I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5708 

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

of Labor to provide grants to the National Urban League for an Urban 

Jobs Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 1, 2010 

Mr. TOWNS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

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

National Urban League for an Urban Jobs Program, 

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 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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


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1 (1) One-third of minority youth are unem2 ployed. 

3 (2) The labor force participation rate for per4 sons without a high school diploma is 20 percentage 

5 points lower than the labor force participation rate 

6 for high school graduates. 

7 (3) Nationally, approximately 70 percent of all 

8 students graduate from high school, but African9 American and Hispanic students have a 55 percent 

10 or less chance of graduating from high school. 

11 (4) High school dropouts from the class of 

12 2004 will cost the Nation more than $325 billion in 

13 lost wages, taxes, and productivity over their life14 times. 

15 (5) Only 52 percent of students in the 50 larg16 est cities in the United States graduate from high 

17 school. That rate is below the national high school 

18 graduation rate of 70 percent, and also falls short 

19 of the 60 percent average for urban districts across 

20 the Nation. 

21 (6) Over his or her lifetime, a high school drop22 out earns, on average, about $260,000 less than a 

23 high school graduate, and about $1 million less than 

24 a college graduate. 


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1 (7) Approximately 75 percent of State prison 

2 inmates and 59 percent of Federal prison inmates 

3 have not completed high school. Increasing the high 

4 school completion rate by 1 percent for all men ages 

5 20 to 60 would save the United States $1.4 billion 

6 annually in reduced costs associated with crime. 

7 (8) According to a recent study, a 10 percent 

8 increase in the male high school graduation rate 

9 would reduce arrest rates for murder and assault by 

10 about 20 percent, motor vehicle theft by 13 percent, 

11 and arson by 8 percent. 

12 (9) The National Urban League is a historic 

13 civil rights organization dedicated to economic em14 powerment in order to elevate the standard of living 

15 in historically underserved urban communities. 

16 Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York 

17 City, the National Urban League spearheads the ef18 forts of its local affiliates through the development 

19 of programs, public policy research, and advocacy. 

20 (10) There are more than 100 local affiliates of 

21 the National Urban League located in 36 States and 

22 the District of Columbia, providing direct services 

23 that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 

24 million people nationwide. Local National Urban 

25 League affiliates operate programs that focus on 


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1 education, job training and placement, housing, busi2 ness development, and many other important initia3 tives. 

4 (11) The National Urban League has a history 

5 of success in implementing national programs 

6 through its local affiliate network. From 2007 to 

7 2010, 27 local National Urban League affiliates 

8 served at-risk young adults by providing job skills 

9 training, community service opportunities, and em10 ployment for over 3,500 young adults ages 18 to 24. 

11 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro12 vide adequate resources for the National Urban League 

13 (acting through local National Urban League affiliates) to 

14 reduce the disproportionate incarceration of minority 

15 youth and to prepare eligible young adults for entry into 

16 the world of work by providing a comprehensive set of 

17 services that includes job training, education, and support 

18 services. 

19 SEC. 3. URBAN JOBS PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work21 force Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2911 et seq.) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating section 174 as section 175; 

24 (2) in section 173, by striking ‘‘174’’ each place 

25 it appears and inserting ‘‘175’’; and 


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1 (3) by inserting after section 173A the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 174. URBAN JOBS PROGRAM. 

4 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 

6 may make grants to the National Urban League for 

7 the purpose of operating an Urban Jobs Program 

8 through local National Urban League affiliates. 

9 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds from a grant 

10 made under paragraph (1) shall be used by the Na11 tional Urban League to provide a comprehensive set 

12 of services and activities for eligible young adults, to 

13 be implemented by local National Urban League af14 filiates. Services and activities eligible for assistance 

15 include the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) Case management services to help 

17 program participants effectively use the activi18 ties and services offered under the program. 

19 ‘‘(B) Educational offerings, including skill 

20 assessment, reading and math remediation, 

21 educational enrichment, General Education De22 velopment credential preparation, and post-sec23 ondary education. 

24 ‘‘(C) Employment and job readiness activi25 ties, including mentoring, placement in commuVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Jul 07, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5708.IH H5708

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1 nity service opportunities, internships, on-the2 job training, occupational skills training, job 

3 placement in unsubsidized jobs, and personal 

4 development. 

5 ‘‘(D) Support services, including health 

6 and nutrition referral, housing assistance, train7 ing in interpersonal and basic living skills, 

8 transportation, child care, clothing, and other 

9 assistance as needed. 

10 ‘‘(3) REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 1 

12 of each fiscal year for which amounts are made 

13 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 

14 shall submit to Congress a report regarding— 

15 ‘‘(i) the progress made under this sec16 tion by the National Urban League and 

17 local National Urban League affiliates in 

18 implementing the program; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the effectiveness of the program 

20 in improving General Educational Develop21 ment credential attainment and job place22 ment in unsubsidized jobs for program 

23 participants. 


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1 ‘‘(B) INAPPLICABILITY OF SECTION 172.— 

2 The program shall not be subject to evaluations 

3 required under section 172. 

4 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL JOBS COUNCIL ADVISORY COM5 MITTEE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es7 tablish a committee to be known as the National 

8 Jobs Council Advisory Committee. 

9 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The committee shall advise the 

10 Secretary concerning— 

11 ‘‘(A) the design and operation of the pro12 gram; 

13 ‘‘(B) long-term strategic priorities for the 

14 program; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the formulation and application of 

16 guidelines related to activities carried out under 

17 the program. 

18 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall be 

19 comprised of 11 members, to be appointed by the 

20 Secretary as follows: 

21 ‘‘(A) 3 individuals from the private sector 

22 who are senior human resources or diversity ex23 ecutives with national or regional responsibil24 ities and experience in oversight that includes 

25 hiring, employee training, or employee relations. 


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1 ‘‘(B) 5 representatives of employers in 

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

3 by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(C) 1 National Urban League Workforce 

5 Development staff member. 

6 ‘‘(D) 2 representatives from the Depart7 ment of Labor. 

8 ‘‘(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LOCAL ADVI9 SORY COMMITTEES.—It is the sense of Congress that a 

10 local National Urban League affiliate receiving funding 

11 under this section should establish a local jobs council ad12 visory committee, the membership of which should include 

13 representatives from not fewer than 5 employers from 

14 high-growth industries in the locality, to aid in estab15 lishing support from the local community for and guiding 

16 the local implementation of the program. 

17 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 

18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this section— 

21 ‘‘(A) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

22 ‘‘(B) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

23 ‘‘(C) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

24 ‘‘(D) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(E) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2015. 

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

3 funds appropriated for any fiscal year under para4 graph (1) may be used for expenses associated with 

5 carrying out the requirements of subsection (b). 

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

7 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE YOUNG ADULTS.—The term ‘eli8 gible young adults’ means individuals ages 18 to 24 

9 who— 

10 ‘‘(A) are not enrolled in secondary or post11 secondary school; or 

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

13 of the criminal justice process. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

15 the Urban Jobs Program established under sub16 section (a). 

17 ‘‘(3) UNSUBSIDIZED JOB.—The term ‘unsub18 sidized job’ means employment for which the wages 

19 are provided by an employer that does not receive 

20 public funds for the creation and maintenance of the 

21 employment position.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con23 tents contained in section 1(b) of such Act is amended— 

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

25 relating to section 173A; and 


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1 (2) by striking the item relating to section 174 

2 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 174. Urban jobs program. 

‘‘Sec. 175. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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