[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6568 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6568

To direct the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study and report back to 
  Congress on the feasibility of creating pilot programs to evaluate 
   reforming Federal job training programs for long-term unemployed 
                                workers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 5, 2012

   Mr. Dold introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study and report back to 
  Congress on the feasibility of creating pilot programs to evaluate 
   reforming Federal job training programs for long-term 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 ``Back to Work Blueprint Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON REFORM OF FEDERAL JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Labor shall conduct a study on the 
feasibility of implementing a series of pilot programs under the 
Workplace Investment Act of 1998 (in this Act referred to as ``WIA'') 
in an effort to partly reform certain Federal job training programs for 
long-term unemployed workers.
    (b) Description of the Pilot Program To Be Studied.--The study 
shall examine the feasibility of establishing up to 10 pilot programs 
at WIA one-stop centers in geographically distinct regions of the 
United States. The pilot program would consist of the following:
            (1) Each participating one-stop center would issue 
        certificates to qualifying unemployed individuals who--
                    (A) have been unemployed and actively seeking work 
                for six or more consecutive months; and
                    (B) are determined to be reasonably employable by 
                job counselors at the participating one-stop center.
            (2) Each issued certificate would be valid for a 
        reimbursement amount of $7,000 to be paid to qualifying 
        employers from a reserve account established at the 
        participating one-stop center.
            (3) Each certificate would be presented to a participating 
        employer who agrees to hire the individual and provide any 
        necessary training to the individual. Each certificate could be 
        redeemed by the employer only--
                    (A) upon the completion of 6 months of consecutive 
                employment of the individual; and
                    (B) once the employee has received at least $15,000 
                in compensation from the employer for consecutive 
                employment for a period of less than 10 months.
            (4) Each certificate would expire--
                    (A) 6 months after the certificate is issued if no 
                qualifying employment has been found for the individual 
                to whom it was issued;
                    (B) if the individual's employment is terminated 
                for any reason prior to the completion of the 6-month 
                period described in paragraph (3)(A); or
                    (C) one year after the date the 6-month period of 
                qualifying employment begins if no qualifying employer 
                has redeemed the certificate in accordance with 
                paragraph (3).
            (5) Each one-stop center would be required to conduct 
        quantitative assessments of the efficacy of the program by 
        tracking the job placement and retention of individuals 
        participating in the program and comparing the job placement 
        and retention results to other WIA-funded programs available 
        through the one-stop center.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall transmit to 
Congress a report on the findings of the study, including an 
identification of any legislative changes that would be necessary to 
implement the pilot programs outlined in subsection (b).
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