To establish an emergency program to provide immediate education assistance for unemployed workers, and for other purposes.

Summary: 21st Century Job Opportunities Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a Job Opportunity Grants program of temporary emergency postsecondary education assistance for dislocated workers who have been laid off and who require additional education and training to successfully reenter the workforce.

Makes the maximum grant amount equal to the Pell Grant maximum award.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Job Opportunities 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Since the beginning of 2001, the private sector has 
        lost more than 3 million jobs.
            (2) The number of unemployed has risen in 49 states and 
        national unemployment levels are over 6 percent, the highest in 
        nearly a decade.
            (3) Today, 9.4 million people are out of work and an 
        additional 4.5 million people work part-time because they are 
        unable to find a full-time job.
            (4) In addition, by the year 2010 there will be an 
        estimated shortage of 12 million workers with at least some 
        college education.
            (5) Sixty-eight percent of the fastest growing jobs require 
        at least some college education.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish a 
temporary emergency program to assist workers who have been laid off 
and who require immediate education and training to successfully re-
enter the workforce.

SEC. 3. POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION BENEFITS FOR DISLOCATED WORKERS.

    Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
is amended by inserting after section 401 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) the 
following new section:

``SEC. 401A. JOB OPPORTUNITY GRANTS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`eligible unemployed individual' means an individual who--
            ``(1) was, on or after March 1, 2001, employed full-time or 
        part-time;
            ``(2) became unemployed after such date; and
            ``(3) on the date of application for a grant under this 
        section, has been unemployed for at least 3 months in the 
        preceding 6 months.
    ``(b) Benefits Authorized.--
            ``(1) Program authority and method of distribution.--For 
        each fiscal year through fiscal year 2009, the Secretary shall 
        pay to each eligible institution such sums as may be necessary 
        to pay to each eligible unemployed individual for each academic 
        year during which that individual is in attendance at an 
        institution of higher education, as an undergraduate, a Job 
        Assistance Grant in the amount for which that individual is 
        eligible, as determined pursuant to subsection (c). Not less 
        than 85 percent of such sums shall be advanced to eligible 
        institutions prior to the start of each payment period and 
        shall be based upon an amount requested by the institution as 
        needed to pay eligible unemployed individuals until such time 
        as the Secretary determines and publishes in the Federal 
        Register with an opportunity for comment, an alternative 
        payment system that provides payments to institutions in an 
        accurate and timely manner, except that this sentence shall not 
        be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary to place 
        an institution on a reimbursement system of payment.
            ``(2) Direct payments permitted.--Nothing in this section 
        shall be interpreted to prohibit the Secretary from paying 
        directly to eligible unemployed individuals, in advance of the 
        beginning of the academic term, an amount for which they are 
        eligible, in cases where the eligible institution elects not to 
        participate in the disbursement system required by paragraph 
        (1).
            ``(3) Name of grants.--Grants made under this section shall 
        be known as `Job Opportunities Grants'.
    ``(c) Purpose and Amount of Grants.--
            ``(1) Purpose.--The Jobs Opportunities Grants program is a 
        temporary emergency program established to assist American 
        workers who have been laid off and who require additional 
        education and training to successfully re-enter the workforce.
            ``(2) Maximum grants.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The amount of the Job Assistance 
                Grant for an eligible unemployed individual under this 
                section shall be the sum of the individual's tuition 
                and fees not to exceed for any award year the maximum 
                Pell Grant under section 401(b)(2)(A) of the Higher 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(2)(A)) for 
                such award year.
                    ``(B) Part time attendance.--In any case where an 
                eligible unemployed individual attends an institution 
                of higher education on less than a full-time basis 
                (including an individual who attends an institution of 
                higher education on less than a half-time basis) during 
                any academic year, the amount of the Job Assistance 
                Grant to which that student is entitled shall be 
                reduced in proportion to the degree to which that 
                student is not so attending on a full-time basis, in 
                accordance with a schedule of reductions established by 
                the Secretary for the purposes of this division, 
                computed in accordance with this section. Such schedule 
                of reductions shall be established by regulation and 
                published in the Federal Register.
            ``(3) Minimum grant.--No Job Assistance Grant shall be 
        awarded to an individual under this section if the amount of 
        that grant for that student as determined under this subsection 
        for any academic year is less than $400, except that an 
        individual who is eligible for a Job Assistance Grant that is 
        equal to or greater than $200 but less than $400 shall be 
        awarded a Job Assistance Grant of $400.
            ``(4) Multiple grants.--
                    ``(A) The Secretary may allow, on a case-by-case 
                basis, an individual to receive 2 Job Opportunities 
                Grants during a single award year, if--
                            ``(i) the student is enrolled full-time in 
                        an associate or baccalaureate degree program of 
                        study that is 2 years or longer at an eligible 
                        institution that is computed in credit hours; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) the student completes course work 
                        toward completion of an associate or 
                        baccalaureate degree that exceeds the 
                        requirements for a full academic year as 
                        defined by the institution.
                    ``(B) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations 
                implementing this paragraph.
    ``(d) Period of Eligibility for Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The period during which an individual 
        may receive Job Opportunities Grants shall be the 5 academic 
        years.
            ``(2) Multiple institution grants prohibited.--No student 
        is entitled to receive Job Assistance Grant payments 
        concurrently from more than one institution or from the 
        Secretary and an institution.
    ``(e) Applications for Grants.--The Secretary shall from time to 
time set dates by which eligible unemployed individuals shall file 
applications for Job Opportunities Grants under this section. Each such 
individual desiring a Job Assistance Grant for any year shall file an 
application therefor containing such information and assurances as the 
Secretary may deem necessary to enable the Secretary to carry out the 
functions and responsibilities of this section. The Secretary shall 
grant or deny an application for a Job Assistance Grant within 3 months 
after the date on which it is submitted.
    ``(f) Distribution of Grants to Students.--Payments under this 
section shall be made in accordance with regulations promulgated by the 
Secretary for such purpose, in such manner as will best accomplish the 
purpose of this section. Any disbursement allowed to be made by 
crediting the eligible unemployed individual's account shall be limited 
to tuition and fees and, in the case of institutionally owned housing, 
room and board. The student may elect to have the institution provide 
other such goods and services by crediting the student's account.
    ``(g) Insufficient Appropriations.--If, for any fiscal year, the 
funds appropriated for payments under this section are insufficient to 
satisfy fully all entitlements, as calculated under subsection (c) (but 
at the maximum grant level specified in such appropriation), the 
Secretary shall promptly transmit a notice of such insufficiency to 
each House of the Congress, and identify in such notice the additional 
amount that would be required to be appropriated to satisfy fully all 
entitlements (as so calculated at such maximum grant level).
    ``(h) Use of Excess Funds.--
            ``(1) If, at the end of a fiscal year, the funds available 
        for making payments under this section exceed the amount 
        necessary to make the payments required under this section to 
        eligible students by 15 percent or less, then all of the excess 
        funds shall remain available for making payments under this 
        section during the next succeeding fiscal year.
            ``(2) If, at the end of a fiscal year, the funds available 
        for making payments under this section exceed the amount 
        necessary to make the payments required under this section to 
        eligible students by more than 15 percent, then all of such 
        funds shall remain available for making such payments but 
        payments may be made under this paragraph only with respect to 
        entitlements for that fiscal year.''.