[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3355 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3355

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a grant 
   program to assist veterans find employment, to make permanent and 
   modify the work opportunity tax credit with respect to unemployed 
                   veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 3, 2011

Mr. Lujan (for himself and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition 
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 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 direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a grant 
   program to assist veterans find employment, to make permanent and 
   modify the work opportunity tax credit with respect to unemployed 
                   veterans, 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 ``Heroes Hiring Heroes Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. VETERAN EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Subject to the availability of appropriations 
for such purpose, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a 
program to award grants to States to assist the employment of veterans.
    (b) Eligibility.--The Secretary may award a grant under this 
section to a State that--
            (1) is carrying out a program to assist the employment of 
        veterans; or
            (2) was carrying out such a program but does not have 
        sufficient funding to continue the program.
    (c) Use of Grant.--A State may use a grant awarded under this 
section to provide veterans with--
            (1) quarterly job fairs or other similar forums in which 
        the State assists veterans in meeting potential employers;
            (2) employment resources on an Internet Web site, including 
        through maintaining or establishing a Web site containing job 
        listings, a resume bank, or employment advice or other 
        information;
            (3) in-person employment assistance, including resume-
        building and job-placement services;
            (4) workshops or seminars that cover business or office 
        conduct, the job interview process, how to apply for a job, and 
        other similar information; and
            (5) training of technology skills, including training with 
        respect to the Internet and widely used word-processing, 
        spreadsheet, and presentation software.
    (d) Number and Amount of Grants.--
            (1) Number.--The Secretary may award more than one grant 
        under this section to a State.
            (2) Amount.--A grant awarded under this section may not 
        exceed $100,000.
    (e) Application.--To be eligible for a grant under this section, a 
State shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
require.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section a total of 
$5,000,000.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT FOR 
              CERTAIN VETERANS.

    (a) Temporary Extension and Increase.--Subparagraph (A) of section 
51(d)(14) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) by striking ``unemployed veteran or'',
            (2) by inserting ``, or any unemployed veteran who begins 
        work for the employer after December 31, 2011, and before 
        January 1, 2017,'' after ``or 2010'', and
            (3) by inserting before the period at the end the 
        following: ``, and subsection (b)(3) shall be applied with 
        respect to any such unemployed veteran by substituting 
        `$14,000' for `$6,000'''.
    (b) Permanent Rule for Veteran-Owned Business.--Paragraph (14) of 
section 51(d) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Special rule for veteran-owned employer.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of an 
                        unemployed veteran who begins work for a 
                        veteran-owned employer after December 31, 2016, 
                        and was hired through a State job fair or forum 
                        described in section 2(c)(1) of the Heroes 
                        Hiring Heroes Act of 2011--
                                    ``(I) such unemployed veteran shall 
                                be treated as a member of a targeted 
                                group for purposes of this subpart, and
                                    ``(II) subsection (a) shall be 
                                applied by increasing by 20 percent the 
                                percentage applicable to the qualified 
                                first-year wages of such employee.
                            ``(ii) Veteran-owned employer.--The term 
                        `veteran-owned employer' means any employer who 
                        is a person listed in the database maintained 
                        by the Secretary of Defense under section 
                        8127(f) of title 38, United States Code, as a 
                        small business concern which is owned and 
                        controlled by veterans.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (4) of section 51(c) of such 
Code is amended by adding at the end the following new flush sentence:
``The preceding sentence shall not apply to wages paid or incurred to 
an unemployed veteran.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to individuals who begin work for the employer after December 31, 
2011.
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