I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3748 

To establish a grant program for stipends to assist in the cost of compensation paid by employers to certain recent college graduates and to provide 

funding for their further education in subjects relating to mathematics, 

science, engineering, and technology. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 20, 2011 

Ms. RICHARDSON (for herself, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, and Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program for stipends to assist in the 

cost of compensation paid by employers to certain recent 

college graduates and to provide funding for their further 

education in subjects relating to mathematics, science, 

engineering, and technology. 

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 ‘‘America Realizing the 

5 Informational Skills and Initiative of New Graduates Act 

6 of 2011’’ or ‘‘America RISING Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis4 tics, in the third quarter of 2009 the national unem5 ployment rate for persons graduating from college in 

6 2008 was 10.6 percent, which is more than twice the 

7 national rate for college graduates aged 25 years 

8 and older. Because the typical college graduate 

9 leaves college owing an average of $23,200 in stu10 dent loan debt, the current job market offers exceed11 ingly few opportunities for college graduates to ob12 tain employment at a salary adequate to service 

13 their student loan debt or personal financial obliga14 tions. 

15 (2) There are more than 26 million small busi16 nesses in the United States. In the current economic 

17 climate, these small businesses are experiencing dif18 ficulty in finding the resources needed to increase 

19 sales, modernize operations, and hire new employees. 

20 (3) Recent college graduates need the experi21 ence that can be obtained only in the workplace to 

22 refine their skills and develop the entrepreneurial 

23 qualities that can lead to the creation of new busi24 nesses and jobs. 

25 (4) Existing small businesses, and companies 

26 will benefit from the information and technology 


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1 skills possessed by many of the Nation’s recent col2 lege graduates. 

3 (5) Enabling recent college graduates to obtain 

4 employment with small businesses benefits the na5 tional economy by providing such businesses the 

6 human capital and technical expertise needed to 

7 compete and win in the global economy of the 21st 

8 century. 

9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF AMERICA RISING PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

11 establish a program under which— 

12 (1) grants are to paid to eligible employers to 

13 defray the cost of compensation paid by such em14 ployers to recent college graduates; and 

15 (2) grants are paid to recent college graduates 

16 to enable such individuals to defray the cost of un17 dertaking further education for up to 24 months in 

18 subjects relating to mathematics, science, engineer19 ing, or technology. 

20 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A grant under this 

21 section may be made on such terms and conditions as the 

22 Secretary may determine. 

23 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘eligible 

25 employer’’ means an employer that is a small busiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:05 Dec 24, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3748.IH H3748

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1 ness concern (as such term is defined in section 3 

2 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)). 

3 (2) RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘recent col5 lege graduate’’ means an individual who— 

6 (i) who has received a baccalaureate 

7 or associate degree from an institution of 

8 higher education within the past 24 

9 months; and 

10 (ii) who has not previously received 

11 any such baccalaureate or associate degree. 

12 (B) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU13 CATION.—In subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘insti14 tution of higher education’’ has the meaning 

15 given such term in section 101 of the Higher 

16 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for 

20 each of the fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014. 

21 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under 

22 paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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