I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 78 

To authorize the Secretary of Labor to make grants to States, units of 

local government, and Indian tribes to carry out employment training 

programs to assist long-term unemployed job hunters obtain the skills 

and training to reenter the workforce and fill jobs in high-growth sectors 

of the economy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2015 

Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Labor to make grants to 

States, units of local government, and Indian tribes to 

carry out employment training programs to assist longterm unemployed job hunters obtain the skills and training to reenter the workforce and fill jobs in high-growth 

sectors of the economy. 

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 ‘‘New Chance for a New 

5 Start in Life Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

4 in December 2013, the number of long-term unem5 ployed job hunters, persons jobless for 27 weeks or 

6 more, exceeded 3.9 million, which constitutes ap7 proximately 37.7 percent of the unemployed, among 

8 the highest rates in recent history; 

9 (2) the Bureau of Labor Statistics also esti10 mates that the health care and social assistance sec11 tors will account for almost a third of the projected 

12 job growth from 2014 to 2024 and that employment 

13 in the construction sector is expected to see a large 

14 increase, while still not reaching levels of the Great 

15 Recession of 2007, and that manufacturing is pro16 jected to experience a slight decline in employment 

17 over the projection period; and 

18 (3) reducing the number of persons in long19 term unemployed status by providing training oppor20 tunities to obtain the skills needed to fill the jobs in 

21 the employment sectors predicted to experience the 

22 greatest rates of growth is an important national 

23 goal. 

24 SEC. 3. COMPENSATED EMPLOYMENT TRAINING GRANTS. 

25 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to the availability of 

26 appropriations for such funds, the Secretary of Labor 


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1 shall make grants to States, units of local government, 

2 and Indian tribes to carry out the activities described in 

3 subsection (b). Grants under this section may be made on 

4 such terms and conditions as the Secretary may deter5 mine. 

6 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 

7 this Act shall use the grant for the following purposes: 

8 (1) To create compensated training programs 

9 that offer training to assist long-term unemployed 

10 persons obtain the skills and training to reenter the 

11 workforce and fill jobs in sectors of the economy 

12 projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to have 

13 the highest rates of demand during the period 2014 

14 to 2024. 

15 (2) To provide compensation to participants in 

16 training programs to temporarily aid in their finan17 cial distress. 

18 (3) To partner with cities and non-profit orga19 nizations to provide apprenticeships and internships. 

20 (4) To provide training and employment oppor21 tunities for veterans. 

22 (5) To partner with historically Black colleges 

23 and universities and Hispanic serving colleges and 

24 universities along with local community college sys25 tems to create innovative retraining programs for 


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1 minorities focused on retooling workers for jobs in 

2 the growth sectors of healthcare, biotech, and infor3 mation technology. 

4 (6) To provide access to public healthcare pro5 grams for participants. 

6 (7) To create training programs for ex-offend7 ers in an effort to reduce recidivism. 

8 (8) To aid newly trained participants in secur9 ing employment within the field of their newly ac10 quired expertise. 

11 (c) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving a grant 

12 under this Act, a grant recipient shall— 

13 (1) comply with nondiscrimination standards of 

14 the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 

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

16 funding allocated under the grant to wages, benefits, 

17 and support activities, including child care services 

18 to individuals receiving compensated training under 

19 such a grant; and 

20 (3) institute a program to aid newly trained 

21 participants in securing employment in their new 

22 area of expertise. 

23 (d) INELIGIBILITY OF FOR-PROFIT EDUCATIONAL

24 INSTITUTIONS.—A State, unit of local government, or In25 dian tribe receiving a grant under this Act may not partVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:04 Jan 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H78.IH H78

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1 ner with nor provide any grant funds to a for-profit edu2 cational institution for the provision of any of the pro3 grams or services described in subsection (b). 

4 (e) NO EFFECT ON RECEIPT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

5 COMPENSATION.—An individual may participate in any 

6 program or receive any services funded by a grant under 

7 this Act, including the receipt of compensation described 

8 in subsection (b)(2) notwithstanding the fact that such in9 dividual is receiving unemployment compensation. An indi10 vidual’s participation or receipt of services or compensa11 tion funded by a grant under this Act shall not be a cause 

12 for any reduction of the amount of unemployment com13 pensation that such individual is otherwise entitled to. 

14 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

16 necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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