II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2256

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to exempt preparation 

for high-skill, high-demand jobs from participation and time limits under 

the temporary assistance for needy families program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2004

Ms. CANTWELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 

to exempt preparation for high-skill, high-demand jobs 

from participation and time limits under the temporary 

assistance for needy families program.

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

3 SECTION 1. ENCOURAGING THE PREPARATION OF TANF 

4 RECIPIENTS FOR HIGH-SKILL, HIGH-DEMAND 

5 JOBS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 407(c)(2)(D) of the Social 

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)(D)) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF PER2 SONS WHO MAY BE TREATED AS ENGAGED IN

3 WORK BY REASON OF PARTICIPATION IN EDU4 CATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro6 vided in clause (ii), for purposes of sub7 section (b)(1)(B)(i), not more than 30 per8 cent of the number of individuals in all 

9 families in a State who are treated as en10 gaged in work for a month may consist of 

11 individuals who are—

12 ‘‘(I) determined to be engaged in 

13 work for the month by reason of par14 ticipation in vocational educational 

15 training (but only with respect to such 

16 training that does not exceed 12 

17 months with respect to any indi18 vidual); or 

19 ‘‘(II) deemed to be engaged in 

20 work for the month by reason of sub21 paragraph (C) of this paragraph. 

22 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR EDUCATION IN

23 PREPARATION FOR SECTOR-SPECIFIC, 

24 HIGH-SKILL OCCUPATIONS TO MEET EM25 PLOYER DEMAND.—
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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith2 standing clause (i) and subsection 

3 (d)(8), for purposes of determining 

4 monthly participation rates under sub5 section (b)(1)(B)(i) with respect to an 

6 individual who is enrolled, in prepara7 tion for a sector-specific, high-skill oc8 cupation to meet employer demand 

9 (as defined in subclause (II)), in a 

10 postsecondary 2- or 4-year degree pro11 gram or in vocational educational 

12 training—

13 ‘‘(aa) the State may count 

14 the number of hours per week 

15 that the individual attends such 

16 program or training for purposes 

17 of determining the number of 

18 hours for which a family is en19 gaged in work for the month 

20 without regard to the 30 percent 

21 limitation under clause (i); and 

22 ‘‘(bb) the individual shall be 

23 permitted to complete the re24 quirements of the degree pro25 gram or vocational educational 
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1 training within the normal time2 frame for full-time students seek3 ing the particular degree or com4 pleting such vocational edu5 cational training. 

6 ‘‘(II) SECTOR-SPECIFIC, HIGH7 SKILL OCCUPATION TO MEET EM8 PLOYER DEMAND DEFINED.—In sub9 clause (I), the term ‘sector-specific, 

10 high-demand, high-skill occupation to 

11 meet employer demand’ means an oc12 cupation—

13 ‘‘(aa) that has been identi14 fied by the State workforce in15 vestment board established under 

16 section 111 of the Workforce In17 vestment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

18 2821) as within the needs of the 

19 State with regard to current and 

20 projected employment opportuni21 ties in specific industry sectors or 

22 that has been defined by the 

23 State agency administering the 

24 State program funded under this 

25 part as within the needs of the 
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1 State with regard to current and 

2 projected employment opportuni3 ties in specific industry sectors 

4 and is consistent with high de5 mand jobs identified in the State 

6 plan in accordance with section 

7 402(a)(1)(A)(vii); 

8 ‘‘(bb) that requires occupa9 tional training; and 

10 ‘‘(cc) that provides a wage 

11 of at least 75 percent of the 

12 State median hourly wage, as cal13 culated by the Bureau of Labor 

14 Statistics on the basis of the 

15 most recent Occupational Em16 ployment and Wage Survey.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING STATE PLAN AMENDMENT.—Sec18 tion 402(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 602(a)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(vii) Describe any strategies and pro22 grams the State plans to use to address 

23 employment retention and advancement for 

24 recipients of assistance under the program, 

25 including placement into high-demand jobs, 
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1 and whether the jobs are identified using 

2 labor market information.’’. 

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

4 this section take effect on October 1, 2004.

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