§8696 Navy shipbuilding workforce development special incentive

Summary

The Secretary of the Navy must include a special workforce development incentive in solicitations for any covered contract. The incentive must equal at least one quarter of one percent and no more than one percent of the contract’s estimated cost. The Secretary can waive the requirement if it would cause unreasonable cost or delay, if current programs already meet needs, if there are only minor workforce issues, or if it would harm national security. At least 30 days before issuing a waiver, the Secretary must notify the congressional defense committees in writing and explain why. The Navy may spend the incentive money only after its service acquisition executive gets written commitments from one or more contributors (such as the prime contractor, a qualified subcontractor, state, county or local governments or entities, or industry groups) for specific monetary contributions. Spending is limited to the total of those contributions, up to the incentive amount, and if contributions are below the minimum, the Navy may use the smaller amount. The funds may only pay for seven types of workforce development activities, including housing and transport to attract workers, expanding local training pipelines, middle- and high-school technical outreach, training facilities, direct workforce-development costs, attraction/retention bonuses, and on-the-job manufacturing training. The Navy’s service acquisition executive must approve final use of the funds and, within 30 days of approval, certify to the congressional defense committees that the rules were followed and explain the benefits to the Federal Government and the Navy’s shipbuilding industrial base. Definitions: "covered contract" = a prime contract to build a naval vessel paid from Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy. "Qualified subcontractor" = a subcontractor that will deliver the vessel(s) under a covered contract.