Flexibility to Promote Reemployment Act - Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act, with respect to grants to states by the Secretary of Labor for reemployment demonstration projects, to allow grants to up to 10 states per year instead of a maximum of 10 states altogether.
Allows a designee of a state governor, instead of only the governor, to apply for such a grant.
Extends the allowable project period through December 31, 2017.
Allows direct disbursements under a project to employers who hire individuals receiving unemployment compensation to include disbursements promoting retention.
Requires the Secretary of Labor to approve completed grant applications in the order of receipt.
Revises requirements for termination of a project to require the Secretary to: (1) notify a state in writing with sufficient detail describing any violation of the substantive terms or conditions of a project justifying its termination, and (2) determine that the state has not taken action to correct the violation within 90 days after notification.
Directs the Secretary to evaluate the impact of each demonstration project, using existing data sources and methodology appropriate to determine project effects, including the effect on individual skill levels, earnings, and employment retention.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3864 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3864
To amend certain provisions of the Social Security Act relating to
demonstration projects designed to promote the reemployment of
unemployed workers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 14, 2014
Mr. Renacci (for himself and Mr. Carney) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend certain provisions of the Social Security Act relating to
demonstration projects designed to promote the reemployment of
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 ``Flexibility to Promote Reemployment
Act''.
SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO PROMOTE REEMPLOYMENT THROUGH
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
(a) Modification of Numerical Limitation.--Subsection (a) of
section 305 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 505) is amended by
inserting ``per year'' after ``10 States''.
(b) Clarification of Application Requirements.--Subsection (b) of
such section 305 is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or his or her designee'' after ``The
Governor of any State''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2) for any waiver requested under subsection (c), a
statement describing--
``(A) the specific provision or provisions of law
for which such waiver is requested; and
``(B) the specific aspects of the project to which
such waiver would apply and the reasons why it is
needed;''.
(c) Extension of Eligible Time Period.--Subsection (d) of such
section 305 is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``may not be approved''
and inserting ``may not be conducted''; and
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``December 31, 2015'' and
inserting ``December 31, 2017''.
(d) Clarification of Demonstration Activities.--Subsection (e) of
such section 305 is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``for employer-provided
training, such as'' and inserting ``to employers or claimants
for employer-provided training or''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, not to exceed the
weekly benefit amount for each such individual, to pay part of
the cost of wages that exceed the unemployed individual's prior
benefit level'' and inserting ``that include disbursements
promoting retention''.
(e) Selection of Qualifying Applications on a First-Come, First-
Served Basis.--Subsection (f) of such section 305 is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(2) and (3); and
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redesignated by
this subsection) the following:
``(1) approve completed applications in the order of
receipt;''.
(f) Termination of Demonstration Projects.--Subsection (g) of such
section 305 is amended to read as follows:
``(g) The Secretary of Labor may terminate a demonstration project
under this section if the Secretary--
``(1) determines that the State has violated the
substantive terms or conditions of the project;
``(2) notifies the State in writing with sufficient detail
describing the violation; and
``(3) determines that the State has not taken action to
correct the violation within 90 days after the notification.''.
(g) Effective Date; Transition Rule.--
(1) Effective date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Transition rule.--
(A) In general.--Nothing in this Act shall be
considered to terminate or otherwise affect any
demonstration project approved under section 305 of the
Social Security Act before the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(B) Original conditions continue to apply.--A
demonstration project described in subparagraph (A)
shall be conducted in the same manner as if subsections
(a) through (f) had not been enacted.
SEC. 3. EVALUATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
(a) In General.--Section 305 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
505) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) The Secretary of Labor shall conduct an impact evaluation of
each demonstration project conducted under this section, using existing
data sources to the extent possible and methodology appropriate to
determine the effects of the demonstration project, including on
individual skill levels, earnings, and employment retention.''.
(b) Cooperation by State.--Section 305(b) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 505(b)) (as amended by section 2(b) of this Act) is
further amended by striking paragraphs (5) and (6) and inserting the
following:
``(5) a description of the manner in which the State will
determine the extent to which the goals and outcomes described
in paragraph (3) were achieved;
``(6) assurances that the State will cooperate, in a timely
manner, with the Secretary of Labor with respect to the impact
evaluation conducted under subsection (i); and''.
(c) Reporting.--Not later than 90 days after the end of fiscal year
2014 and each fiscal year thereafter, until the completion of the last
evaluation under section 305(i) of the Social Security Act, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, a report
that includes a description of--
(1) the status of each demonstration project being carried
out under this section;
(2) the results of the evaluation completed during the
previous fiscal year; and
(3) the Secretary's plan for--
(A) disseminating the findings of the report to
appropriate State agencies; and
(B) incorporating the components of successful
demonstration projects that reduced benefit duration
and increased employment into Federal unemployment law.
(d) Public Dissemination.--In addition to the reporting
requirements under subparagraph (c), evaluation results shall be shared
broadly to inform policy makers, service providers, other partners, and
the public in order to promote wide use of successful strategies,
including by posting evaluation results on the Internet website of the
Department of Labor.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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