Expanding Opportunities for Older Americans Act of 2011 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to expand the Senior Community Service Employment (SCSE) Program.
Lowers the age of eligibility from 55 to 52.
Repeals the requirement that the eligible individual be unemployed.
Increases from 125% to 200% of the poverty line the maximum income for eligibility. Excludes from the counting of an eligible individual's income any income received by another member of the eligible individual's household.
Prohibits any limit of fewer than 40 hours per week on the number of hours per week a grant recipient may permit a participant to work in a job assisted under the grant.
Declares the sense of Congress that necessary sums should be appropriated to carry out the SCSE Program in each of FY2012-FY2017.
[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.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line