II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1478 

To strengthen communities through English literacy and civics education 

for new Americans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2009 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. ALEXANDER, and Mr. REID) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Finance 

A BILL 

To strengthen communities through English literacy and 

civics education for new Americans, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Strengthen and Unite Communities with Civics Edu6 cation and English Skills Act of 2009’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 


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TITLE I—EXPANDING ENGLISH LITERACY, U.S. HISTORY, AND 

CIVICS EDUCATION 

Sec. 101. Increased investment in English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. 

Sec. 102. Definitions of English language learner. 

Sec. 103. Credits for teachers of English language learners. 

Sec. 104. Research in adult education. 

TITLE II—SUPPORTING ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND 

ADULT EDUCATION IN THE WORKFORCE 

Sec. 201. Credit for employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs. 

Sec. 202. Presidential award for business leadership in promoting United 

States citizenship. 

TITLE III—BUILDING STRONGER COMMUNITIES 

Sec. 301. Office of Citizenship and New Americans. 

Sec. 302. Grants to States. 

Sec. 303. Authorized activities. 

Sec. 304. Reporting and evaluation. 

Sec. 305. New citizens award program. 

Sec. 306. Rule of construction. 

Sec. 307. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to meet the growing need for English lit4 eracy, U.S. history, and civics education programs 

5 for new Americans in the United States; and 

6 (2) to encourage proactive policies to introduce 

7 new Americans into the Nation in order to maximize 

8 the benefits provided to these individuals and to the 

9 community. 


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1 TITLE I—EXPANDING ENGLISH 

2 LITERACY, U.S. HISTORY, AND 

3 CIVICS EDUCATION 

4 SEC. 101. INCREASED INVESTMENT IN ENGLISH LITERACY, 

5 U.S. HISTORY, AND CIVICS EDUCATION 

6 UNDER THE ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY 

7 LITERACY ACT. 

8 (a) INTEGRATED ENGLISH LITERACY AND CIVICS

9 EDUCATION PROGRAM.—Section 203 of the Adult Edu10 cation and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9202) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (12) through 

13 (18) as paragraphs (13) through (19), respectively; 

14 and 

15 (2) by inserting after paragraph (11), the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(12) INTEGRATED ENGLISH LITERACY, U.S. 

18 HISTORY, AND CIVICS EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The 

19 term ‘integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and 

20 civics education program’ means a program of in21 struction designed to help an English language 

22 learner achieve competence in English through 

23 contextualized instruction on the rights and respon24 sibilities of citizenship, naturalization procedures, 

25 civic participation, and United States history and 


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1 Government to help such learner acquire the skills 

2 and knowledge to become an active and informed 

3 parent, worker, and community member.’’. 

4 (b) STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.—Section 

5 223(a) of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act 

6 (20 U.S.C. 9223(a)) is amended by inserting after para7 graph (11) the following: 

8 ‘‘(12) Technical assistance for grant applica9 tions of faith- and community-based organizations.’’. 

10 (c) NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY.—Section 

11 242(c)(1) of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act 

12 (20 U.S.C. 9252(c)(1)) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (G), (H), 

14 and (I), as subparagraphs (I), (J), and (K), respec15 tively; and 

16 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(G) to coordinate and share information 

19 with national organizations and associations 

20 that are interested in integrated English lit21 eracy, U.S. history, and civics education pro22 grams; 

23 ‘‘(H) to study the effectiveness of distance 

24 learning or self-study programs in assisting the 


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1 English language learner population achieve 

2 competence in English;’’. 

3 (d) REPORT.—Section 242(k) of the Adult Education 

4 and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9252(k)) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

7 the semicolon; 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para9 graph (4); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(3) a separate analysis of— 

13 ‘‘(A) national and State adult English in14 struction needs; 

15 ‘‘(B) data on the composition of recent im16 migration flows and immigration settlement 

17 patterns across the United States; and 

18 ‘‘(C) estimated instructional needs based 

19 on the English ability and educational attain20 ment of English language learners under recent 

21 migration patterns; and’’. 

22 (e) NATIONAL LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.—Section 

23 243 of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 

24 U.S.C. 9253) is amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and integrated English literacy, U.S. history, 

3 and civics education programs’’ before the semi4 colon at the end; and 

5 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

6 ‘‘and integrated English literacy, U.S. history, 

7 and civics education programs’’ before ‘‘, based 

8 on scientific evidence’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

11 ‘‘and integrated English literacy, U.S. history, 

12 and civics education programs’’ before the semi13 colon at the end; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by inserting 

15 ‘‘integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and 

16 civics education programs,’’ before ‘‘and work17 place literacy programs’’; and 

18 (C) in subparagraph (E)— 

19 (i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and in20 tegrated English literacy, U.S. history, and 

21 civics education programs’’ before the 

22 semicolon at the end; 

23 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

24 after the semicolon; 

25 (iii) in clause (iv)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘section 231’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘sections 231 and 244’’; and 

3 (II) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the 

4 semicolon; and 

5 (iv) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(v) the extent to which integrated 

8 English literacy, U.S. history, and civics 

9 education programs carried out under sec10 tion 244 lead participants in such pro11 grams to increase their civic participation 

12 and, if applicable, lead such participants to 

13 become United States citizens;’’. 

14 (f) INTEGRATED ENGLISH LITERACY, U.S. HISTORY, 

15 AND CIVICS EDUCATION.—Chapter 4 of subtitle A of the 

16 Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 

17 9251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 244. INTEGRATED ENGLISH LITERACY, U.S. HISTORY, 

20 AND CIVICS EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

21 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From funds appro22 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary shall award 

23 grants to States, from allocations under subsection (b), 

24 for integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics 

25 education programs. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

3 from the amount appropriated under subsection (c) 

4 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate— 

5 ‘‘(A) 65 percent of such amount to States 

6 on the basis of a State’s need for integrated 

7 English, U.S. history, and civics education pro8 grams, as determined by calculating each 

9 State’s share of a 10-year average of the data 

10 compiled by the Office of Immigration Statistics 

11 of the Department of Homeland Security, for 

12 immigrants admitted for lawful permanent resi13 dence for the 10 most recent years; and 

14 ‘‘(B) 35 percent of such amount to the 

15 States on the basis of whether the State experi16 enced growth, as measured by the average of 

17 the 3 most recent years for which data compiled 

18 by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the 

19 Department of Homeland Security are avail20 able, for immigrants admitted for lawful perma21 nent residence. 

22 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM.—No State shall receive an allo23 cation under paragraph (1) in an amount that is less 

24 than $60,000. 


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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—For the 

2 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

3 to be appropriated $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, 

4 $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and $300,000,000 for 

5 fiscal year 2012.’’. 

6 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER. 

7 (a) ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY LITERACY

8 ACT.—The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 

9 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) in section 203(6) (20 U.S.C. 9202(6)), by 

11 striking ‘‘individuals of limited English proficiency’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘English language learners’’; 

13 (2) in section 203 (20 U.S.C. 9202)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (10)— 

15 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik16 ing ‘‘INDIVIDUAL OF LIMITED ENGLISH

17 PROFICIENCY’’ and inserting ‘‘ENGLISH

18 LANGUAGE LEARNER’’; and 

19 (ii) in the matter preceding subpara20 graph (A), by striking ‘‘individual of lim21 ited English proficiency’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘English language learner’’; and 

23 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), 

24 (8), (9), and (10), as paragraphs (7), (8), (9), 

25 (10), and (6), respectively; 


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1 (3) in section 224(b)(10)(D) (20 U.S.C. 

2 9224(b)(10)(D)), by striking ‘‘individuals with lim3 ited English proficiency’’ and inserting ‘‘English lan4 guage learners’’; and 

5 (4) in section 243(2)(D)(ii) (20 U.S.C. 

6 9253(2)(D)(ii)), by striking ‘‘individuals with limited 

7 English proficiency who are adults’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘adult English language learners’’. 

9 (b) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

10 OF 1965.— 

11 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 9101(25) of the El12 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 7801(25)) is amended by striking the matter 

14 preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(25) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The 

17 term ‘English language learner’ means an indi18 vidual—’’. 

19 (2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in the Ele20 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) to an individual who is limited 

22 English proficient shall be construed to refer to an 

23 English language learner. 


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1 SEC. 103. CREDITS FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE 

2 LEARNERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is 

6 amended by inserting after section 25D the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 25E. TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible teacher, 

10 there shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed 

11 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to— 

12 ‘‘(1) $750, for each of the first 5 taxable years 

13 for which the taxpayer is allowed a credit under this 

14 section; and 

15 ‘‘(2) $500, for any other taxable year. 

16 ‘‘(b) CREDIT ALLOWED ONLY FOR 10 TAXABLE

17 YEARS.—No credit shall be allowed under this section 

18 with respect to a taxpayer for any taxable year after the 

19 10th taxable year for which such taxpayer is allowed a 

20 credit under this section. 

21 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE TEACHER.—For purposes of this sec22 tion— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the term ‘eligible teacher’ means, with re25 spect to a taxable year, any individual who is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a full-time teacher of English as a 

2 second language or bilingual instruction for the 

3 academic year ending in such taxable year, or 

4 ‘‘(B) an eligible part-time teacher of 

5 English as a second language or bilingual in6 struction for the academic year ending in such 

7 taxable year. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PART-TIME TEACHER.—The 

9 term ‘eligible part-time teacher’ means, with respect 

10 to a taxable year, an individual who teaches at least 

11 20 hours per week during the academic year ending 

12 in such taxable year. Such term does not include any 

13 individual who is a full-time teacher of English as a 

14 second language during such academic year. 

15 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of an eligible 

16 part-time teacher, subsection (a) shall be applied by 

17 substituting ‘$375’ for ‘$750’ and by substituting 

18 ‘$250’ for ‘$500’.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 for such subpart is amended by inserting after the item 

21 relating to section 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Teachers of English language learners.’’. 

22 (c) TEACHER CERTIFICATION EXPENSES.—Part VII 

23 of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code 

24 of 1986 (relating to additional itemized deductions for in25 dividuals) is amended by redesignating section 224 as secVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:32 Jul 22, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1478.IS S1478

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1 tion 225 and by inserting after section 223 the following 

2 new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 224. CERTIFICATION EXPENSES FOR TEACHERS OF 

4 ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

6 there shall be allowed a deduction for eligible teacher cer7 tification expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer for 

8 the taxable year. 

9 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE TEACHER CERTIFICATION EX10 PENSES.—The term ‘eligible teacher certification ex11 penses’— 

12 ‘‘(1) means the tuition and fees required for the 

13 enrollment or attendance of the taxpayer at an eligi14 ble educational institution (as defined in section 

15 25A) for a course which is required for certification 

16 or licensure of such individual as qualified to provide 

17 English as a second language or bilingual instruction 

18 to elementary or secondary school students who are 

19 limited English proficient (as defined in section 

20 9901 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

21 Act of 1965); and 

22 ‘‘(2) shall not include any amounts that are— 

23 ‘‘(A) used for a course that is part of the 

24 individual’s degree program; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) funded by another person or any gov2 ernmental entity. 

3 ‘‘(c) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction 

4 shall be allowed under this section for any expense for 

5 which a deduction or credit is allowed under any other 

6 provision of this chapter. 

7 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

8 expenses paid or incurred after December 31, 2014.’’. 

9 (d) CERTIFICATION DEDUCTION ALLOWED WHETH10 ER OR NOT TAXPAYER ITEMIZES OTHER DEDUCTIONS.— 

11 Subsection (a) of section 62 of such Code is amended by 

12 inserting after paragraph (21) the following new para13 graph: 

14 ‘‘(22) TEACHER CERTIFICATION EXPENSES.— 

15 The deduction allowed by section 224.’’. 

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

17 for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 

18 is amended by striking the last item and inserting the fol19 lowing new items: 

‘‘Sec. 224. Certification expenses for teachers of English language learners. 

‘‘Sec. 225. Cross reference.’’. 

20 (f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

22 the Treasury shall promulgate regulations implementing 

23 the provisions of this section. 


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1 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 December 31, 2009. 

4 SEC. 104. RESEARCH IN ADULT EDUCATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 133(c)(2)(A) of the Edu6 cation Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

7 9533(c)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘education and’’ 

8 before ‘‘literacy’’. 

9 (b) NATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CEN10 TER.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 

12 shall direct the Commissioner for Education Re13 search of the National Center for Education Re14 search established pursuant to section 131 of the 

15 Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

16 9531) to establish a national research and develop17 ment center for adult education and literacy as de18 scribed in section 133(c)(2)(A) of such Act (20 

19 U.S.C. 9533(c)(2)(A)) (as amended by subsection 

20 (a)). 

21 (2) PROVISION FOR EXPANSION OF RE22 SEARCH.—If, as of the date of enactment of this 

23 Act, the Commissioner has established a center for 

24 adult literacy in accordance with section 

25 133(c)(2)(A) of the Education Sciences Reform Act 


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1 of 2002, the Commissioner shall expand the topic of 

2 research of such center to include adult education, 

3 in accordance with the amendment made by sub4 section (a). 

5 TITLE II—SUPPORTING ENGLISH 

6 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND 

7 ADULT EDUCATION IN THE 

8 WORKFORCE 

9 SEC. 201. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYER-PROVIDED ADULT 

10 ENGLISH LITERACY AND BASIC EDUCATION 

11 PROGRAMS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub13 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

14 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 45R. EMPLOYER-PROVIDED ADULT ENGLISH LIT17 ERACY AND BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of section 38, 

19 the credit determined under this section with respect to 

20 any employer for the taxable year is an amount equal to 

21 20 percent of qualified education program expenses, but 

22 in no case shall the employer receive a credit in an amount 

23 of more than $1,000 per full-time employee participating 

24 in the qualified education program. 


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1 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED EDUCATION PROGRAM EX2 PENSES.—For purposes of this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified edu4 cation program expenses’ means expenses paid or in5 curred by an employer to make available qualified 

6 education to employees of the employer, who— 

7 ‘‘(A) are English language learners; and 

8 ‘‘(B)(i) have not received a secondary 

9 school diploma, or its recognized equivalent; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) lack sufficient mastery of basic edu11 cational skills, including financial literacy, to 

12 enable the individuals to function effectively in 

13 society. 

14 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED EDUCATION.—The term ‘quali15 fied education’ means adult education and literacy 

16 activities provided— 

17 ‘‘(A) by an eligible provider which for the 

18 fiscal year ending during the employer’s taxable 

19 year receives or is eligible to receive Federal 

20 funds under section 231 of the Adult Education 

21 and Family Literacy Act for adult education 

22 and literacy activities; or 

23 ‘‘(B) in curriculum approved by the De24 partment of Education, the Employment and 


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1 Training Administration of the Department of 

2 Labor, or in current use by a Federal agency. 

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PROVIDER; ADULT EDUCATION

4 AND LITERACY ACTIVITIES.—The terms ‘eligible pro5 vider’ and ‘adult education and literacy activities’ 

6 shall have the respective meanings given to such 

7 terms in section 203 of the Adult Education and 

8 Family Literacy Act. 

9 ‘‘(4) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 

10 ‘English language learner’ shall have the same 

11 meaning given to such term in section 9101(25) of 

12 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

13 1965. 

14 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this sec15 tion— 

16 ‘‘(1) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.—An employee 

17 shall be considered full-time if such employee is em18 ployed at least 30 hours per week for 25 or more 

19 calendar weeks in the taxable year. 

20 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATION RULE.—All persons treated 

21 as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) or 

22 section 52, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414, 

23 shall be treated as 1 person. 

24 ‘‘(d) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction 

25 or credit shall be allowed under any other provision of this 


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1 chapter for any amount taken into account in determining 

2 the credit under this section. 

3 ‘‘(e) ELECTION TO HAVE CREDIT NOT APPLY.—A 

4 taxpayer may elect (at such time and in such manner as 

5 the Secretary may by regulations prescribe) to have this 

6 section not apply for any taxable year. 

7 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

8 expenses paid or incurred after December 31, 2014.’’. 

9 (b) CREDIT TO BE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS

10 CREDIT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of such Code (re11 lating to the current year business credit) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph 

13 (34); 

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (35) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(36) the adult English literacy and basic edu19 cation programs credit determined under section 

20 45R.’’. 

21 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

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

23 of the such Code is amended by adding at the end the 

24 following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45R. Employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs.’’. 


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1 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 the Treasury shall promulgate regulations implementing 

4 the provisions of this section. 

5 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

7 December 31, 2009. 

8 SEC. 202. PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR BUSINESS LEADER9 SHIP IN PROMOTING UNITED STATES CITI10 ZENSHIP. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Pres12 idential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting 

13 United States Citizenship (referred to in this section as 

14 the ‘‘Presidential Citizenship Award’’), which shall be 

15 awarded to companies and other organizations that make 

16 extraordinary efforts in assisting their employees and 

17 members to learn English and increase their under18 standing of United States history and civics. 

19 (b) SELECTION AND PRESENTATION OF AWARD.— 

20 (1) SELECTION.—The President shall periodi21 cally award the Presidential Citizenship Award to 

22 large and small companies and other organizations 

23 described in subsection (a) after reviewing rec24 ommendations to the President with respect to such 

25 award by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 


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1 (2) PRESENTATION.—The presentation of the 

2 Presidential Citizenship Award shall be made by the 

3 President, or a designee of the President, in con4 junction with an appropriate ceremony. 

5 TITLE III—BUILDING STRONGER 

6 COMMUNITIES 

7 SEC. 301. OFFICE OF CITIZENSHIP AND NEW AMERICANS. 

8 (a) RENAMING OF THE OFFICE OF CITIZENSHIP AND

9 NEW AMERICANS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Citizenship 

11 within United States Citizenship and Immigration 

12 Services of the Department of Homeland Security 

13 shall be renamed the ‘‘Office of Citizenship and New 

14 Americans’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 451(f) 

16 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

17 271(f)) is amended— 

18 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

19 ‘‘CITIZENSHIP.’’ and inserting ‘‘CITIZENSHIP

20 AND NEW AMERICANS.’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 

22 New Americans’’ after ‘‘Office of Citizenship’’; 

23 and 

24 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and 

25 New Americans’’ after ‘‘Office of Citizenship’’. 


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1 (3) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, reg2 ulation, document, paper, or other record of the 

3 United States to the Office of Citizenship within 

4 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services 

5 of the Department of Homeland Security shall be 

6 deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Office of Citizen7 ship and New Americans’’. 

8 (b) FUNCTIONS.—Section 451(f)(2) of the Homeland 

9 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 271(f)(2)), as amended 

10 by subsection (a)(2)(C), is further amended by striking 

11 ‘‘for promoting’’ and all that follows through the period 

12 and inserting ‘‘for— 

13 ‘‘(A) establishing national goals for intro14 ducing new Americans into the United States 

15 and measuring the degree to which such goals 

16 are met; 

17 ‘‘(B) assessing and coordinating Federal 

18 policies, regulations, task forces, and commis19 sions related to introducing immigrants into the 

20 United States; 

21 ‘‘(C) continuing with the efforts of the 

22 Task Force on New Americans established 

23 under Executive Order No. 13404 to facilitate 

24 a dialogue among Federal agencies, make rec25 ommendations to the President of the United 


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1 States, and follow through with initiatives ad2 ministered by the Task Force under the author3 ity of such Executive Order; 

4 ‘‘(D) serving as a liaison and intermediary 

5 with State and local governments and other en6 tities to assist in establishing local goals, task 

7 forces, and councils to assist in introducing im8 migrants to the United States; 

9 ‘‘(E) coordinating with other Federal agen10 cies to provide information to State and local 

11 governments on the demand for English acqui12 sition programs and best practices in place on 

13 the Federal and State level for aliens who have 

14 recently arrived in the United States; 

15 ‘‘(F) assisting States in coordinating ac16 tivities with the grant program carried out 

17 under title III of the Strengthen and Unite 

18 Communities with Civics Education and 

19 English Skills Act of 2009; and 

20 ‘‘(G) promoting instruction and training on 

21 citizenship responsibilities for aliens interested 

22 in becoming naturalized citizens of the United 

23 States, including the development of edu24 cational materials for such aliens.’’. 


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1 (c) DONATIONS.—Section 451(f) of the Homeland 

2 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 271(f)), as amended by 

3 this section, is further amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(3) DONATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—The 

7 Chief of the Office of Citizenship and New 

8 Americans may accept monetary and in-kind 

9 donations to support the activities described in 

10 paragraph (2). 

11 ‘‘(B) DEDICATION OF FUNDS.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of law— 

13 ‘‘(i) any funds donated to the Office 

14 of Citizenship and New Americans to sup15 port the activities described in paragraph 

16 (2) shall be deposited entirely into an ac17 count established for such purpose; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the funds contained in such ac19 count shall be used solely to support such 

20 activities; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) funds that were not donated for 

22 the exclusive purpose of supporting such 

23 activities may not be deposited into such 

24 account.’’. 


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1 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Chief of the Office 

2 of Citizenship and New Americans shall submit a biennial 

3 report to the authorizing Committees in Congress that de4 scribes the activities of the office. 

5 SEC. 302. GRANTS TO STATES. 

6 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE GRANTS.—Subject to 

7 subsections (c) and (d), the Chief of the Office of Citizen8 ship and New Americans is authorized to provide competi9 tive grants to States to form State New American Coun10 cils as described in subsection (b) to carry out activities 

11 described in section 303. 

12 (b) STATE NEW AMERICAN COUNCILS.—A State 

13 New American Council shall consist of not less than 15 

14 and not more than 19 individuals from the State and shall 

15 include, to the extent practicable, representatives from the 

16 following sectors: 

17 (1) Business. 

18 (2) Faith-based organizations. 

19 (3) Civic organizations. 

20 (4) Philanthropic leaders. 

21 (5) Nonprofit organizations, including those 

22 with experience working with immigrant commu23 nities. 

24 (6) Representatives from key education stake25 holders, such as State educational agencies, local 


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1 educational agencies, community colleges, or teach2 ers. 

3 (7) Representatives of State adult education of4 fices. 

5 (8) Representatives of State or local public li6 braries. 

7 (9) Representatives of statewide or local govern8 ment officials. 

9 (c) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.— 

10 (1) AUTHORITY TO GRANT.—The Chief of the 

11 Office of Citizenship and New Americans may award 

12 a grant under subsection (a) to a State without re13 quiring the State to form a State New American 

14 Council if the Chief determines that the State is car15 rying out similar statewide initiatives to introduce 

16 immigrants into the State and into the United 

17 States. 

18 (2) GUIDELINES.—The Chief shall establish 

19 guidelines for awarding grants to States described in 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 (d) GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Chief 

22 of the Office of Citizenship and New Americans may pro23 vide a grant under subsection (a) to a local government 

24 at the discretion of the Chief. 


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1 (e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

2 under this section, an applicant shall submit an applica3 tion to the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and New 

4 Americans at such time, in such manner, and containing 

5 such information as the Chief may reasonably require. 

6 Such application shall include— 

7 (1) if the applicant is a State seeking to form 

8 a State New American Council, an assurance that 

9 such State New American Council will meet the re10 quirements of subsection (b); 

11 (2) the number of immigrants in the State in 

12 which the applicant is located; 

13 (3) a description of the challenges in intro14 ducing new Americans in the State and local com15 munity; and 

16 (4) any other information that the Chief may 

17 reasonably require. 

18 (f) DURATION.—A grant awarded under subsection 

19 (a) shall be for a period of 5 years. 

20 (g) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to grant appli21 cations that— 

22 (1) use matching funds, from non-Federal 

23 sources, which may include in-kind contributions; 

24 and 


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1 (2) demonstrate collaboration with private enti2 ties to achieve the goals of their comprehensive plan. 

3 (h) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—Additional con4 sideration shall be given to grant applications submitted 

5 by States with a large increase in the population of immi6 grants over the previous 10 years relative to past migra7 tion patterns, based on data compiled by the Office of Im8 migration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Secu9 rity. 

10 (i) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant award11 ed under subsection (a) shall be not less than $500,000 

12 and not more than $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

13 (j) RESERVATIONS.— 

14 (1) NATIONAL.—The Chief of the Office of Citi15 zenship and New Americans shall reserve not more 

16 than 1 percent of the amount appropriated to carry 

17 out this section for such Office, including the evalua18 tion of funds distributed. 

19 (2) STATES.—A State awarded a grant under 

20 subsection (a) may reserve not more than 10 percent 

21 of such grant amount for the creation and operation 

22 of the State New American Council. 

23 SEC. 303. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

24 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.—A grant awarded 

25 under section 302(a) shall be used— 


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1 (1) to develop, implement, expand, or enhance 

2 a comprehensive plan to introduce new immigrants 

3 into the State, including the increase in English lit4 eracy, U.S. history, and civics education; 

5 (2) to provide subgrants to local communities 

6 as described in subsection (c); 

7 (3) if the grant is awarded to a State to form 

8 a State New American Council, to convene meetings 

9 of the State New American Council not less fre10 quently than once each quarter; 

11 (4) to disseminate best practices and other in12 formation compiled by the Office of Citizenship and 

13 New Americans that pertains to effective programs 

14 for English acquisition and civics education; and 

15 (5) to convene public hearings not less fre16 quently than once each year to report on the activi17 ties carried out by such grant. 

18 (b) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A grant awarded 

19 under section 302(a) may be used— 

20 (1) to solicit and disseminate solutions and 

21 remedies to the challenges of introducing new Amer22 icans in the State or municipality in which the grant 

23 is awarded; 

24 (2) to provide technical assistance, training, or 

25 coordination for State or local agencies to improve 


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1 programs to introduce new Americans into the 

2 United States, such as English literacy, U.S. his3 tory, and civics education; 

4 (3) to review and develop strategies to expand 

5 distance learning as a method of instruction for 

6 English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education 

7 and available technological programs that may sup8 plement or supplant quality classroom instruction; 

9 (4) to coordinate with entities of other States 

10 engaged in activities under this title or other activi11 ties to introduce new Americans into the State or 

12 community; and 

13 (5) to develop materials focused on preparation 

14 for the naturalization test, engage in outreach and 

15 educational activities on the naturalization process, 

16 and provide assistance to immigrants with the natu17 ralization application, where appropriate. 

18 (c) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES.— 

19 (1) REQUIREMENT TO AWARD.—A grant under 

20 section 302(a) shall be used to award subgrants to 

21 entities of local governments to assist communities 

22 with local efforts to introduce new Americans into 

23 the community. 

24 (2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Subgrants shall 

25 be awarded under paragraph (1) to entities of local 


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1 governments for use to carry out activities in accord2 ance with— 

3 (A) a comprehensive plan described in sub4 section (a)(1); and 

5 (B) any guidance provided by the Chief of 

6 the Office of Citizenship and New Americans. 

7 (3) SUBGRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a 

8 subgrant awarded under this subsection shall be not 

9 less than $100,000 and not more than $600,000 for 

10 a fiscal year. 

11 SEC. 304. REPORTING AND EVALUATION. 

12 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity awarded a grant 

14 under section 302(a) shall submit a report annually 

15 to the Office of Citizenship and New Americans 

16 that— 

17 (A) describes the activities of the State 

18 New American Council and subgrant recipients 

19 and how these activities meet the goals of— 

20 (i) the Chief of the Office of Citizen21 ship and New Americans; and 

22 (ii) the comprehensive plan described 

23 in section 303(a)(1); and 


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1 (B) describes the geographic areas being 

2 served, the number of immigrants in such 

3 areas, and the primary languages spoken there. 

4 (2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The Chief of the 

5 Office of Citizenship may set out other requirements 

6 as the Chief sees fit in order to— 

7 (A) impose accountability; and 

8 (B) measure the outcomes of the activities 

9 carried out with grants awarded under section 

10 302(a). 

11 (b) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—The Chief of the Office 

12 of Citizenship and New Americans shall conduct an an13 nual evaluation of the grant program established under 

14 this title and use such evaluation— 

15 (1) to improve the effectiveness of programs 

16 carried out by the Chief; 

17 (2) to assess future needs of immigrants and of 

18 State and local governments related to immigrants; 

19 (3) to determine the effectiveness of such grant 

20 program; and 

21 (4) to ensure that the grantees and subgrantees 

22 are acting within the scope and purpose of this title. 

23 SEC. 305. NEW CITIZENS AWARD PROGRAM. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a new 

25 citizens award program to recognize citizens who— 


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1 (1) have made an outstanding contribution to 

2 the United States; and 

3 (2) are naturalized during the 10-year period 

4 ending on the date of such recognition. 

5 (b) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized 

7 to present a medal, in recognition of outstanding 

8 contributions to the United States, to citizens de9 scribed in subsection (a). 

10 (2) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF AWARDS.—Not more 

11 than 10 citizens may receive a medal under this sec12 tion in any calendar year. 

13 SEC. 306. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

14 Nothing in this title shall be construed to limit the 

15 authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

16 through the Director of United States Citizenship and Im17 migration Services or such other officials of the Depart18 ment of Homeland Security as the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security may direct, to manage, direct, and control the 

20 activities of the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and New 

21 Americans. 


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1 SEC. 307. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this title $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 

4 through 2015. 

Æ 


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