[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1901 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1901

 To create and encourage the creation of jobs for youth, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2011

Mr. Rush (for himself, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Norton, 
Mr. Ellison, Mr. Towns, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Hastings of Florida, 
 and Mr. Frank of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which 
 was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in 
 addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Natural Resources, and 
   Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To create and encourage the creation of jobs for youth, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be referred to as ``Saving America's 
Youth: the Youth Employment Act of 2011'' or ``SAY YEA''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
    TITLE I--PROGRAMS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF YOUTH AND OTHER WORKERS

Sec. 101. Definition of disconnected youth.
Sec. 102. New programs for employment of disconnected youth and other 
                            workers.
Sec. 103. National public service employment program.
Sec. 104. Authorization of appropriations.
 TITLE II--TAX INCENTIVES FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF YOUTH AND OTHER WORKERS

Sec. 201. Extension of work opportunity tax credit.
Sec. 202. Expansion of eligibility for work opportunity tax credit.
Sec. 203. Extension of empowerment zone designations.
Sec. 204. Disconnected youth employment credit.
 TITLE III--PREFERENCE FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN FEDERAL JOBS AND IN THE 
                    PERFORMANCE OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS

Sec. 301. Preference for hiring youth park and forestry workers.
Sec. 302. Preference for Federal contracts with employers offering 
                            youth apprenticeships.

    TITLE I--PROGRAMS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF YOUTH AND OTHER WORKERS

SEC. 101. DEFINITION OF DISCONNECTED YOUTH.

    Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
U.S.C. 2911 et seq.) is amended by inserting before section 166 the 
following new section:

``SEC. 165. DEFINITION OF DISCONNECTED YOUTH.

    ``For purposes of this subtitle, the term `disconnected youth' has 
the meaning given such term by section 51(d)(14)(B)(ii) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, except that subclause (I) of such section shall 
be applied by substituting `22' for `25'.''.

SEC. 102. NEW PROGRAMS FOR EMPLOYMENT OF DISCONNECTED YOUTH AND OTHER 
              WORKERS.

    Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
U.S.C. 2911 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 173A the 
following new sections:

``SEC. 173B. SUMMER JOBS FOR DISCONNECTED YOUTH.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall allot to States the amount 
appropriated under section 174(d) for the implementation of programs to 
create summer employment opportunities for disconnected youth.
    ``(b) Allotment.--An allotment under this section shall be made on 
the basis of the relative number of individuals who satisfy the 
certification criteria for disconnected youth in each State, compared 
to the total number of such individuals in all States.

``SEC. 173C. STATE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program to award 
grants to States to carry out an employment program to which the 
following requirements apply:
            ``(1) Payments to employers.--The State shall make payments 
        to eligible employers for the partial reimbursement of wages 
        paid by such employers to each employee hired or rehired under 
        paragraph (2)(A).
            ``(2) Eligibility for payments.--An employer shall be 
        eligible for payments under the employment program if--
                    ``(A) the employer hires a new employee, or rehires 
                a former employee, after the date of enactment of this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) the employer is a small business concern (as 
                defined in section 3(a)(1) of the Small Business Act 
                (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(1))) or a medium-sized business 
                concern.
            ``(3) Priority for payments.--The State shall give priority 
        for payments under paragraph (1) to an eligible employer if the 
        employee hired or rehired under paragraph (2)(A) is a 
        disconnected youth.
    ``(b) Maximum Grant.--A grant awarded to a State under subsection 
(a) shall not exceed $100,000,000.

``SEC. 173D. ON-THE-JOB TRAINING FOR DISCONNECTED YOUTH.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall, in accordance with 
subsection (c), make allotments and grants to States to carry out 
eligible on-the-job training programs for disconnected youth.
    ``(b) Eligible On-the-Job Training Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, an 
        eligible on-the-job training program is an on-the-job training 
        program under which an employer is eligible to receive, for 
        each disconnected youth who is employed and is provided on-the-
        job training by the employer on or after the date of enactment 
        of this section, a payment of--
                    ``(A) 25 percent of the total amount in paragraph 
                (2), after the disconnected youth has been continuously 
                employed by the employer for a period of 30 days; and
                    ``(B) 75 percent of the total amount in paragraph 
                (2), after the disconnected youth has been continuously 
                employed by the employer for a period of 6 months.
            ``(2) Limitation.--The total amount an employer receives 
        for each disconnected youth under a program for on-the-job 
        training shall not exceed $4,000.
            ``(3) Covered employers.--Under an eligible on-the-job 
        training program, an employer that receives a payment under 
        paragraph (1) may include--
                    ``(A) a faith-based organization;
                    ``(B) a public sector organization; or
                    ``(C) a private employer.
    ``(c) Allotments and Grants for Programs for On-the-Job Training.--
            ``(1) Allotment among states.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In making allotments and grants 
                to States under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
                apply rules similar to the rules of subparagraphs (B) 
                and (C) of section 127(b)(1), except that--
                            ``(i) references in such subparagraphs (B) 
                        and (C) to youth activities and statewide 
                        enforcement activities shall be treated as 
                        references to eligible programs for on-the-job 
                        training; and
                            ``(ii) references in such subparagraph (C) 
                        to disadvantaged youth shall be treated as 
                        references to individuals who satisfy the 
                        certification criteria for disconnected youth.
                    ``(B) Reallotment of unused amounts.--Allotments 
                and grants made to States under subsection (a) may be 
                reallotted. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 
                rules similar to the rules of subsection (c) of section 
                127 shall apply, except that references in paragraph 
                (1) of such subsection--
                            ``(i) to such section, shall be treated as 
                        references to subsection (a) of this section; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) to youth activities and statewide 
                        enforcement activities, shall be treated as 
                        references to eligible programs for on-the-job 
                        training.
            ``(2) Within state allocation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Allotments and grants made to 
                States under subsection (a) shall be allocated by the 
                States to local areas to carry out programs for on-the-
                job training. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 
                rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
                section 128(b) shall apply, except that references in 
                such paragraphs to disadvantaged youth shall be 
                considered to be references to individuals who satisfy 
                the certification criteria for disconnected youth.
                    ``(B) Reallocation of unused amounts.--States may 
                reallocate allotments and grants allocated under 
                subparagraph (A). For purposes of the preceding 
                sentence, rules similar to the rules of section 128(c) 
                shall apply, except that--
                            ``(i) references to paragraphs (2)(A) or 
                        (3) of section 128(b) shall be treated as 
                        references to subparagraph (A) of this 
                        paragraph; and
                            ``(ii) references to youth activities shall 
                        be treated as references to eligible programs 
                        for on-the-job training.''.

SEC. 103. NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM.

    Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
U.S.C. 2911 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 173D (as 
added by section 102 of this Act) the following new section:

``SEC. 173E. NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The President shall establish a public service 
employment program to employ individuals to carry out works of a public 
nature in connection with--
            ``(1) parks;
            ``(2) roads; and
            ``(3) education, including--
                    ``(A) schools; and
                    ``(B) after-school programs.
    ``(b) Priority.--Priority for jobs under this section shall be 
given to--
            ``(1) disconnected youth;
            ``(2) low-income individuals; and
            ``(3) the long-term unemployed.
    ``(c) Operation.--To operate the program established under 
subsection (a), the President may utilize existing Federal departments 
and agencies, including the Department of Labor, the Department of 
Defense, the National Guard Bureau, the Department of Interior, the 
Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department 
of Transportation, the Department of Energy, the Environmental 
Protection Agency, and Federal governmental corporations.''.

SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 174 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
2919) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(d) Summer Jobs for Disconnected Youth.--There is authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary, in addition to any other amount 
authorized to be appropriated by this Act, $2,000,000,000 to carry out 
section 173B.
    ``(e) State Employment Programs.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary, in addition to any other amount 
authorized to be appropriated by this Act, $1,000,000,000 to carry out 
section 173C.
    ``(f) On-the-Job Training for Disconnected Youth.--There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, in addition to any 
other amount authorized to be appropriated by this Act, $500,000,000 to 
carry out section 173D.
    ``(g) National Public Service Employment Program.--There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the President $3,000,000,000 to carry 
out section 173E.''.

 TITLE II--TAX INCENTIVES FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF YOUTH AND OTHER WORKERS

SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT.

    Subparagraph (B) of section 51(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 is amended by striking ``December 31, 2011'' and inserting 
``December 31, 2016''.

SEC. 202. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT.

    (a) Disconnected Youth and Veterans Hired After 2010.--Paragraph 
(14) of section 51(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) in the header by striking ``hired in 2009 or 2010''; 
        and
            (2) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``during 2009 or 2010'' 
        and inserting ``after December 31, 2008''.
    (b) Qualified Title I-B Youth Services Recipients.--
            (1) Member of targeted group.--Paragraph (1) of section 
        51(d) of such Code is amended by striking ``or'' at the end of 
        subparagraph (H), by striking the period and adding ``, or'' at 
        the end of subparagraph (I), and by adding at the end the 
        following new subparagraph:
                    ``(J) a qualified Title I-B youth services 
                recipient.''.
            (2) Qualified title i-b youth services recipient defined.--
        Subsection (d) of section 51 of such Code is amended by adding 
        at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(15) Qualified title i-b youth services recipient.--The 
        term `qualified Title I-B youth services recipient' means any 
        individual who is a participant (as defined in section 101(34) 
        of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801(34))) 
        who is receiving services under chapter 4 of subtitle B of 
        title I of such Act.''.
    (c) Qualified Ex-Offenders.--Subsection (d) of section 51 of such 
Code is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) by striking 
        ``qualified ex-felon'' and inserting ``qualified ex-offender''; 
        and
            (2) by amending paragraph (4) to read as follows:
            ``(4) Qualified ex-offender.--The term `qualified ex-
        offender' means any individual who is certified by the 
        designated local agency as having been convicted of a felony or 
        a misdemeanor under any statute of the United States or any 
        State, and--
                    ``(A) as having a hiring date which is not more 
                than 3 years after the last date on which such 
                individual was so convicted or was released from 
                prison,
                    ``(B) as being on parole or on probation for such 
                conviction, or
                    ``(C) as receiving transitional services for 
                reintegration into the community after being released 
                from prison.''.
    (d) Increase in Allowable Wage Bases.--Section 51 of such Code is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3) of subsection (b) by striking ``$6,000 
        per year ($12,000 per year'' and inserting ``$12,000 per year 
        ($24,000 per year'';
            (2) in clause (ii) of subsection (d)(7)(B) by striking 
        ``substituting `$3,000' for `$6,000''' and inserting 
        ``substituting `$6,000' for `$12,000''';
            (3) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) by 
                striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$20,000'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) by 
                striking ``substituting `$10,000' for `$6,000''' and 
                inserting ``substituting `$20,000' for `$12,000'''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) by 
                striking ``substituting `$833.33' for `$500''' and 
                inserting ``substituting `1,666.66' for `$1,000'''; and
            (4) in paragraph (1) of subsection (h)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``$6,000'' and 
                inserting ``$12,000''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``$500'' and 
                inserting ``$1,000''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to individuals who begin work for an employer after 
the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 203. EXTENSION OF EMPOWERMENT ZONE DESIGNATIONS.

    (a) Extension of Empowerment Zone Designations.--Subparagraph (A) 
of section 1391(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 
to read as follows:
                    ``(A) in the case of an enterprise community, the 
                close of the 10th calendar year beginning on or after 
                such date of designation,''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect as if included in the amendments made by section 753 of the 
Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation 
Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-312).

SEC. 204. DISCONNECTED YOUTH EMPLOYMENT CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section:

``SEC. 45S. DISCONNECTED YOUTH EMPLOYMENT CREDIT.

    ``(a) Amount of Credit.--For purposes of section 38, the amount of 
the disconnected youth employment credit determined under this section 
with respect to any employer for any taxable year is an amount equal to 
the lesser of--
            ``(1) the wages (as defined in subsection (c) of section 
        51) paid or incurred by an employer for services performed by 
        an employee while such employee is a qualified employee, and
            ``(2) $3,000.
    ``(b) Qualified Employee.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`qualified employee' means an any employee of an employer if the 
employee--
            ``(1) is a disconnected youth (as defined in clause (ii) of 
        section 51(d)(14)(B), except that subclause (I) of such clause 
        shall be applied by substituting `22' for `25'), and
            ``(2) begins work for the employer after the date of 
        enactment of this section.
    ``(c) Termination.--This section shall not apply to taxable years 
beginning after December 31, 2013.''.
    (b) Inclusion in Current Year Business Credit.--Section 38(b) of 
such Code is amended by striking ``plus'' and inserting a comma at the 
end of paragraph (35), by striking the period and inserting ``, plus'' 
at the end of paragraph (36), and by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
            ``(37) the disconnected youth employment credit determined 
        under section 45S.''.
    (c) Table of Sections.--The table of sections for subpart D of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 45Q the following new item:

``Sec. 45S. Disconnected youth employment credit.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2011.

 TITLE III--PREFERENCE FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN FEDERAL JOBS AND IN THE 
                    PERFORMANCE OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS

SEC. 301. PREFERENCE FOR HIRING YOUTH PARK AND FORESTRY WORKERS.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall give preference to individuals 
that have attained age 16 but not age 22 for jobs that provide services 
that are determined by the Secretary to be integral to the operations 
of Federal public lands and parks.

SEC. 302. PREFERENCE FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTS WITH EMPLOYERS OFFERING 
              YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding title III of the Federal Property 
and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.), in 
evaluating a bid or proposal for a contract for the procurement of 
goods or services, a contracting officer of an executive agency may 
give preference to an employer for a contract for the procurement of 
goods or services by the Federal Government if the head of the 
executive agency determines that--
            (1) the employer will employ, in a program of 
        apprenticeship and in the performance of the contract, 
        individuals who--
                    (A) are disconnected youth (as defined in section 
                51(d)(14)(B)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
                except that subclause (I) of such section shall be 
                applied by substituting ``22'' for ``25'') on the date 
                on which the contract is entered into; and
                    (B) are domiciled in communities with high 
                unemployment; and
            (2) the funds made available for such contract are 
        appropriated for fiscal year 2012 under the authority of a law 
        enacted to create jobs in the area of--
                    (A) infrastructure;
                    (B) transportation; or
                    (C) green energy.
    (b) Minimum Requirement.--At least 5 percent of the total amount of 
funds appropriated under the authority of a law described under 
subsection (a)(2) shall be reserved for contracts with respect to which 
employers are given preference under subsection (a).
                                 <all>