II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 655 

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize the Secretary 

of Labor to provide grants for Urban Jobs Programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2013 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Ms. 

WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize the Secretary of Labor to provide grants for Urban 

Jobs Programs, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Urban Jobs Act of 

5 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Every school day, nearly 7,000 students be9 come dropouts. Annually, that dropout rate results 


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1 in about 1,200,000 students not graduating from 

2 high school with their peers as scheduled. Lacking a 

3 high school diploma, those individuals will be far 

4 more likely than graduates to spend their lives peri5 odically unemployed, on government assistance, or 

6 cycling in and out of the prison system. 

7 (2) The average annual income in 2009 was 

8 $19,540 for a high school dropout, compared to 

9 $27,380 for a high school graduate, a difference of 

10 $7,840. 

11 (3) According to a 2011 report by Diploma 

12 Counts— 

13 (A) about 42 percent of Hispanic students, 

14 43 percent of African-American students, and 

15 46 percent of American Indian students will not 

16 graduate on time with a regular high school di17 ploma; and 

18 (B) by comparison, 17 percent of Asian 

19 students and 22 percent of White students will 

20 not graduate as described in subparagraph (A). 

21 (4) Among all races and ethnicities, males grad22 uate from high school at a lower rate than their fe23 male peers do. Among all students, 68 percent of 

24 males and 75 percent of females graduate. 


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1 (5) According to a report by the College Board 

2 Advocacy & Policy Center, one of the most unfortu3 nate destinations for high school dropouts, students, 

4 and graduates age 18 to 24 is incarceration in Fed5 eral or State prisons or local jails. Since 2000, the 

6 number of individuals in the 18 to 24 age group who 

7 are incarcerated at the Federal, State, and local lev8 els has risen from about 1,400,000 in 2000 to about 

9 1,600,000 in 2008. Over 475,000 individuals in that 

10 age group were incarcerated in 2008, with males ac11 counting for 92.4 percent of all those individuals. In 

12 contrast, only 36,000 women in the same age group 

13 (7.6 percent) were incarcerated in 2008. 

14 (6) High school graduation rates are signifi15 cantly lower in school districts with higher percent16 ages of students in poverty, measured as students 

17 who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. 

18 (7) According to a 2010 National Center for 

19 Education Statistics report, high school students 

20 from low-income families drop out of high school at 

21 6 times the rate of their peers from high-income 

22 families. 

23 (8) Over half of State parole entrants are not 

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1 cent of the entrants have only an eighth grade edu2 cation or less. 

3 (9) The lowest achieving 25 percent of students 

4 are 20 times more likely to drop out of high school, 

5 compared to the highest achieving 25 percent of stu6 dents. 

7 (10) According to the Department of Labor, 

8 each year approximately 650,000 persons are re9 leased from Federal and State prisons. Those ex10 prisoners do not return to communities evenly dis11 tributed across the United States, but rather return 

12 disproportionately to high-poverty communities char13 acterized by high rates of joblessness, crime, and 

14 drug abuse. 

15 (11) The unemployment rate among ex-pris16 oners has been estimated to be between 25 and 40 

17 percent. An estimated 19 percent of adults in State 

18 prisons are functionally illiterate. Over half of State 

19 parole entrants are not high school graduates, and 

20 about 11 percent of the entrants have only an eighth 

21 grade education or less. 

22 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro23 vide adequate resources for national or regional nonprofit 

24 organizations to prevent and reduce the disproportionate 

25 incarceration of eligible youth, especially minority youth, 


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1 and to prepare eligible youth for entry into employment, 

2 or education leading to employment, that places partici3 pants on a path to economic self-sufficiency and provides 

4 opportunities for advancement, by providing a comprehen5 sive set of services that includes job training, education, 

6 and support services. 

7 SEC. 3. URBAN JOBS PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work9 force Investment Act of 1998 is amended by inserting 

10 after section 173A (29 U.S.C. 2918a) the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 173B. URBAN JOBS PROGRAMS. 

12 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

13 provide, through competitive grants, needed resources for 

14 the following objectives: 

15 ‘‘(1) To establish a feeder system for youth 

16 ages 18 through 24, who are out-of-school youth or 

17 are or have been subject to the criminal justice proc18 ess, in urban communities, into employment, or edu19 cation leading to employment, through national or 

20 regional intermediaries that have demonstrated ef21 fectiveness in conducting outreach to, and serving, 

22 eligible youth through a national or regional network 

23 of community-based affiliates. 

24 ‘‘(2) To provide a holistic approach for pre25 paring eligible youth in urban communities for entry 


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1 into employment, or education leading to employ2 ment, through a comprehensive set of services. 

3 ‘‘(3) To prevent and reduce the dispropor4 tionate incarceration of eligible youth in urban com5 munities, including minority youth. 

6 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY-BASED AFFILIATE.—The term 

8 ‘community-based affiliate’ means a community9 based organization that is an affiliate of a national 

10 or regional intermediary. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—The term ‘eligible 

12 youth’ means individuals ages 18 through 24 who— 

13 ‘‘(A) are not enrolled in secondary or post14 secondary school; or 

15 ‘‘(B) are or have been subject to any stage 

16 of the criminal justice process. 

17 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL INTERMEDIARY.—The term 

18 ‘national’, with respect to an intermediary, means a 

19 national private nonprofit community-based organi20 zation that— 

21 ‘‘(A) has an affiliate network comprised of 

22 community-based organizations in urban com23 munities in more than one State; and 

24 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated expertise and effec25 tiveness in conducting outreach to eligible youth 


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1 and providing workforce investment activities to 

2 such youth. 

3 ‘‘(4) RECIDIVISM.—The term ‘recidivism’ 

4 means a tendency to return to criminal behavior. 

5 ‘‘(5) REGIONAL INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘re6 gional’, used with respect to an intermediary, means 

7 a private nonprofit community-based organization 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) has an affiliate network comprised of 

10 community-based organizations that— 

11 ‘‘(i) have experience conducting multi12 site projects; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) are in a geographic area defined 

14 by the Bureau of the Census; and 

15 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated expertise and effec16 tiveness in conducting outreach to eligible youth 

17 and providing workforce investment activities to 

18 such youth. 

19 ‘‘(6) UNSUBSIDIZED JOB.—The term ‘unsub20 sidized job’ means an employment position with an 

21 employer— 

22 ‘‘(A) that pays the wages for the position; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) that does not receive public funds for 

2 the creation and maintenance of the employ3 ment position. 

4 ‘‘(7) URBAN JOBS PROGRAM.—The term ‘Urban 

5 Jobs Program’ means an Urban Jobs Program 

6 funded under subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(c) URBAN JOBS PROGRAM GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

9 make grants, on a competitive basis, to national or 

10 regional intermediaries for the purpose of carrying 

11 out Urban Jobs Programs that provide a com12 prehensive set of services to eligible youth in urban 

13 communities to provide such youth with a pathway 

14 to employment, or education leading to employment. 

15 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) FORM AND PROCEDURE.—To be eligi17 ble to receive a grant under this subsection, a 

18 national or regional intermediary shall submit 

19 an application at such time, in such manner, 

20 and accompanied by such information as the 

21 Secretary may require. 

22 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec23 retary shall require that the application contain, 

24 at a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a request for the grant, specifying 

2 the amount of the grant requested and 

3 proposed uses of the grant funds; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the national 

5 or regional intermediary will meet, for par6 ticipants in the Urban Jobs Program, 

7 goals consisting of— 

8 ‘‘(I) increased long-term employ9 ment in unsubsidized jobs; 

10 ‘‘(II) reduced recidivism; 

11 ‘‘(III) increased attainment of 

12 the recognized equivalent of a high 

13 school diploma; 

14 ‘‘(IV) improved literacy and 

15 numeracy; and 

16 ‘‘(V) increased attainment of in17 dustry-recognized certificates or cre18 dentials, or preparation for entry into 

19 an institution of higher education 

20 without need for further remediation; 

21 ‘‘(iii) a description of underlying sup22 ports for the program, including— 

23 ‘‘(I) engaged community part24 ners; 


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1 ‘‘(II) staff expertise in youth de2 velopment; and 

3 ‘‘(III) demonstrated under4 standing of youth characteristics; 

5 ‘‘(iv) a description of how the pro6 gram will enable program participants to 

7 achieve outcomes consisting of— 

8 ‘‘(I) creation of caring relation9 ships with peers and staff; 

10 ‘‘(II) creation of goals (such as 

11 the attainment described in clause 

12 (ii)(III), attainment of employment, 

13 admission to or completion of a degree 

14 at an institution of higher education, 

15 attainment of industry-recognized cer16 tificates or credentials, or preparation 

17 for entry into an institution of higher 

18 education without need for further re19 mediation); 

20 ‘‘(III) participation in opportuni21 ties to contribute to the community 

22 through service or volunteerism; 

23 ‘‘(IV) development of 21st cen24 tury workplace skills, including critical 

25 thinking and collaboration; 


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1 ‘‘(V) development of a sense of 

2 responsibility for one’s future; 

3 ‘‘(VI) development of plans or 

4 strategies to meet one’s goals; 

5 ‘‘(VII) reduction of risk-taking 

6 behaviors; 

7 ‘‘(VIII) achievement of improved 

8 educational outcomes (such as 

9 numeracy, literacy, or the attainment 

10 described in clause (ii)(II)); 

11 ‘‘(IX) achievement of improved 

12 employment outcomes; and 

13 ‘‘(X) reduction of recidivism; and 

14 ‘‘(v) a description of activities to be 

15 provided through the Urban Jobs Program 

16 that lead to the attainment of industry-rec17 ognized certificates or credentials described 

18 in paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A national or re20 gional intermediary that receives a grant under this 

21 subsection shall use the funds made available 

22 through the grant to carry out an Urban Jobs Pro23 gram, which shall include the following comprehen24 sive set of services: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Case management, through an indi2 vidual responsible for helping participants navi3 gate the Urban Jobs Program activities. 

4 ‘‘(B) Educational services, including skill 

5 assessment, reading and math remediation, 

6 educational enrichment, services involving prep7 aration for and opportunities for attainment of 

8 the recognized equivalent of a high school di9 ploma, services that connect to career pathways 

10 such as opportunities for attainment of indus11 try-recognized certificates or credentials or for 

12 preparation for entry into an institution of 

13 higher education without the need for further 

14 remediation, and postsecondary education. 

15 ‘‘(C) Employment and job readiness activi16 ties, including mentoring, community service 

17 opportunities, internships, on-the-job training, 

18 occupational skills training, personal develop19 ment, and unsubsidized jobs. 

20 ‘‘(D) Support services, health and nutri21 tion service referral, substance abuse counseling 

22 and treatment, and provision of housing assist23 ance, interpersonal and basic living skills, and 

24 transportation, child care, clothing, and other 

25 assistance as needed. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—Not more than 2 percent of 

2 the funds appropriated for any fiscal year under sec3 tion 174(d) may be used for expenses associated 

4 with carrying out this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1 

7 following each program year for which amounts are 

8 made available to carry out this section, the Sec9 retary of Labor shall submit to the Committee on 

10 Education and the Workforce of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committee on Health, Edu12 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report 

13 that details the progress made under this section in 

14 establishing Urban Jobs Programs through national 

15 or regional intermediaries. 

16 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF SECTION 172.—The 

17 program shall not be subject to evaluations required 

18 under section 172. 

19 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL JOBS COUNCIL ADVISORY COM20 MITTEE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of 

22 Labor shall establish a committee to be known as 

23 the National Jobs Council Advisory Committee (re24 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘Committee’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 

2 comprised of 12 members, appointed by the Sec3 retary, consisting of— 

4 ‘‘(A) 3 individuals from the private sector, 

5 who are senior human resources or diversity 

6 employees with national or regional responsibil7 ities, and who have experience in oversight that 

8 includes hiring, employee training, or overseeing 

9 employee relations; 

10 ‘‘(B) 5 representatives of employers in 

11 high-impact, high-growth industries, as defined 

12 by the Secretary; 

13 ‘‘(C) 1 national intermediary staff member; 

14 ‘‘(D) 1 regional intermediary staff mem15 ber; and 

16 ‘‘(E) 2 representatives from the Depart17 ment of Labor. 

18 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

19 Members shall be appointed for the life of the Com20 mittee. Any vacancy in the Committee shall not af21 fect the powers of the Committee, but shall be filled 

22 in the same manner as the original appointment was 

23 made. 

24 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ANALYSIS.—The Committee shall 

2 analyze, and prepare recommendations for the 

3 Secretary concerning— 

4 ‘‘(i) the design and operation of the 

5 program carried out under this section; 

6 ‘‘(ii) long-term strategic priorities for 

7 the program; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the formulation and application 

9 of guidelines related to activities carried 

10 out under the program. 

11 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—The Committee shall pre12 pare and submit to the Secretary periodic re13 ports containing the recommendations described 

14 in subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(5) PERSONNEL.— 

16 ‘‘(A) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members 

17 of the Committee shall not receive compensa18 tion for the performance of services for the 

19 Committee, but shall be allowed travel expenses, 

20 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at 

21 rates authorized for employees of agencies 

22 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

23 United States Code, while away from their 

24 homes or regular places of business in the per25 formance of services for the Committee. NotVerDate Mar 15 2010 15:58 Mar 29, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S655.IS S655

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1 withstanding section 1342 of title 31, United 

2 States Code, the Secretary may accept the vol3 untary and uncompensated services of members 

4 of the Committee. 

5 ‘‘(B) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOY6 EES.—Any Federal Government employee may 

7 be detailed to the Committee without reim8 bursement, and such detail shall be without 

9 interruption or loss of civil service status or 

10 privilege. 

11 ‘‘(6) PERMANENT COMMITTEE.—Section 14 of 

12 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

13 App.) shall not apply to the Committee. 

14 ‘‘(f) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LOCAL ADVI15 SORY COMMITTEES.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 ‘‘(1) a community-based affiliate receiving fund17 ing under this section should establish a local jobs 

18 council advisory committee to aid in establishing 

19 support from the local community for and guiding 

20 the local implementation of the program; and 

‘‘(2) not less than 1 21 ⁄3 of the members the com22 mittee should be employers in high-impact, high23 growth industries in the locality.’’. 


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1 (b) FUNDING.—Section 174 of the Workforce Invest2 ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2919) is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) URBAN JOBS PROGRAMS.—There is authorized 

5 to be appropriated to carry out section 173B— 

6 ‘‘(1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

7 ‘‘(2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

8 ‘‘(3) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

9 ‘‘(4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and 

10 ‘‘(5) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.’’. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con12 tents in section 1(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 

13 1998 is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting a period at the end of the item 

15 relating to section 173A; and 

16 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec17 tion 173A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 173B. Urban jobs programs.’’. 

Æ 


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