I 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Opportuni5 ties for Older Americans Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The downturn in the national economy has 

9 adversely affected millions of workers in all age 


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1 groups, but it has disproportionately burdened work2 ers age 55 and older. 

3 (2) During the period from 2005 through 2007, 

4 more than 900,000 workers age 55 and older lost 

5 jobs they had held for the preceding 3 years or 

6 longer. Such older workers constitute a quarter of 

7 long-tenured workers who lost their jobs during this 

8 period. 

9 (3) Older workers experience substantially 

10 longer periods of unemployment than younger work11 ers and are more likely to exhaust their unemploy12 ment insurance benefits. 

13 (4) Older workers are comparatively less suc14 cessful than younger workers in finding new jobs. 

15 Only 55 percent of workers age 55 and over who 

16 had been long-tenured before losing their jobs during 

17 the period from 2005 through 2007 were reemployed 

18 in January 2008, compared to 72.6 percent of work19 ers ages 25 to 54. 

20 (5) Unemployed older workers who succeed in 

21 obtaining new employment are more likely than 

22 younger workers to be underemployed, holding part23 time jobs that pay lower wages. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SENIOR COMMUNITY SERVICE EM2 PLOYMENT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) REDUCTION OF AGE OF ELIGIBILITY TO AGE

4 52.—Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 

5 U.S.C. 3056 et seq.) is amended by striking ‘‘age 55’’ each 

6 place it appears and inserting ‘‘age 52’’. 

7 (b) ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENT THAT ELIGIBLE

8 INDIVIDUAL BE UNEMPLOYED.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Section 

10 502(a)(1) of such title (42 U.S.C. 3056(a)(1)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘unemployed’’. 

12 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Section 503(a)(2)(C) 

13 of such title (42 U.S.C. 3056a(a)(2)(C)) is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘unemployed’’. 

15 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

16 518(a) of such title (42 U.S.C. 3056p(a)) is amend17 ed by striking paragraph (8). 

18 (c) INCREASE IN INCOME LIMITATION FOR ELIGIBLE

19 INDIVIDUALS.—Section 518(a)(3)(A) of such title (42 

20 U.S.C. 3056p(a)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘125 per21 cent of the poverty line’’ and inserting ‘‘200 percent of 

22 the poverty line’’. 

23 (d) INCOME DEFINED.—Section 518(a)(4) of such 

24 title (42 U.S.C. 3056p(a)(4)) is amended— 

25 (1) by inserting ‘‘by an eligible individual’’ after 

26 ‘‘received’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘an eligible individual submits’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘such eligible individual submits’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such 

4 term does not include income received by a member 

5 of such eligible individual’s household other than 

6 such eligible individual.’’. 

7 (e) HOURS PER WEEK GRANTEE MAY PERMIT PAR8 TICIPANT TO WORK.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 502(b) of such title 

10 (42 U.S.C. 3056(b)) is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(4) HOURS PER WEEK GRANTEE MAY PERMIT

13 PARTICIPANT TO WORK.—No limit of fewer than 40 

14 hours per week may be placed on the number of 

15 hours per week a recipient of a grant under this title 

16 may permit a participant to work in a job assisted 

17 by this title.’’. 

18 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

19 518(a)(2) of such title (42 U.S.C. 3056p(a)(2)) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘part-time,’’. 

21 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 517(a) of such Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 3056o(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2007, 

24 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2012, 

25 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017’’. 


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1 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Section 517 of such 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 3056o) is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that such sums as may be necessary should be ap6 propriated to carry out this title in each of fiscal years 

7 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.’’. 

Æ 


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