[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2095 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2095

   To ensure that individuals who are in an authorized job training 
program or completing work for a degree or certificate remain eligible 
                 for regular unemployment compensation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 9, 2012

  Mr. Franken introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure that individuals who are in an authorized job training 
program or completing work for a degree or certificate remain eligible 
                 for regular unemployment compensation.

    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 Training Opportunities Act 
of 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) in the United States, hundreds of thousands of high-
        quality jobs are unfilled because workers lack the skills or 
        credentials required for employment in those positions;
            (2) innovative education programs, such as the ``Right 
        Skills Now'' pilot program in Minnesota, are essential to 
        rapidly re-training the American workforce to match a changing 
        economy, both now and in the future;
            (3) the promotion of nationally portable, industry-
        recognized credentials will be a key component in the re-
        education of the American workforce; and
            (4) with unemployment rates at record levels, it is 
        critical to ensure that unemployed workers have the opportunity 
        to learn new skills and pursue educational opportunities while 
        maintaining their eligibility for unemployment benefits.

SEC. 3. APPROVED TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(26 U.S.C. 3304) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(g) Approved Training.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a)(8), the 
        term `training' shall include any of the educational or job 
        training programs described in paragraph (2), with the programs 
        described in such paragraph to be deemed approved by the State 
        agency.
            ``(2) Educational or job training programs.--For purposes 
        of paragraph (1), the programs described in this paragraph 
        are--
                    ``(A) a job training program authorized under the 
                Workforce Investment Act of 1998 for which an 
                individual has been determined to be eligible to 
                participate; or
                    ``(B) for purposes of an individual who has been 
                identified as likely to exhaust regular compensation, 
                any coursework necessary to attain a recognized 
                postsecondary credential, provided that such credential 
                can be attained by the individual prior to the end of 
                the individual's benefit year or the end of such period 
                as is determined appropriate by the State agency, 
                whichever is greater.
            ``(3) Recognized postsecondary credential.--For purposes of 
        this subsection, the term `recognized postsecondary credential' 
        means a credential consisting of an industry-recognized 
        certificate, a certificate of completion of an apprenticeship, 
        or an associate or baccalaureate degree.''.
    (b) Extended Compensation.--Section 202(a) of the Federal-State 
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is 
amended by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2), a 
        State agency may elect to approve programs described in 
        subsection (g)(2) of section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code 
        of 1986 for purposes of training included under subsection 
        (a)(8) of such section.''.
    (c) Emergency Unemployment Compensation.--Section 4001(d)(2) of the 
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 26 U.S.C. 
3304 note) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end; 
        and
            (2) by inserting at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) that a State agency may elect to approve 
                programs described in subsection (g)(2) of section 3304 
                of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for purposes of 
                training included under subsection (a)(8) of such 
                section; and''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. NOTIFICATION TO UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) In General.--To the extent feasible and practicable, the State 
agency shall provide that applications for regular compensation include 
information regarding the availability of such compensation during 
periods in which an individual is engaged in training that has been 
approved by the State agency, as described in section 3304(a)(8) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 3304(a)(8)).
    (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the terms ``regular 
compensation'' and ``State agency'' have the same meanings as in 
section 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act 
of 1970.
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