[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3112 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3112
To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish a national
emergency grant program to respond to the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 12, 2001
Mr. Boehner (for himself, Mr. McKeon, and Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish a national
emergency grant program to respond to the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Back to Work Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANTS TO RESPOND TO THE TERRORIST ATTACKS
OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.
(a) In General.--Section 173(a) of the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2918(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) to the Governor of any State who applies for
assistance under subsection (f) to provide employment and
training assistance to workers affected by major economic
dislocations, such as plant closures, mass layoffs, or multiple
layoffs, caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001.''.
(b) Requirements.--Section 173 of the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2918) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Relief for Dislocations Caused by the Terrorist Attacks of
September 11, 2001.--
``(1) Grant recipient eligibility.--To be eligible to
receive a grant under subsection (a)(4), a Governor shall
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require. Such application shall contain a certification by the
Governor that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
contributed importantly to plant closures, mass layoffs of
workers, multiple layoffs of workers, or other major economic
dislocations in the State.
``(2) State administration.--The Governor may designate one
or more local workforce investment boards or other entities
with the capability to respond to the circumstances relating to
the particular closure, layoff, or other dislocation to
administer the grant under subsection (a)(4).
``(3) Participant eligibility.--
``(A) In general.--An individual shall be eligible
to receive assistance described in subparagraph (B)
under a grant awarded under subsection (a)(4) if such
individual is a dislocated worker and the Governor has
certified that the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, contributed importantly to the dislocation.
``(B) Types of assistance.--Assistance described in
this subparagraph is--
``(i) employment and training assistance,
including employment and training activities
described in section 134; and
``(ii) temporary health care coverage
assistance described in paragraph (4).
``(4) Temporary health care coverage assistance.--
``(A) In general.--Temporary health care coverage
assistance described in this paragraph consists of
health care coverage premium assistance provided to
qualified individuals under this paragraph.
``(B) Qualified individuals.--For purposes of this
paragraph, a qualified individual is an individual
who--
``(i) is a dislocated worker referred to in
paragraph (3)(A) with respect to whom the
Governor has made the certification regarding
the dislocation as required under such
paragraph, and
``(ii) has enrolled in a program for health
care coverage premium assistance established by
the Governor for purposes of this paragraph.
``(C) Provision of assistance.--Health care
coverage premium assistance provided under the program
established by the Governor for purposes of this
paragraph--
``(i) shall be not in excess of 75 percent
of the full amount of the premium for the
health care coverage,
``(ii) shall be provided with respect to
not more than the first 10 months of the period
of dislocation of the qualified individual, and
``(iii) shall be credited against the
premium otherwise owed with respect to the
qualified individual.
``(D) Limitation on entitlement.--Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed as establishing any
entitlement of qualified individuals to premium
assistance under this subsection.
``(E) Definitions.--For purposes of this
paragraph--
``(i) Health care coverage.--The term
`health care coverage' means health insurance
coverage other than coverage under--
``(I) title XVIII of the Social
Security Act,
``(II) title XIX of the Social
Security Act (other than section 1928),
``(III) title XXI of the Social
Security Act,
``(IV) chapter 55 of title 10,
United States Code,
``(V) chapter 17 of title 38,
United States Code,
``(VI) chapter 89 of title 5,
United States Code (other than coverage
which is comparable to continuation
coverage under section 4980B of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986), or
``(VII) the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act.
Such term also does not include coverage under
a qualified long-term care insurance contract
and health insurance coverage in the individual
market.
``(ii) Premium.--The term `premium' means,
in connection with health care coverage, the
premium which would (but for this section) be
charged for the cost of coverage.
``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 for
the award of grants under subsection (a)(4) in
accordance with this subsection.
``(B) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant
to the authorization of appropriations under
subparagraph (A)--
``(i) are in addition to amounts made
available under section 132(a)(2)(A) or any
other provision of law to carry out this
section; and
``(ii) are authorized to remain available
until 18 months after the date of the enactment
of this subsection.''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS TO PROMOTE SERVICES UNDER THE WORKFORCE
INVESTMENT ACT OF 1998.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) In the wake of the terrorist attacks against the United
States on September 11, 2001, many workers and their families
are dealing with job loss and other effects of an economic
slowdown.
(2) The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 was enacted to
create the Nation's coordinated workforce development system,
under which assistance is provided for workers who have been
laid off, including job training assistance.
(3) The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides services
such as--
(A) one-stop career centers, which provide
integrated resources for job seekers and businesses,
including job search, job placement services and job
referrals to employers;
(B) individual training accounts, which are job
training vouchers established by local areas and given
to individuals to allow them to choose where they would
like to receive their job training; and
(C) rapid response services, under which States
establish on-site offices at affected businesses to
make immediate contact with employees and employers to
provide assistance in the areas of job search and
training activities.
(4) The Nation's workforce development system is designed
to help individual dislocated workers and provide rapid
response services in times of mass layoffs or dislocations.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Secretary of Labor should continue efforts to encourage Americans to
take advantage of existing services under the Workforce Investment Act
of 1998 in order to assist workers during these times of unemployment.
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