[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3748 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3748

  To establish a grant program for stipends to assist in the cost of 
compensation paid by employers to certain recent college graduates and 
to provide funding for their further education in subjects relating to 
           mathematics, science, engineering, and technology.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 20, 2011

Ms. Richardson (for herself, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, and Mr. Johnson 
 of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a grant program for stipends to assist in the cost of 
compensation paid by employers to certain recent college graduates and 
to provide funding for their further education in subjects relating to 
           mathematics, science, engineering, and technology.

    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 ``America Realizing the Informational 
Skills and Initiative of New Graduates Act of 2011'' or ``America 
RISING Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the 
        third quarter of 2009 the national unemployment rate for 
        persons graduating from college in 2008 was 10.6 percent, which 
        is more than twice the national rate for college graduates aged 
        25 years and older. Because the typical college graduate leaves 
        college owing an average of $23,200 in student loan debt, the 
        current job market offers exceedingly few opportunities for 
        college graduates to obtain employment at a salary adequate to 
        service their student loan debt or personal financial 
        obligations.
            (2) There are more than 26 million small businesses in the 
        United States. In the current economic climate, these small 
        businesses are experiencing difficulty in finding the resources 
        needed to increase sales, modernize operations, and hire new 
        employees.
            (3) Recent college graduates need the experience that can 
        be obtained only in the workplace to refine their skills and 
        develop the entrepreneurial qualities that can lead to the 
        creation of new businesses and jobs.
            (4) Existing small businesses, and companies will benefit 
        from the information and technology skills possessed by many of 
        the Nation's recent college graduates.
            (5) Enabling recent college graduates to obtain employment 
        with small businesses benefits the national economy by 
        providing such businesses the human capital and technical 
        expertise needed to compete and win in the global economy of 
        the 21st century.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF AMERICA RISING PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Labor shall establish a 
program under which--
            (1) grants are to paid to eligible employers to defray the 
        cost of compensation paid by such employers to recent college 
        graduates; and
            (2) grants are paid to recent college graduates to enable 
        such individuals to defray the cost of undertaking further 
        education for up to 24 months in subjects relating to 
        mathematics, science, engineering, or technology.
    (b) Terms and Conditions.--A grant under this section may be made 
on such terms and conditions as the Secretary may determine.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible employer.--The term ``eligible employer'' 
        means an employer that is a small business concern (as such 
        term is defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632)).
            (2) Recent college graduate.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``recent college 
                graduate'' means an individual who--
                            (i) who has received a baccalaureate or 
                        associate degree from an institution of higher 
                        education within the past 24 months; and
                            (ii) who has not previously received any 
                        such baccalaureate or associate degree.
                    (B) Institution of higher education.--In 
                subparagraph (A), the term ``institution of higher 
                education'' has the meaning given such term in section 
                101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1001).
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this Act $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
        2012, 2013, and 2014.
            (2) Availability.--Funds appropriated under paragraph (1) 
        shall remain available until expended.
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