I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4932 

To establish a fund consisting of donations from private industry to provide 

financial support for unemployed individuals to obtain information technology certifications. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 20, 2014 

Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a fund consisting of donations from private 

industry to provide financial support for unemployed individuals to obtain information technology certifications. 

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 ‘‘Increasing Technology 

5 Skills Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 Department of Labor a fund to be known as the Informa4 tion Technology Certification Fund (referred to in this Act 

5 as the ‘‘Fund’’). 

6 (b) DEPOSITS.—The Fund shall consist of amounts 

7 donated by any person, partnership, or corporation, in8 cluding nonprofit organizations and foundations that 

9 pledges to continue to donate a consistent amount for a 

10 minimum of three consecutive years. 

11 (c) ADMINISTRATION AND USE OF FUNDS.—The 

12 Fund shall be administered by the Secretary of Labor and 

13 used to carry out the grant program established under sec14 tion 4. 

15 SEC. 3. EMPLOYERS HIRING INDIVIDUALS COMPLETING 

16 THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFI17 CATION PROGRAM ELIGIBLE FOR WORK OP18 PORTUNITY CREDIT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 51(d)(1) of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

21 end of subparagraph (H), by the striking the period at 

22 the end of subparagraph (I) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by 

23 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(J) a certified information technology cer25 tification program graduate.’’. 


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1 (b) CERTIFIED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CER2 TIFICATION PROGRAM GRADUATE.—Section 51(d) is 

3 amended by redesignating paragraphs (11), (12), (13), 

4 and (14) as paragraphs (12), (13), (14), and (15), respec5 tively, and by inserting after paragraph (10) the following 

6 new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(11) CERTIFIED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

8 CERTIFICATION PROGRAM GRADUATE.—The term 

9 ‘certified information technology certification pro10 gram graduate’ means any individual who has been 

11 awarded a certificate of completion under section 

12 5(f) of the Increasing Technology Skills Act of 2014 

13 for completing the information technology certifi14 cation program established under such Act during 

15 the 1-year period ending on the hiring date.’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to individuals who begin work with 

18 the employer after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—From funds available in the Fund 

21 established by section 2, the Secretary of Labor shall 

22 award grants, on a competitive basis, to States through 

23 the State boards. 

24 (b) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec25 tion, a State board shall submit to the Secretary an appliVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:10 Jun 27, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4932.IH H4932

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1 cation at such time and containing such information as 

2 the Secretary shall determine. 

3 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A State board shall use grant 

4 funds to provide financial support to qualified individuals 

5 for participation in an information technology certification 

6 program, in accordance with section 5. 

7 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR INFORMATION TECH8 NOLOGY CERTIFICATION. 

9 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF PROGRAMS AND PUBLIC

10 AWARENESS.—Each State receiving a grant under section 

11 4 shall— 

12 (1) identify information technology certification 

13 programs within the State and the requirements 

14 necessary for a qualified individual to participate in 

15 each program; 

16 (2) disseminate information, through one-stop 

17 centers and by other means, regarding such certifi18 cation programs and the availability of financial sup19 port from the grant funds to enable qualified indi20 viduals to participate in such programs; and 

21 (3) assist qualified individuals in determining 

22 which information technology certification program 

23 such individual is most qualified for and best meets 

24 the goals of such individual. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION OF QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.—A 

2 qualified individual seeking to participate in an informa3 tion technology certification program and receive financial 

4 support shall submit an application to a local one-stop cen5 ter containing such information as the State Board shall 

6 determine. 

7 (c) SELECTION.—Qualified individuals shall be se8 lected by the local one-centers, in conjunction with local 

9 chambers of commerce where appropriate, for participa10 tion based on their overall qualification for the certifi11 cation programs taking into consideration their experi12 ence, skills, and competency, including high school level 

13 or better competency in typing, math, reading, and writ14 ing. 

15 (d) ELIGIBLE EXPENSES.—Financial support may be 

16 provided to pay for the costs to the qualified individual 

17 of preparatory classes, study materials, and examination 

18 expenses for the information technology certification pro19 gram. 

20 (e) ONE-TIME PARTICIPATION.—Qualified individ21 uals selected to receive financial support under this section 

22 may only participate once. Such participation consists of 

23 a single information technology certification, regardless of 

24 whether the individual obtains the certification. Such cerVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:22 Jun 25, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4932.IH H4932

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1 tification may consist of multiple preparatory classes and 

2 multiple examinations. 

3 (f) CERTIFICATE.—The State board shall award a 

4 certificate of completion to each individual who completes 

5 the program and obtains a certification. 

6 SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR GUIDANCE AND FACILITA7 TION. 

8 (a) BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SELECTION

9 GUIDANCE.—The Secretary of Labor shall create an intro10 ductory program for use in one-stop centers to provide 

11 background information to participants on information 

12 technology certification programs, to ensure such partici13 pants meet the necessary requirements, and suggest which 

14 certification program a participant should pursue accord15 ing to his or her experience, skills and competency. 

16 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

17 NEEDS.—In consultation with local chambers of com18 merce, the Secretary shall identify the certification pro19 grams that best meet the employment needs in each local 

20 area. 

21 (c) WEBSITE.—The Secretary of Labor shall make 

22 the information required under subsections (a) and (b) 

23 available on an Internet website. Such website shall also 

24 include information on participating persons, partner25 ships, and corporations who donate money to the fund esVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:22 Jun 25, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4932.IH H4932

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1 tablished by section 2, unless the person, partnership, or 

2 corporation requests that this information not be included 

3 on the website. 

4 (d) FACILITATION OF IN-KIND DONATIONS.—The 

5 Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the State boards, 

6 local one-stop centers, and local chambers of commerce, 

7 shall facilitate the placing of in-kind donations of text8 books or other study materials by entities described in sec9 tion 2(b) with qualified individuals participating in certifi10 cation programs. 

11 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

12 As used in this Act— 

13 (1) the term ‘‘information technology certifi14 cation program’’ means any course of study or train15 ing in computer science or information technology 

16 that culminates with an individual earning a certifi17 cation or other industry-recognized credential that 

18 attests to the individual’s qualification to perform a 

19 job or task that entails the application of computers 

20 and telecommunications equipment; 

21 (2) the term ‘‘qualified individual’’ means an 

22 individual who— 

23 (A) at the time he or she submits an appli24 cation for financial support under section 5, has 


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1 been unemployed for a period of not less than 

2 6 months; or 

3 (B) is a veteran of the Armed Services; 

4 (3) the term ‘‘one-stop center’’ means a one5 stop operator as defined in section 101 of the Work6 force Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801); and 

7 (4) the term ‘‘State board’’ means a State 

8 workforce investment board established under sec9 tion 111 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

10 (29 U.S.C. 2811). 

Æ 


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