployment, labor force participation, involuntary part-time employment, and full-time employment at wages less than the poverty level.

(2) The Secretary is authorized to develop and maintain, on national, State, local, and other appropriate bases, household budget data at different levels of living, including a level of adequacy, to reflect the differences of household living costs in regions and localities, both urban and rural.

(3) The Secretary shall publish, at least annually, a report relating labor force status to earnings and income.

(e) The Secretary shall develop and maintain statistical data relating to permanent lay-offs and plant closings. The Secretary shall publish a report based upon such data, as soon as practicable, after the end of each calendar year. Among the data to be included are(1) the number of such closings;

(2) the number of workers displaced;

(3) the location of the affected facilities; and
(4) the types of industries involved.

SPECIAL FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

SEC. 463. (a) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Education, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, through the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee established under section 161 (b) of the Vocational Education Act of 1963, shall—

(1) review the need for and the application of all operating national data collection and processing systems related to labor market information in order to identify gaps, overlap, and duplications, and integrate at the national level currently available data sources in order to improve the management of information systems;

(2) maintain, assure timely review, and implement national standardized definitions with respect to terms, geographic areas, timing of collection, and coding measures related to labor market information, to the maximum extent feasible; and

(3) provide technical assistance to the States in the development, maintenance, and utilization of labor market/occupational supply and demand information systems and projections of supply and demand as described in section 125, with special emphasis on assistance in the utilization of cost-efficient automated systems and improving access of individuals to career opportunities information in local and State labor markets.

(b) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense, shall assure the development of an integrated occupational supply

and demand information system to be used by States and, in particular, in secondary and postsecondary educational institutions in order to assure young persons adequate information on career opportunities in the Armed Forces.

(c) The Secretary and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall assure that, from the funds reserved for this part, sufficient funds are available to provide staff at the Federal level to assure the coordination functions described in this section.

NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE

SEC. 464. (a) (1) Of the amounts available for this part for each fiscal year, not more than $5,000,000 is authorized to be reserved for the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (established pursuant to section 161(b) of the Vocational Education Act of 1963).

(2) In addition to the members required by such Act, the Committee shall include the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics.

(3) Not less than 75 percent of the funds transferred by the Secretary to the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee shall be used to support State occupational information coordinating committees and other organizational units designated under section 125 for carrying out State labor market information programs. (b) In addition to its responsibilities under the Vocational Education Act of 1963, the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee shall

(1) carry out the provisions of section 463;

(2) give special attention to the labor market information needs of youth and adults, including activities such as (A) assisting and encouraging States to adopt methods of translating national occupational outlook information into State and local terms; (B) assisting and encouraging the development of State occupational information systems, including career information delivery systems and the provision of technical assistance for programs of on-line computer systems and other facilities to provide career information at sites such as local schools, public employment service offices, and job training programs authorized under this Act; (C) in cooperation with educational agencies and institutions, encouraging programs providing career information, counseling, and employment services for postsecondary youth; and (D) in cooperation with State and local correctional agencies, encouraging programs of counseling and employment services for youth and adults in correctional institutions;

(3) provide training and technical assistance, and continuing support to State occupational information coordinating committees, in the development, maintenance, and use of occupational supply and demand information systems, with special emphasis on the use of cost efficient automated systems for delivering occupational information to planners and administrators of education and training programs and on improving the access of such planners and administrators to occupational information systems;

(4) publish at least annually a report on the status of occupational information capabilities at the State and national levels, which may include recommendations for improvement of occupational information production and dissemination capabilities; (5) conduct research and demonstration projects designed to improve any aspect of occupational and career information systems;

(6) provide technical assistance for programs designed to encourage public and private employers to list all available job opportunities with occupational information and career counseling programs conducted by administrative entities and with local public employment service offices and to encourage cooperation and contact among such employers and such administrative entities and public employment service offices; and

(7) provide assistance to units of general local government and private industry councils to familiarize them with labor market information resources available to meet their needs.

(c) All funds available to the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee under this Act, under section 161 of the Vocational Education Act of 1963, and under section 12 of the Career Education Act may be used by the Committee to carry out any of its functions and responsibilities authorized by law.

JOB BANK PROGRAM

SEC. 465. The Secretary is authorized to establish and carry out a nationwide computerized job bank and matching program (including the listing of all suitable employment openings with local offices of the State employment service agencies by Federal contractors and subcontractors and providing for the affirmative action as required by section 2012 (a) of title 38, United States Code, on a regional, State, and local basis, using electronic data processing and telecommunications systems to the maximum extent possible for the purpose of identifying sources of available individuals and job vacancies, providing an expeditious means of matching the qualifications of unemployed, underemployed, and economically disadvantaged individuals with employer requirements and job opportunities, and referring and placing such individuals in jobs. An occupational information file may be developed, containing occupational projections of the numbers and types of jobs on regional, State, local, and other appropriate bases, as well as labor supply information by occupation.

PART F-NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT POLICY

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

SEC. 471. The purpose of this part is to establish a National Commission for Employment Policy which shall have the responsibility for examining broad issues of development, coordination, and administration of employment and training programs, and for advising the President and the Congress on national employment and training issues. For the purpose of providing funds for the Commission, the Secretary shall reserve $2,000,000 of the sums appropriated for this title for each fiscal year.

COMMISSION ESTABLISHED

SEC. 472. (a) There is established a National Commission for Employment Policy (hereinafter in this part referred to as the "Commission"). The Commission shall be composed of 15 members, appointed by the President. The members of the Commission shall be individuals who are nationally prominent and the Commission shall be broadly representative of agriculture, business, labor, commerce, education (including elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and vocational and technical education), veterans, current State and local elected officials, community-based organizations, assistance programs, and members of the general public with expertise in human resource development or employment and training policy. One of the members shall be a representative of the National Advisory Council on Vocational Education (established under section 162 of the Vocational Education Act of 1963). The membership of the Commission shall be generally representative of significant segments of the labor force, including women and minority groups.

(b) The term of office of each member of the Commission appointed by the President under subsection (a) shall be three years, except that

(1) any such member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder of the term for which his predecessor was appointed, and

(2) of such members first taking office

(A) five shall serve for terms of one year;

(B) five shall serve for terms of two years; and

(C) five shall serve for terms of three years;

as designated by the President at the time of appointment. (c) (1) The Chairman shall be selected by the President.

(2) The Commission shall meet not fewer than three times each year at the call of the Chairman.

(3) A majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may conduct hearings. Any recommendation may be passed only by a majority of the members present. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers but shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.

(d) The Chairman (with the concurrence of the Commission) shall appoint a Director, who shall be chief executive officer of the Commission and shall perform such duties as are prescribed by the Chairman.

FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

SEC. 473. The Commission shall

(1) identify the employment goals and needs of the Nation, and assess the extent to which employment and training, vocational education, institutional training, vocational rehabilitation, economic opportunity programs, public assistance policies, employment-related tax policies, labor exchange policies, and other policies and programs under this Act and related Acts represent a consistent, integrated, and coordinated approach to meeting such needs and achieving such goals;