I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4268 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to make grants to States, units of general 

local government, and Indian tribes for the purpose of creating employment opportunities for unemployed and underemployed residents in distressed communities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2009 

Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Ms. CHU, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. HARE, Ms. KILPATRICK of 

Michigan, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. LEE

of California, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. 

PAYNE, Mr. WATT, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

KENNEDY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. WATERS, Ms. KAPTUR, 

Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. BACA, Mr. SIRES, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HONDA, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. JACKSONLEE of Texas, and Mr. CLAY) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to make grants to States, 

units of general local government, and Indian tribes for 

the purpose of creating employment opportunities for 

unemployed and underemployed residents in distressed 

communities. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Put America to Work 

3 Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATES, UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL 

5 GOVERNMENT, AND INDIAN TRIBES. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the availability of 

7 appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary of Labor 

8 shall make grants to States, units of general local govern9 ment, and Indian tribes to carry out activities in accord10 ance with this Act. 

11 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this program is to 

12 create employment opportunities for unemployed and un13 deremployed residents of distressed communities in activi14 ties designed to address community needs and reduce dis15 parities in health, housing, education, job readiness, and 

16 public infrastructure that have impeded these communities 

17 from realizing their full economic potential. 

18 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of the grant pro19 gram under this Act, an eligible entity is— 

20 (1) a unit of general local government, includ21 ing a metropolitan city or an urban county; 

22 (2) a State; or 

23 (3) an Indian tribe. 

24 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 

25 this section shall use the grant for the following purposes: 


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1 (1) For the 9-month period after the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act, the grant shall be used 

3 only to fund the following types of fast-track job 

4 placements: 

5 (A) The painting and repair of schools, 

6 community centers, and libraries. 

7 (B) The restoration and revitalization of 

8 abandoned and vacant properties to alleviate 

9 blight in distressed and foreclosure-affected 

10 areas of a unit of general local government. 

11 (C) The expansion of emergency food pro12 grams to reduce hunger and promote family 

13 stability. 

14 (D) The augmentation of staffing in Head 

15 Start, child care, and other early childhood edu16 cation programs to promote school readiness 

17 and early literacy. 

18 (E) The renovation and enhancement of 

19 maintenance of parks, playgrounds, and other 

20 public spaces. 

21 (2) During the 9-month period after the date of 

22 the enactment of this Act, the grant recipients shall 

23 consult with community leaders, including labor or24 ganizations, non-profit organizations, local govern25 ment officials, and local residents to— 


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1 (A) assess the needs of the community 

2 served by the grant recipient; 

3 (B) determine sectors of the local economy 

4 that are in need of employees; 

5 (C) make recommendations for new em6 ployment opportunities in the areas described in 

7 paragraph (3); and 

8 (D) assess the effectiveness of job place9 ments made under paragraph (1). 

10 (3) Not later than 9 months after the recipient 

11 of a grant begins to use the grant to fund fast-track 

12 job placements under paragraph (1), the recipient 

13 shall use the remaining amount of the grant to make 

14 grants to public entities, nonprofit organizations, 

15 public-private partnerships, or small businesses to 

16 create opportunities for employment in the following 

17 areas: 

18 (A) Construction, re-construction, rehabili19 tation, and site improvements of residences or 

20 public facilities, including improvements in the 

21 energy efficiency or environmental quality of 

22 such public facilities or residences. 

23 (B) Provision of human services, including 

24 child care services, health care services, edu25 cation, or recreational programs. 


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1 (C) The remediation and demolition of va2 cant and abandoned properties to eliminate 

3 blight. 

4 (D) Programs that provide disadvantaged 

5 youth with opportunities for employment, edu6 cation, leadership development, entrepreneurial 

7 skills development, and training. 

8 (e) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving a grant 

9 under this section, a grant recipient shall— 

10 (1) agree to comply with the nondiscrimination 

11 policy set forth under section 109 of the Housing 

12 and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

13 U.S.C. 5309); 

14 (2) allocate not less than 80 percent of the 

15 funding allocated to each project funded under the 

16 grant to wages, benefits, and support services, in17 cluding child care services, for individuals employed 

18 on such project; 

19 (3) ensure that employment on any project 

20 funded under the grant is carried out in accordance 

21 with subsection (f); 

22 (4) institute an outreach program with commu23 nity organizations and service providers in low-in24 come communities to provide information about 

25 placements funded under the grant to individuals 


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1 suited to perform community infrastructure work; 

2 and 

3 (5) ensure that not less than 35 percent of indi4 viduals employed under the grant are individuals 

5 descibed in paragraph (5)(B) of subsection (f). 

6 (f) EMPLOYMENT DESCRIBED.—Employment funded 

7 under this section shall meet the following specifications: 

8 (1) Any employer that employs an individual 

9 whose employment is funded under the grant shall— 

10 (A) employ such individual for not less 

11 than 12 months; 

12 (B) employ such individual for not less 

13 than 30 hours per week; 

14 (C) comply with responsible contractor 

15 standards, as determined by the relevant official 

16 in the unit of local general government; 

17 (D) provide compensation to such indi18 vidual equal to that which is paid to employees 

19 who have been employed to perform similar 

20 work prior to the date such individual was 

21 hired; and 

22 (E) if such employment is in construction, 

23 provide compensation to any laborer or me24 chanic employed under the grant at rates not 

25 less than those prevailing on similar construcVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:11 Dec 11, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4268.IH H4268

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1 tion in the locality as determined by the Sec2 retary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 

3 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

4 Code. 

5 (2) No individual whose employment is funded 

6 under the grant may work for an employer at which 

7 a collective bargaining agreement is in effect cov8 ering the same or similar work, unless— 

9 (A) the consent of the union at such em10 ployer is obtained; and 

11 (B) negotiations have taken place between 

12 such union and the employer as to the terms 

13 and conditions of such employment. 

14 (3) An individual whose employment is funded 

15 under this Act may not displace other employees 

16 whose employment is not funded under this Act. A 

17 grant recipient under this Act may not hire an em18 ployee or employees with funds under this Act for 

19 any employment which the grant recipient would 

20 otherwise hire an employee who has been furloughed. 

21 (4) An individual whose employment is funded 

22 under this Act shall be— 

23 (A) unemployed for not less than 26 weeks 

24 prior to the reciept of the grant, as verified by 

25 the State or local department of labor, departVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:11 Dec 11, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4268.IH H4268

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1 ment of welfare, or similar office charged with 

2 maintaining records of unemployment; or 

3 (B) unemployed for not less than 30 days 

4 prior to the reciept of the grant and be a low5 income individual who is a member of a tar6 geted group (as defined by section 51(d) of the 

7 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) as verified by 

8 the State or local department of labor, depart9 ment of welfare, or similar office charged with 

10 maintaining records of unemployment. 

11 For purposes of subparagraph (B), the hiring date 

12 (as defined in section 51(d)(11) of such Code) shall 

13 be the hiring date by an employer who receives a 

14 grant pursuant to this section. 

15 (g) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

16 (1) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting a 

17 project to receive funding for employing the individ18 uals described in subsection (f)(5), a grant recipient 

19 shall consider— 

20 (A) the input of all participants in a pro21 posed project, including labor organizations, 

22 community organizations, and employers; 

23 (B) the needs of the community intended 

24 to benefit from such project; 


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1 (C) the long-term goals and short term ob2 jectives to address such needs; and 

3 (D) any recommendations for programs 

4 and activities developed to meet such needs. 

5 (2) PRIORITY GIVEN TO CERTAIN PROJECTS.— 

6 A grant recipient under this section shall give pri7 ority to projects that— 

8 (A) serve areas with the greatest level of 

9 economic need, determined for each such area 

10 by— 

11 (i) the unemployment rate; 

12 (ii) the rate of poverty; 

13 (iii) the number of census tracts with 

14 concentrated poverty; 

15 (iv) the lowest median income; 

16 (v) the percentage of vacant and 

17 abandoned properties; 

18 (vi) the percentage of home fore19 closures; and 

20 (vii) the indicators of poor resident 

21 health, including high rates of chronic dis22 ease, infant mortality, and life expectancy; 

23 (B) integrate education and job skills 

24 training, including basic skills instruction and 

25 secondary education services; 


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1 (C) coordinate to the maximum extent fea2 sible with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship 

3 programs; and 

4 (D) provide jobs in sectors where job 

5 growth is most likely, as determined by the Sec6 retary, and in which career advancement 

7 opportunites exist to maximize long-term, sus8 tainable employment for individuals after em9 ployment funded under this Act ends. 

10 (h) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.— 

11 (1) GRANTS FOR INDIAN TRIBES AND DEPOSITS

12 INTO DISCRETIONARY FUND.—Not more than 

13 5percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this 

14 Act for any fiscal year shall be reserved for grants 

15 to Indian tribes and for deposit into a discretionary 

16 fund established by the Secretary for national dem17 onstration projects and multi-jurisdictional projects. 

18 (2) GRANTS TO STATES.—Not more than 30 

19 percent of funds appropriated to carry out this Act 

20 for any fiscal year shall be allocated to States to dis21 tribute to units of general local government that do 

22 not qualify for funds under paragraph (3). 

23 (3) GRANTS TO UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL

24 GOVERNMENT.—Grant funds that are not reserved 

25 under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be allocated to 


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1 metropolitan cities and urban counties using the for2 mula under section 106(b) of the Housing and Com3 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

4 5306(b)). 

5 (i) REPORTS.— 

6 (1) REPORTS BY GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Not 

7 later than 90 days after the last day of each fiscal 

8 year in which assistance under this section is fur9 nished, a recipient of a grant under this section shall 

10 submit to the Secretary a report containing the fol11 lowing: 

12 (A) A description of the progress made in 

13 accomplishing the objectives of this chapter. 

14 (B) A summary of the use of the grant 

15 during the preceding fiscal year. 

16 (C) For units of general local government, 

17 a listing of each entity receiving funds and the 

18 amount of such grants, as well as a brief sum19 mary of the projects funded for each such unit, 

20 the extent of financial participation by other 

21 public or private entities, and the impact on 

22 employment and economic activity of such 

23 projects during the previous fiscal year. 

24 (D) For States, a listing of each unit of 

25 general local government receiving funds and 


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1 the amount of such grants, as well as a brief 

2 summary of the projects funded for each such 

3 unit, the extent of financial participation by 

4 other public or private entities, and the impact 

5 on employment and economic activity of such 

6 projects during the previous fiscal year. 

7 (E) The amount of money received and ex8 pended during the fiscal year. 

9 (F) The number of individuals assisted 

10 under the grant whose household income is low11 income, very low-income, or extremely low-in12 come (as such terms are used for purposes of 

13 the Housing Act of 1937 and the regulations 

14 thereunder (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.)). 

15 (G) The amount expended on administra16 tive costs during the fiscal year. 

17 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—At least once 

18 every 6 months, the Secretary shall submit to Con19 gress a report on the use of grants awarded under 

20 this section and any progress in job creation. 

21 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 

23 such term in section 5302(2) of title 42, United 

24 States Code. 


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1 (2) The term ‘‘unit of general local govern2 ment’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

3 5302(1) of title 42, United States Code. 

4 (3) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 

5 given such term in section 5302(17) of title 42, 

6 United States Code. 

7 (4) The term ‘‘small business’’ has the meaning 

8 given the term ‘‘small business concern’’ under sec9 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

10 (5) The term ‘‘metropolitan city’’ has the mean11 ing given such term in section 5302(4) of title 42, 

12 United States Code. 

13 (6) The term ‘‘urban county’’ has the meaning 

14 given such term in section 5302(6) of title 42, 

15 United States Code. 

16 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated 

18 $40,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011 

19 to carry out this Act. Amounts appropriated pursuant to 

20 this section shall remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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