[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2731 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2731

     To amend title III of the Social Security Act to provide for 
    demonstration projects designed to expedite the reemployment of 
                          unemployed workers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2011

   Mr. Berg introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title III of the Social Security Act to provide for 
    demonstration projects designed to expedite the reemployment of 
                          unemployed workers.

    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 ``Helping Innovation of Re-Employment 
Services in States Act'' or the ``HIRES Act''.

SEC. 2. STATE FLEXIBILITY TO PROMOTE THE REEMPLOYMENT OF UNEMPLOYED 
              WORKERS.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
501 and following) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                        ``demonstration projects

    ``Sec. 305.  (a) The Secretary of Labor may enter into agreements, 
with States submitting an application described in subsection (b), for 
the purpose of allowing such States to conduct demonstration projects 
to test and evaluate measures designed--
            ``(1) to expedite the reemployment of individuals who 
        establish initial eligibility for unemployment compensation 
        under the State law of such State; or
            ``(2) to improve the effectiveness of a State in carrying 
        out its State law with respect to reemployment.
    ``(b) The Governor of any State desiring to conduct a demonstration 
project under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
of Labor. Any such application shall, at a minimum, include--
            ``(1) a general description of the proposed demonstration 
        project, including the authority (under the laws of the State) 
        for the measures to be tested, as well as the period of time 
        during which such demonstration project would be conducted;
            ``(2) if a waiver under subsection (c) is requested, the 
        specific aspects of the project to which the waiver would apply 
        and the reasons why such waiver is needed;
            ``(3) a description of the goals and the expected 
        programmatic outcomes of the demonstration project, including 
        how the project would contribute to the objective described in 
        subsection (a)(1), subsection (a)(2), or both;
            ``(4) assurances (accompanied by supporting analysis) that 
        the demonstration project would not result in any increased net 
        costs to the State's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund;
            ``(5) a description of the manner in which the State--
                    ``(A) will conduct an impact evaluation, using a 
                control or comparison group or other valid methodology, 
                of the demonstration project; and
                    ``(B) will determine the extent to which the goals 
                and outcomes described in paragraph (3) were achieved; 
                and
            ``(6) assurances that the State will provide any reports 
        relating to the demonstration project, after its approval, as 
        the Secretary of Labor may require.
    ``(c) The Secretary of Labor may waive any of the requirements of 
section 3304(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or of paragraph 
(1) or (5) of section 303(a), to the extent and for the period the 
Secretary of Labor considers necessary to enable the State to carry out 
a demonstration project under this section.
    ``(d) A demonstration project under this section--
            ``(1) may be commenced any time after the date of the 
        enactment of this section; and
            ``(2) may not be approved for a period of time greater than 
        3 years, subject to extension upon request of the Governor of 
        the State involved for such additional period as the Secretary 
        of Labor may agree to, except that in no event may a 
        demonstration project under this section be conducted after the 
        end of the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment 
        of this section.
    ``(e) The Secretary of Labor shall, in the case of any State for 
which an application is submitted under subsection (b)--
            ``(1) notify the State as to whether such application has 
        been approved or denied within 30 days after receipt of a 
        complete application; and
            ``(2) provide public notice of the decision within 10 days 
        after providing notification to the State in accordance with 
        paragraph (1).
Public notice under paragraph (2) may be provided through the Internet 
or other appropriate means. Any application under this section that has 
not been denied within such 30 days shall be deemed approved.
    ``(f) The Secretary of Labor may terminate a demonstration project 
under this section if the Secretary makes a final determination that 
the State has violated the substantive terms or conditions of the 
project.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to weeks beginning after September 30, 2011.
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