[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 65 (Monday, May 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5733-S5734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COLEMAN:
  S. 988. A bill to amend the workforce Investment Act of 1998 to 
provide for a job training grant pilot program; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill I 
introduce today to amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to 
provide for a job training grant pilot program be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 988

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. JOB TRAINING GRANT PILOT PROGRAM.

       Section 171 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
     U.S.C. 2916) is amended by striking subsection (d) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(d) Job Training Grant Pilot Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--
       ``(A) Grants.--The Secretary shall provide grants to 
     qualified job training programs as follows:
       ``(i) Placement grants.--Grants in an amount to be 
     determined by the Secretary shall be provided to qualified 
     job training programs upon placement of a qualified graduate 
     in qualifying employment.
       ``(ii) Retention grants.--An additional grant in an amount 
     to be determined by the Secretary shall be provided to 
     qualified job training programs upon retention of a qualified 
     graduate in qualifying employment for a period of 1 year.

[[Page S5734]]

       ``(B) Determination.--In determining the amount of the 
     grants to be provided under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
     shall consider the economic benefit received by the 
     Government from the employment of the qualified graduate, 
     including increased tax revenue and decreased unemployment 
     benefits or other support obligations.
       ``(2) Qualified job training program.--For purposes of this 
     subsection, a qualified job training program is 1 that--
       ``(A) is operated by a nonprofit or for-profit entity, 
     partnership, or joint venture formed under the laws of--
       ``(i) the United States or a territory of the United 
     States;
       ``(ii) any State; or
       ``(iii) any county or locality;
       ``(B) offers education and training in--
       ``(i) basic skills, such as reading, writing, mathematics, 
     information processing, and communications;
       ``(ii) technical skills, such as accounting, computers, 
     printing, and machining;
       ``(iii) thinking skills, such as reasoning, creative 
     thinking, decision making, and problem solving; and
       ``(iv) personal qualities, such as responsibility, self-
     esteem, self-management, honesty, and integrity;
       ``(C) provides income supplements when needed to eligible 
     participants (defined for purposes of this paragraph as an 
     individual who meets the criteria described in subparagraphs 
     (A) through (C) of paragraph (3)) for housing, counseling, 
     tuition, and other basic needs;
       ``(D) provides eligible participants with not less than 160 
     hours of instruction, assessment, or professional coaching; 
     and
       ``(E) invests an average of $10,000 in training per 
     graduate of such program.
       ``(3) Qualified graduate.--For purposes of this subsection, 
     a qualified graduate is an individual who is a graduate of a 
     qualified job training program and who--
       ``(A) is 18 years of age or older;
       ``(B) had in either of the 2 preceding taxable years 
     Federal adjusted gross income not exceeding the maximum 
     income of a very low-income family (as defined in section 
     3(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
     1437a(b)(2))) for a single individual; and
       ``(C) has assets of not more than $10,000, exclusive of the 
     value of an owned homestead, indexed for inflation.
       ``(4) Qualifying employment.--For purposes of this 
     subsection, qualifying employment shall include any permanent 
     job or employment paying annual wages of not less than 
     $18,000, and not less than $10,000 more than the qualified 
     graduate earned before receiving training from the qualified 
     job training program.''.
                                 ______