I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 781

To require a preference for Federal contractors that hire welfare recipients,

to authorize appropriations for job access and reverse commute grants,

to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide guarantees of State loans to welfare recipients, making appropriations for the

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and to

amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore certain businessrelated deductions.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 23, 1999

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on

Transportation and Infrastructure, Ways and Means, and Commerce, for

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To require a preference for Federal contractors that hire

welfare recipients, to authorize appropriations for job

access and reverse commute grants, to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide guarantees of State loans to welfare recipients, making appropriations for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration, and to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore certain business-related

deductions.
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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 ‘‘Job Access and Work

5 Incentives Act’’.

6 TITLE I—PREFERENCE FOR

7 CONTRACTORS THAT HIRE

8 WELFARE RECIPIENTS

9 SEC. 101. PREFERENCE FOR CONTRACTORS THAT HIRE

10 WELFARE RECIPIENTS.

11 (a) PREFERENCE.—In awarding a contract covered

12 by this section, the head of a department or agency of

13 the Federal Government shall give preference to an entity

14 that agrees to hire welfare recipients for jobs created to

15 carry out the contract.

16 (b) EVALUATION.—To carry out subsection (a), the

17 head of a department or agency shall develop a system

18 under which, in the evaluation of an offer from an entity

19 for a contract, the preference given to the entity will be

20 greater as the number of welfare recipients that the offer21 or agrees to hire increases.

22 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement of subsection (a)

23 shall not apply in the evaluation of offers for a contract

24 if—
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1 (1) the Secretary of Defense determines that

2 the subsection should not apply for national security

3 reasons; or

4 (2) the head of the department or agency deter5 mines that no entry-level jobs are expected to be cre6 ated to carry out the contract.

7 (d) COVERED CONTRACTS.—This section applies to

8 any contract in an amount in excess of $500,000 entered

9 into after the date of the enactment of this Act by a de10 partment or agency of the Federal Government using com11 petitive procedures.

12 (e) WELFARE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘welfare recip13 ient’’ means a recipient of assistance under a State pro14 gram funded under part A of title IV of the Social Secu15 rity Act.

16 TITLE II—JOB ACCESS AND

17 REVERSE COMMUTE GRANTS

18 SEC. 201. JOB ACCESS AND REVERSE COMMUTE GRANTS.

19 Section 3037(l)(1) of the Transportation Equity Act

20 for the 21st Century (49 U.S.C. 5309 note; 112 Stat. 391)

21 is amended—

22 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking clauses (ii)

23 through (v) and inserting the following:

24 ‘‘(ii) $500,000,000 for fiscal year

25 2000;
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1 ‘‘(iii) $500,000,000 for fiscal year

2 2001;

3 ‘‘(iv) $500,000,000 for fiscal year

4 2002;

5 ‘‘(v) $500,000,000 for fiscal year

6 2003; and

7 ‘‘(vi) $500,000,000 for fiscal year

8 2004.’’;

9 (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘this sec10 tion’’ and all that follows through the period at the

11 end and inserting ‘‘this section $10,000,000 for fis12 cal year 1999.’’; and

13 (3) in subparagraph (C) by striking ‘‘this sec14 tion’’ and all that follows through the period at the

15 end and inserting ‘‘this section $100,000,000 for fis16 cal year 1999.’’.

17 TITLE III—GUARANTEES OF

18 LOANS MADE BY STATES TO

19 CURRENT OR RECENT WEL20 FARE RECIPIENTS

21 SEC. 301. GUARANTEES OF LOANS MADE BY STATES TO

22 CURRENT OR RECENT WELFARE RECIPIENTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

24 Human Services may provide loan guarantees to States

25 in accordance with this section.
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1 (b) LIMITATION ON ANNUAL AMOUNT OF LOAN

2 GUARANTEES.—The total dollar amount of loan guaran3 tees that may be provided under this section in a fiscal

4 year shall not exceed $50,000,000.

5 (c) LIMITATION ON ANNUAL AMOUNT OF LOAN

6 GUARANTEES PER STATE.—The total dollar amount of

7 loan guarantees that may be provided to a State under

8 this section in a fiscal year is the amount that bears the

9 same ratio to $50,000,000 as the total dollar amount pay10 able to the State under section 403(a)(1) of the Social

11 Security Act for the fiscal year (determined without re12 gard to any penalty imposed under section 409 of such

13 Act) bears to the total dollar amount payable to all States

14 under such section 403(a)(1) for the fiscal year (as so de15 termined).

16 (d) LOANS THAT MAY BE GUARANTEED.—The Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services may provide a loan

18 guarantee under this section with respect to a loan if—

19 (1) the loan is made by a State;

20 (2) the borrower is a recipient of assistance

21 under a State program funded under part A of title

22 IV of the Social Security Act;

23 (3) the principal amount of the loan is not less

24 than $20 and not more than $5,000; and
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1 (4) the loan bears interest at an annual rate

2 that does not exceed the rate at which interest is

3 payable annually on bonds most recently issued by

4 the smallest political subdivision of the State in

5 which the borrower resides that has borrowing au6 thority.

7 (e) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this section, the term

8 ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in section

9 419(5) of the Social Security Act.

10 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and

11 Human Services shall prescribe such regulations as may

12 be necessary to carry out this section.

13 TITLE IV—SUBSTANCE ABUSE

14 AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

15 SEC. 401. APPROPRIATIONS FOR PROGRAMS AND ACTIVI16 TIES OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL

17 HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.

18 For carrying out titles V and XIX of the Public

19 Health Service Act with respect to substance abuse and

20 mental health services, there is appropriated, out of any

21 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,

22 $2,730,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.
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1 TITLE V—RESTORATION OF

2 DEDUCTIONS

3 SEC. 501. RESTORATION OF DEDUCTION FOR BUSINESS

4 MEALS AND ENTERTAINMENT AND FOR

5 TRAVEL EXPENSES OF SPOUSES AND OTHERS

6 ACCOMPANYING THE TAXPAYER ON BUSI7 NESS.

8 (a) RESTORATION OF DEDUCTION FOR BUSINESS

9 MEALS AND ENTERTAINMENT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (n) of section

11 274 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating

12 to only 50 percent of meal and entertainment ex13 penses allowed as deduction) is hereby repealed.

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

15 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin16 ning after December 31, 1999.

17 (b) REPEAL OF SPECIAL LIMITATION ON DEDUCTION

18 FOR TRAVEL EXPENSES OF SPOUSES, ETC.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (m) of section

20 274 of such Code is amended by striking paragraph

21 (3).

22 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

23 by this subsection shall apply to amounts paid or in24 curred after December 31, 1999.

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