II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1826 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit to encourage 

employers to offer flexible and phased work opportunities to older workers, to expand the credit for dependent care expenses to cover eldercare 

expenses, to extend COBRA coverage for certain older workers who 

lose health insurance coverage due to a reduction in work, to improve 

older workers’ access to job training services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 6, 2005 

Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a 

credit to encourage employers to offer flexible and phased 

work opportunities to older workers, to expand the credit 

for dependent care expenses to cover eldercare expenses, 

to extend COBRA coverage for certain older workers 

who lose health insurance coverage due to a reduction 

in work, to improve older workers’ access to job training 

services, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

•S 1826 IS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Older Worker Opportunity Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—TAX INCENTIVES 

Sec. 101. Tax credit for older workers in flexible and phased work programs. 

Sec. 102. Expansion of dependent care credit to eldercare expenses. 

TITLE II—COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE 

Sec. 201. Extended COBRA continuation coverage for certain older workers. 

TITLE III—EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Statewide employment and training activities. 

Sec. 303. Local employment and training activities. 

Sec. 304. Performance measures. 

Sec. 305. Reporting. 

Sec. 306. Incentive grants. 

TITLE IV—FEDERAL TASK FORCE ON OLDER WORKERS 

Sec. 401. Federal task force on older workers. 

6 TITLE I—TAX INCENTIVES 

7 SEC. 101. TAX CREDIT FOR OLDER WORKERS IN FLEXIBLE 

8 AND PHASED WORK PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) Congress finds that— 

10 (1) most older workers expect to work past tra11 ditional retirement age; 

12 (2) most older workers would prefer not to 

13 work a traditional full-time schedule; 

14 (3) older workers’ preference for flexible and 

15 phased work is not matched by opportunities cur16 rently offered by employers; 
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1 (4) many older workers would choose to work 

2 longer if they were offered flexible and phased work 

3 opportunities, which would also reduce employer 

4 costs by increasing employee retention; and 

5 (5) many older workers would like to gradually 

6 transition into retirement instead of taking full re7 tirement immediately. 

8 (b) FLEXIBLE AND PHASED WORK CREDIT.—Sub9 part D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the 

10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to business re11 lated credits) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 45N. FLEXIBLE AND PHASED WORK CREDIT. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in 

15 the case of an eligible employer, the flexible and phased 

16 work credit determined under this section for the taxable 

17 year shall be equal to 40 percent of the qualified wages 

18 for such year. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.—For purposes of this 

20 section, the term ‘eligible employer’ means an employer 

21 which— 

22 ‘‘(1) maintains a qualified trust (within the 

23 meaning of section 401(a)), and 

24 ‘‘(2) provides health insurance coverage (as de25 fined in section 9832(b)(1)(A)) to employees and 
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1 pays no less than 60 percent of the cost of such 

2 health insurance coverage with respect to each full3 time employee receiving such coverage. 

4 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED WAGES DEFINED.—For purposes of 

5 this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED WAGES.—The term ‘qualified 

7 wages’ means the wages paid or incurred by an eligi8 ble employer during the taxable year to individuals 

9 whom at the time such wages are paid or incurred— 

‘‘(A) have attained the age of 591 10 ⁄2, and 

11 ‘‘(B) are participating in a formal flexible 

12 work program or a formal phased work pro13 gram. 

14 ‘‘(2) WAGES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘wages’ has 

16 the meaning given such term by subsection (b) 

17 of section 3306 (determined without regard to 

18 any dollar limitation contained in such section). 

19 ‘‘(B) OTHER RULES.—Rules similar to the 

20 rules of paragraph (2) and (3) of section 51(c) 

21 shall apply for purposes of this section. 

22 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The term ‘wages’ 

23 shall not include any amount paid or incurred 

24 to an individual after December 31, 2010. 
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1 ‘‘(3) ONLY FIRST $6,000 OF WAGES PER YEAR

2 TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The amount of the quali3 fied wages which may be taken into account with re4 spect to any individual shall not exceed $6,000 per 

5 year. 

6 ‘‘(d) FORMAL FLEXIBLE WORK PROGRAM.—For 

7 purposes of this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘formal flexible 

9 work program’ means a program of an eligible em10 ployer— 

11 ‘‘(A) which consists of core time and flex 

12 time, 

13 ‘‘(B) under which core time does not ex14 ceed— 

15 ‘‘(i) 20 hours per week, 

16 ‘‘(ii) 3 days per week, or 

17 ‘‘(iii) 1,000 hours per year, and 

18 ‘‘(C) which meets the requirements of sub19 section (f). 

20 ‘‘(2) CORE TIME.—The term ‘core time’ means 

21 the specific time— 

22 ‘‘(A) during which an employee is required 

23 to perform services related to employment, and 

24 ‘‘(B) which is determined by the employer. 
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1 ‘‘(3) FLEX TIME.—The term ‘flex time’ means 

2 the time other than core time— 

3 ‘‘(A) during which an employee is required 

4 to perform services related to employment, and 

5 ‘‘(B) which is determined at the election of 

6 the employee. 

7 ‘‘(e) FORMAL PHASED WORK PROGRAM.—For pur8 poses of this section, the term ‘formal phased work pro9 gram’ means— 

10 ‘‘(1) a program of an eligible employer— 

11 ‘‘(A) under which the employer and an em12 ployee enter into an agreement, in good faith, 

13 that the employee’s work schedule will be no 

14 more than 80 percent of the work schedule of 

15 a similarly situated full-time employee, and 

16 ‘‘(B) which meets the requirements of sub17 section (f), or 

18 ‘‘(2) any phased retirement program of an eligi19 ble employer which— 

20 ‘‘(A) is authorized by the Secretary, and 

21 ‘‘(B) meets the requirements of subsection 

22 (f). 

23 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS.—A program shall not be con24 sidered a formal flexible work program or a formal phased 
7 

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1 work program under this section unless such program 

2 meets the following requirements: 

3 ‘‘(1) DURATION OF PROGRAM.—The program 

4 shall allow for participation for a period of at least 

5 1 year. 

6 ‘‘(2) NO CHANGE IN HEALTH BENEFITS.—With 

7 respect to a participant whose work schedule is no 

8 less than 20 percent of the work schedule of a simi9 larly situated full-time employee— 

10 ‘‘(A) such participant shall be entitled to 

11 the same health insurance coverage to which a 

12 similarly situated full-time employee would be 

13 entitled, 

14 ‘‘(B) the employer shall contribute the 

15 same percentage of the cost of health insurance 

16 coverage for such participant as the employer 

17 would contribute for a similarly situated full18 time employee, and 

19 ‘‘(C) such participant shall be entitled to 

20 participate in a retiree health benefits plan of 

21 the employer in the same manner as a similarly 

22 situated full-time employee, except that service 

23 credited under the plan for any plan year shall 

24 be equal to the ratio of the participant’s work 

25 schedule during such year to the work schedule 
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1 of a similarly situated full-time employee during 

2 such year. 

3 ‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN PENSION BENEFITS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) DEFINED BENEFIT PLANS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) A participant shall be entitled to 

6 participate in a defined benefit plan (with7 in the meaning of section 414(j)) of the 

8 employer in the same manner as a simi9 larly situated full-time employee. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Service credited to a participant 

11 under the plan for any plan year shall be 

12 equal to the ratio of the participant’s work 

13 schedule during such year to the work 

14 schedule of a similarly situated full-time 

15 employee during such year. 

16 ‘‘(iii) If the plan uses final average 

17 earnings to determine benefits, final aver18 age earnings of the participant shall be no 

19 less than such earnings were before the 

20 participant entered the program. 

21 ‘‘(B) DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS.—A 

22 participant shall be entitled to participate in a 

23 defined contribution plan (within the meaning 

24 of section 414(i)) of the employer in the same 

25 manner as a similarly situated full-time em-
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1 ployee, and the employer shall match the par2 ticipant’s contributions at the same rate that 

3 the employer would match the contributions of 

4 a similarly situated full-time employee. 

5 ‘‘(C) NO FORFEITURE OF PENSION BENE6 FITS.—The pension benefits of a participant 

7 shall not be forfeited under the rules of section 

8 411(a)(3)(B) or section 203(a)(3)(B) of the 

9 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

10 1974 with respect to a participant who has at11 tained normal retirement age as of the end of 

12 the plan year. 

13 ‘‘(4) NONDISCRIMINATION RULE.—Eligibility to 

14 participate in the program shall not discriminate in 

15 favor of highly compensated employees (within the 

16 meaning of section 414(q)). 

17 ‘‘(g) CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS INELIGIBLE.—For pur18 poses of this section, rules similar to the rules of para19 graphs (1) and (2) of section 51(i) and section 52 shall 

20 apply. 

21 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may prescribe 

22 such regulations as are necessary to carry out the pur23 poses of this section, including simplified rules to satisfy 

24 the requirements of subsection (f)(3)(C) taking into ac-
10 

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1 count the requirements of section 411 and section 203 of 

2 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.’’. 

3 (c) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS

4 CREDIT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end of paragraph (25), by striking the period at the 

7 end of paragraph (26) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by add8 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(27) the flexible and phased work credit deter10 mined under section 45N(a).’’. 

11 (d) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Subsection (a) of section 

12 280C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

13 by inserting ‘‘45N(a),’’ after ‘‘45A(a),’’. 

14 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

16 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add17 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45N. Flexible and phased work credit.’’. 

18 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to wages paid after December 31, 

20 2005. 

21 SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF DEPENDENT CARE CREDIT TO 

22 ELDERCARE EXPENSES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 21(b) of 

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualifying 

25 individual) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub-
11 

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1 paragraph (B), by striking the period at the end of sub2 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding at the 

3 end the following new subparagraph: 

4 ‘‘(D) an individual who— 

5 ‘‘(i) has attained retirement age (as 

6 defined in section 216(l)(1) of the Social 

7 Security Act) before the end of the taxable 

8 year of the taxpayer, 

9 ‘‘(ii) is the spouse of the taxpayer or 

10 has a relationship to the taxpayer de11 scribed in subparagraph (B), (C), (D), (F), 

12 or (G) of section 152(d)(2), and 

13 ‘‘(iii) is a chronically ill individual 

14 (within the meaning of section 

15 7702B(c)(2)).’’. 

16 (b) EXPENSES FOR CARE OUTSIDE OF HOUSE17 HOLD.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

19 21(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i), 

21 by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii), and by in22 serting after clause (i) the following new clause: 

23 ‘‘(ii) a qualifying individual described 

24 in paragraph (1)(D), or’’. 
12 

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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Clause (iii) of 

2 section 21(b)(2)(B), as redesignated by paragraph 

3 (1), is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (D) of paragraph 

5 (1)’’. 

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) The heading of section 21 of the Internal 

8 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘AND

9 DEPENDENT CARE SERVICES’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

10 DEPENDENT CARE, AND ELDERCARE SERV11 ICES’’. 

12 (2) The item relating to section 21 in the table 

13 of sections for subpart A of part IV of subchapter 

14 A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended striking 

15 ‘‘and dependent care services’’ and inserting ‘‘, de16 pendent care, and eldercare services’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

19 December 31, 2005. 

20 TITLE II—COBRA 

21 CONTINUATION COVERAGE 

22 SEC. 201. EXTENDED COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE 

23 FOR CERTAIN OLDER WORKERS. 

24 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

25 INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Section 602 of the 
13 

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1 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 

2 U.S.C. 1162) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(vi) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN

6 OLDER WORKERS.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith8 standing any other provision of this 

9 subparagraph, in the case of a quali10 fying event described in section 

11 603(2) relating to a reduction of 

12 hours of an employee described in 

13 subclause (II), the date which is 36 

14 months after the date of the quali15 fying event, except that the period of 

16 coverage under this clause shall end 

17 on the date on which the employee be18 comes entitled to benefits under title 

19 XVIII of the Social Security Act 

20 based on age. 

21 ‘‘(II) EMPLOYEE DESCRIBED.— 

22 An employee is described in this sub23 clause if such employee, on the date of 

24 the qualifying event, is at least the 

25 early retirement age (as defined in 
14 

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1 section 216(l)(2) of the Social Secu2 rity Act) but not yet entitled to bene3 fits under title XVIII of the Social Se4 curity Act based on age.’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 

6 following: ‘‘In the case of an individual described in 

7 paragraph (2)(A)(vi), any reference in subparagraph 

8 (A) of this paragraph to ‘102 percent’ is deemed a 

9 reference to ‘120 percent’ for any month after the 

10 18th month of continuation coverage provided for 

11 under such paragraph (2)(A)(vi).’’. 

12 (b) AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

13 ACT.—Section 2202 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 300bb–2) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting after 

16 clause (iv) the following: 

17 ‘‘(v) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN

18 OLDER WORKERS.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith20 standing any other provision of this 

21 subparagraph, in the case of a quali22 fying event described in section 

23 2203(2) relating to a reduction of 

24 hours of an employee described in 

25 subclause (II), the date which is 36 
15 

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1 months after the date of the quali2 fying event, except that the period of 

3 coverage under this clause shall end 

4 on the date on which the employee be5 comes entitled to benefits under title 

6 XVIII of the Social Security Act 

7 based on age. 

8 ‘‘(II) EMPLOYEE DESCRIBED.— 

9 An employee is described in this sub10 clause if such employee, on the date of 

11 the qualifying event, is at least the 

12 early retirement age (as defined in 

13 section 216(l)(2) of the Social Secu14 rity Act) but not yet entitled to bene15 fits under title XVIII of the Social Se16 curity Act based on age.’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 

18 following: ‘‘In the case of an individual described in 

19 paragraph (2)(A)(v), any reference in subparagraph 

20 (A) of this paragraph to ‘102 percent’ is deemed a 

21 reference to ‘120 percent’ for any month after the 

22 18th month of continuation coverage provided for 

23 under such paragraph (2)(A)(v).’’. 
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1 (c) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

2 CODE OF 1986.—Section 4980B(f) of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986 is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by inserting after 

5 subclause (V) the following: 

6 ‘‘(VI) SPECIAL RULE FOR CER7 TAIN OLDER WORKERS.— 

8 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Not9 withstanding any other provision 

10 of this clause, in the case of a 

11 qualifying event described in 

12 paragraph (3)(B) relating to a 

13 reduction of hours of an em14 ployee described in item (bb), the 

15 date which is 36 months after 

16 the date of the qualifying event, 

17 except that the period of coverage 

18 under this clause shall end on the 

19 date on which the employee be20 comes entitled to benefits under 

21 title XVIII of the Social Security 

22 Act based on age. 

23 ‘‘(bb) EMPLOYEE DE24 SCRIBED.—An employee is de25 scribed in this subclause if such 
17 

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1 employee, on the date of the 

2 qualifying event, is at least the 

3 early retirement age (as defined 

4 in section 216(l)(2) of the Social 

5 Security Act) but not yet entitled 

6 to benefits under title XVIII of 

7 the Social Security Act based on 

8 age.’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (2)(C) by adding at the end 

10 the following: ‘‘In the case of an individual described 

11 in subparagraph (B)(i)(VI), any reference in clause 

12 (i) of this subparagraph to ‘102 percent’ is deemed 

13 a reference to ‘120 percent’ for any month after the 

14 18th month of continuation coverage provided for 

15 under such subparagraph (B)(i)(VI).’’. 

16 TITLE III—EMPLOYMENT AND 

17 TRAINING 

18 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

19 Section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

20 (29 U.S.C. 2801) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through 

22 (53) as paragraphs (18) through (54), respectively; 

23 and 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the fol25 lowing: 
18 

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1 ‘‘(17) HARD-TO-SERVE POPULATIONS.—The 

2 term ‘hard-to-serve populations’ means populations 

3 of individuals who are hard to serve, including dis4 placed homemakers, low-income individuals, Native 

5 Americans, individuals with disabilities, older indi6 viduals, ex-offenders, homeless individuals, individ7 uals with limited English proficiency, individuals 

8 who do not meet the definition of literacy in section 

9 203, individuals facing substantial cultural barriers, 

10 migrant and seasonal farmworkers, individuals with11 in 2 years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under 

12 part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), single parents (including single 

14 pregnant women), and such other groups as the 

15 Governor determines to be hard to serve.’’. 

16 SEC. 302. STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVI17 TIES. 

18 Section 134(a)(3)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2864 

19 (a)(3)(A)) is amended— 

20 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

21 (2) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (viii); 

22 and 

23 (3) by inserting after clause (vi) the following: 

24 ‘‘(vii) developing strategies for effec25 tively serving hard-to-serve populations 
19 

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1 and for coordinating programs and services 

2 among one-stop partners; and’’. 

3 SEC. 303. LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) INTENSIVE SERVICES.—Section 134(d)(3) of 

5 such Act (29 U.S.C. 2864(d)(3)) is amended by striking 

6 subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

8 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Except as pro9 vided in clause (iii), funds allocated to a 

10 local area for adults under paragraph 

11 (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of section 

12 133(b), and funds allocated to the local 

13 area for dislocated workers under section 

14 133(b)(2)(B), shall be used to provide in15 tensive services to adults and dislocated 

16 workers, respectively— 

17 ‘‘(I) who are unemployed and 

18 who, after an interview, evaluation, or 

19 assessment, have been determined by 

20 a one-stop operator or one-stop part21 ner to be— 

22 ‘‘(aa) unlikely or unable to 

23 obtain employment, that leads to 

24 self-sufficiency or wages com25 parable to or higher than pre-
20 

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1 vious employment, through core 

2 services described in paragraph 

3 (2); and 

4 ‘‘(bb) in need of intensive 

5 services to obtain employment 

6 that leads to self-sufficiency or 

7 wages comparable to or higher 

8 than previous employment; or 

9 ‘‘(II) who are employed, but who, 

10 after an interview, evaluation, or as11 sessment, are determined by a one12 stop operator or one-stop partner to 

13 be in need of intensive services to ob14 tain or retain employment that leads 

15 to self-sufficiency. 

16 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—For purposes 

17 of determining whether an adult or dis18 located worker meets the requirements of 

19 clause (i)(I)(aa), a one-stop operator or 

20 one-stop partner shall consider whether the 

21 adult or dislocated worker is a member of 

22 a hard-to-serve population. 

23 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—A new inter24 view, evaluation, or assessment of a partic25 ipant is not required under clause (i) if the 
21 

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1 one-stop operator or one-stop partner de2 termines that it is appropriate to use a re3 cent assessment of the participant con4 ducted pursuant to another education or 

5 training program.’’. 

6 (b) TRAINING SERVICES.—Section 134(d)(4) of such 

7 Act (29 U.S.C. 2864(d)(4)) is amended by striking sub8 paragraph (A) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Except as pro11 vided in clause (iii), funds allocated to a 

12 local area for adults under paragraph 

13 (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of section 

14 133(b), and funds allocated to the local 

15 area for dislocated workers under section 

16 133(b)(2)(B), shall be used to provide 

17 training services to adults and dislocated 

18 workers, respectively— 

19 ‘‘(I) who, after an interview, eval20 uation, or assessment, and case man21 agement, have been determined by a 

22 one-stop operator or one-stop partner, 

23 as appropriate, to— 

24 ‘‘(aa) be unlikely or unable 

25 to obtain or retain employment, 
22 

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1 that leads to self-sufficiency or 

2 wages comparable to or higher 

3 than previous employment, 

4 through the intensive services de5 scribed in paragraph (3); 

6 ‘‘(bb) be in need of training 

7 services to obtain or retain em8 ployment that leads to self-suffi9 ciency or wages comparable to or 

10 higher than previous employ11 ment; and 

12 ‘‘(cc) have the skills and 

13 qualifications to successfully par14 ticipate in the selected program 

15 of training services; 

16 ‘‘(II) who select programs of 

17 training services that are directly 

18 linked to the employment opportuni19 ties in the local area or region in20 volved or in another area to which the 

21 adults or dislocated workers are will22 ing to commute or relocate; 

23 ‘‘(III) who meet the requirements 

24 of subparagraph (B); and 
23 

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1 ‘‘(IV) who are determined to be 

2 eligible in accordance with the priority 

3 system in effect under subparagraph 

4 (E). 

5 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—For purposes 

6 of determining whether an adult or dis7 located worker meets the requirements of 

8 clause (i)(I)(aa), a one-stop operator or 

9 one-stop partner shall consider whether the 

10 adult or dislocated worker is a member of 

11 a hard-to-serve population. 

12 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—A new inter13 view, evaluation, or assessment of a partic14 ipant is not required under clause (i) if the 

15 one-stop operator or one-stop partner de16 termines that it is appropriate to use a re17 cent assessment of the participant con18 ducted pursuant to another education or 

19 training program.’’. 

20 (c) LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVI21 TIES.—Section 134(e)(1)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

22 2864(e)(1)(A)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

24 the end; 
24 

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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

2 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(C) customer support to enable members 

5 of hard-to-serve populations, including individ6 uals with disabilities, to navigate among mul7 tiple services and activities for such popu8 lations.’’. 

9 SEC. 304. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 

10 (a) STATE PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 

11 136(b)(3)(A)(iv)(II) of the Workforce Investment Act of 

12 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2871(b)(3)(A)(iv)(II)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘taking into account’’ and in14 serting ‘‘and shall ensure that the levels involved are 

15 adjusted, using objective statistical methods, based 

16 on’’; 

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘(such as differences in unem18 ployment rates and job losses or gains in particular 

19 industries)’’ after ‘‘economic conditions’’; and 

20 (3) by inserting ‘‘(such as indicators of poor 

21 work history, lack of work experience, lack of edu22 cational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation 

23 from high-wage and benefit employment, low levels 

24 of literacy or English proficiency, disability status, 
25 

•S 1826 IS

1 older individual status, homelessness, ex-offender 

2 status, and welfare dependency)’’ after ‘‘program’’. 

3 (b) LOCAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 

4 136(c)(3) (29 U.S.C. 2871(c)(3))— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘shall take into account’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘shall ensure that the levels involved are 

7 adjusted, using objective statistical methods, based 

8 on’’; 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘(characteristics such as unem10 ployment rates and job losses or gains in particular 

11 industries)’’ after ‘‘economic’’; and 

12 (3) by inserting ‘‘(characteristics such as indi13 cators of poor work history, lack of work experience, 

14 lack of educational and occupational skills attain15 ment, dislocation from high-wage and benefit em16 ployment, low levels of literacy or English pro17 ficiency, disability status, older individual status, 

18 homelessness, ex-offender status, and welfare de19 pendency)’’ after ‘‘demographic’’. 

20 (c) WAGE RECORDS AND DOCUMENTED DATA.—Sec21 tion 136(f)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871(f)(2)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and all that follows 

24 through ‘‘In’’ and inserting the following: 
26 

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1 ‘‘(2) WAGE RECORDS AND DOCUMENTED

2 DATA.— 

3 ‘‘(A) WAGE RECORDS.—In’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) DOCUMENTED DATA.—In measuring 

6 the progress of the State with respect to older 

7 individuals on State and local performance 

8 measures relating to earnings, a State may use 

9 documented data other than quarterly wage 

10 records to determine the work schedule of the 

11 older individuals, and may impute full-time 

12 earnings to part-time workers who are older in13 dividuals.’’. 

14 SEC. 305. REPORTING. 

15 Section 136(d)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

16 2871(d)(2)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘(exclud18 ing participants who received only self-service and 

19 informational activities)’’; and 

20 (2) in subparagraph (F)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘(F)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘(F)(i)’’; 

23 (B) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

24 and’’; and 

25 (C) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(ii) the number of participants in 

2 each of the groups described in clause (i) 

3 who have received services authorized 

4 under this title, in the form of core serv5 ices described in section 134(d)(2), inten6 sive services described in section 134(d)(3), 

7 training services described in section 

8 134(d)(4), and followup services, respec9 tively;’’. 

10 SEC. 306. INCENTIVE GRANTS. 

11 (a) USE OF FUNDS FOR STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT

12 AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(a)(2)(B) of the 

13 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

14 2864(a)(2)(B)) is amended— 

15 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period and in17 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(vii) providing incentive grants to 

20 local areas, in accordance with section 

21 136(j).’’. 

22 (b) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL AREAS.—Section 

23 136 of such Act is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(j) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL AREAS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From funds reserved under 

2 sections 128(a) and 133(a)(1), the Governor in3 volved shall award incentive grants to local areas for 

4 performance described in paragraph (2) in carrying 

5 out programs under chapters 4 and 5. 

6 ‘‘(2) BASIS.—The Governor shall award the 

7 grants on the basis that the local areas— 

8 ‘‘(A) have exceeded the performance meas9 ures established under subsection (c)(2) relating 

10 to indicators described in subsection 

11 (b)(3)(A)(iii); or 

12 ‘‘(B) have— 

13 ‘‘(i) met the performance measures es14 tablished under subsection (c)(2) relating 

15 to indicators described in subsection 

16 (b)(3)(A)(iii); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) demonstrated exemplary per18 formance in the State in serving hard-to19 serve populations. 

20 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds awarded to a 

21 local area under this subsection may be used to 

22 carry out activities authorized for local areas and 

23 such innovative projects or programs that increase 

24 coordination and enhance service to program partici-
29 

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1 pants, particularly hard-to-serve populations, as may 

2 be approved by the Governor.’’. 

3 (c) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR STATES.—Section 503 

4 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 

5 9273) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) TIMELINE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2006.—Prior to 

11 July 1, 2006, the Secretary shall award a grant 

12 to each State in accordance with the provisions 

13 of this section as this section was in effect on 

14 July 1, 2003. 

15 ‘‘(B) BEGINNING JULY 1, 2006.—Beginning 

16 on July 1, 2006, the Secretary shall award in17 centive grants to States for performance de18 scribed in paragraph (2) in carrying out innova19 tive programs consistent with the programs 

20 under chapters 4 and 5 of subtitle B of title I, 

21 to implement or enhance innovative and coordi22 nated programs consistent with the statewide 

23 economic, workforce, and educational interests 

24 of the State. 
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1 ‘‘(2) BASIS.—The Secretary shall award the 

2 grants on the basis that States— 

3 ‘‘(A) have exceeded the State adjusted lev4 els of performance for title I, the adjusted levels 

5 of performance for title II, and the levels of 

6 performance under the Carl D. Perkins Voca7 tional and Technical Education Act of 1998 (20 

8 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); or 

9 ‘‘(B) have— 

10 ‘‘(i) met the State adjusted levels of 

11 performance for title I, the adjusted levels 

12 of performance for title II, and the levels 

13 of performance under the Carl D. Perkins 

14 Vocational and Technical Education Act of 

15 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) demonstrated exemplary per17 formance in serving hard-to-serve popu18 lations. 

19 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds awarded to a 

20 State under this section may be used to carry out 

21 activities authorized for States under chapters 4 and 

22 5 of subtitle B of title I, title II, and the Carl D. 

23 Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 

24 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), including demonstra25 tion projects, and for such innovative projects or 
31 

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1 programs that increase coordination and enhance 

2 service to program participants, particularly hard-to3 serve populations.’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking subpara5 graph (C) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(C) the State meets the requirements of 

7 subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(2).’’. 

8 TITLE IV—FEDERAL TASK 

9 FORCE ON OLDER WORKERS 

10 SEC. 401. FEDERAL TASK FORCE ON OLDER WORKERS. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 

13 shall establish a Federal Task Force on Older Workers 

14 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force established pur16 suant to subsection (a) shall be composed of representa17 tives from all relevant Federal agencies that have regu18 latory jurisdiction over, or a clear policy interest in, issues 

19 relating to older workers, including the Internal Revenue 

20 Service, the Social Security Administration, the Equal 

21 Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Adminis22 tration on Aging of the Department of Health and Human 

23 Services. 

24 (c) ACTIVITIES.— 
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1 (1) AFTER ONE YEAR.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of establishment of the Task Force, 

3 the Task Force shall— 

4 (A) identify statutory and regulatory provi5 sions in current law that tend to limit opportu6 nities for older workers, and develop legislative 

7 and regulatory proposals to address such limita8 tions; 

9 (B) identify best practices in the private 

10 sector for hiring and retaining older workers, 

11 and serve as a clearinghouse of such informa12 tion; and 

13 (C) assess the effectiveness and cost of 

14 programs that Federal agencies have imple15 mented to hire and retain older workers (includ16 ing the Senior Environmental Employment 

17 (SEE) Program of the Environmental Protec18 tion Agency), and recommend cost-effective pro19 grams for all Federal agencies to hire and re20 tain older workers. 

21 (2) AFTER THREE YEARS.—Not later than 3 

22 years after the date of establishment of the Task 

23 Force, the Task Force shall— 

24 (A) assess the effectiveness of the provi25 sions of this Act; and 
33 

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1 (B) organize a Conference on the Aging 

2 Workforce, which shall include the participation 

3 of senior, business, labor, and other interested 

4 organizations. 

5 (3) REPORT.—The Task Force shall submit a 

6 report to Congress on the activities of the Task 

7 Force pursuant to paragraph (1). Such report shall 

8 be made available to the public. 

9 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out activities pur10 suant to this section, the Task Force shall consult with 

11 senior, business, labor, and other interested organizations. 

12 (e) APPLICABILITY OF FACA; TERMINATION OF

13 TASK FORCE.— 

14 (1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

15 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Task 

16 Force established pursuant to this Act. 

17 (2) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall ter18 minate 30 days after the date the Task Force com19 pletes all of its duties under this Act. 

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