[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3749 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3749

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to expand the Senior Community 
                      Service Employment Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 20, 2011

Ms. Richardson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to expand the Senior Community 
                      Service Employment Program.

    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 ``Expanding Opportunities for Older 
Americans Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The downturn in the national economy has adversely 
        affected millions of workers in all age groups, but it has 
        disproportionately burdened workers age 55 and older.
            (2) During the period from 2005 through 2007, more than 
        900,000 workers age 55 and older lost jobs they had held for 
        the preceding 3 years or longer. Such older workers constitute 
        a quarter of long-tenured workers who lost their jobs during 
        this period.
            (3) Older workers experience substantially longer periods 
        of unemployment than younger workers and are more likely to 
        exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits.
            (4) Older workers are comparatively less successful than 
        younger workers in finding new jobs. Only 55 percent of workers 
        age 55 and over who had been long-tenured before losing their 
        jobs during the period from 2005 through 2007 were reemployed 
        in January 2008, compared to 72.6 percent of workers ages 25 to 
        54.
            (5) Unemployed older workers who succeed in obtaining new 
        employment are more likely than younger workers to be 
        underemployed, holding part-time jobs that pay lower wages.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SENIOR COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Reduction of Age of Eligibility to Age 52.--Title V of the 
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056 et seq.) is amended by 
striking ``age 55'' each place it appears and inserting ``age 52''.
    (b) Elimination of Requirement That Eligible Individual Be 
Unemployed.--
            (1) Establishment of program.--Section 502(a)(1) of such 
        title (42 U.S.C. 3056(a)(1)) is amended by striking 
        ``unemployed''.
            (2) Recommendations.--Section 503(a)(2)(C) of such title 
        (42 U.S.C. 3056a(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking 
        ``unemployed''.
            (3) Conforming amendment.--Section 518(a) of such title (42 
        U.S.C. 3056p(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (8).
    (c) Increase in Income Limitation for Eligible Individuals.--
Section 518(a)(3)(A) of such title (42 U.S.C. 3056p(a)(3)(A)) is 
amended by striking ``125 percent of the poverty line'' and inserting 
``200 percent of the poverty line''.
    (d) Income Defined.--Section 518(a)(4) of such title (42 U.S.C. 
3056p(a)(4)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``by an eligible individual'' after 
        ``received'';
            (2) by striking ``an eligible individual submits'' and 
        inserting ``such eligible individual submits''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following: ``Such term does 
        not include income received by a member of such eligible 
        individual's household other than such eligible individual.''.
    (e) Hours Per Week Grantee May Permit Participant To Work.--
            (1) In general.--Section 502(b) of such title (42 U.S.C. 
        3056(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(4) Hours per week grantee may permit participant to 
        work.--No limit of fewer than 40 hours per week may be placed 
        on the number of hours per week a recipient of a grant under 
        this title may permit a participant to work in a job assisted 
        by this title.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 518(a)(2) of such title 
        (42 U.S.C. 3056p(a)(2)) is amended by striking ``part-time,''.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--Section 517(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        3056o(a)) is amended by striking ``2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 
        2011'' and inserting ``2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 
        2017''.
            (2) Sense of congress.--Section 517 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        3056o) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that such 
sums as may be necessary should be appropriated to carry out this title 
in each of fiscal years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.''.
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