Strengthen and Unite Communities with Civics Education and English Development Act of 2015

To strengthen and unite communities through English literacy and civics education, and for other purposes. 1. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Strengthen and Unite Communities with Civics Education and English Development Act of 2015 (b) Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Title I—Expanding English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education Sec. 101. Increased investment in English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. Sec. 102. Definitions of English language learner. Title II—Building Stronger Communities Through Integration Sec. 201. Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration. Sec. 202. Grants to States. Sec. 203. Authorized activities. Sec. 204. Reporting and evaluation. Sec. 205. Authorization of appropriations. Title III—Supporting English language acquisition and adult education in the workforce Sec. 301. Credit for employer provided adult English literacy and basic education programs. Sec. 302. Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting United States Citizenship. Title IV—Celebrating the Contributions of Immigrants and New Americans Sec. 401. New citizens award program. 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the U.S. Census, there are presently more than 41.3 million foreign-born residents living in the United States, including 3 million refugees. (2) Over half, or 50.8 percent, of the total foreign-born population reports speaking English less than very well (3) Limited English proficiency limits the employment prospects of these individuals and makes it more difficult to civically engage new immigrants. (4) Moreover, according to a study by the Migration Policy Institute, in 2008, there were more than 1.3 million college-educated immigrants unemployed or working in unskilled jobs. (5) This results in a loss in worker productivity, loss of income tax revenue, added cost of greater dependence on social services, and undermines the Nation’s ability to attract skilled immigrants. (6) A proactive integration policy for new immigrants and refugees at the State and local levels will maximize the benefits immigrants bring to our Nation. I Expanding English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education 101. Increased investment in English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (a) Integrated English literacy and civics education program Section 203 of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3272 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (13) through (17) as paragraphs (14) through (18), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph (12), the following: (13) Integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education program The term integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education program . (b) State leadership activities Section 223(a)(1) of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3303(a)(1) (E) Technical assistance for grant applications of faith- and community-based organizations. . (c) National leadership activities Section 242(c) of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3332(c) (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting and integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs , based on scientific evidence (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking activities, and integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs, (B) in subparagraph (C)(vii)(III), by inserting integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs and workplace (C) in subparagraph (D)— (i) in clause (i), by inserting and integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs (ii) in clause (iii), by striking and (iii) in clause (iv), by inserting and (iv) by adding at the end the following: (v) the extent to which integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs carried out under section 244 lead participants in such programs to increase their civic participation and, if applicable, lead such participants to become United States citizens; . (d) Integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education Subtitle D of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3331 et seq. 244. Integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs (a) Program authorized From funds appropriated to carry out this section, the Secretary shall award grants to States, from allocations under subsection (b), for integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs. (b) Allocations (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), from the amount appropriated under subsection (c) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate— (A) 65 percent of such amount to States on the basis of a State's need for integrated English, U.S. history, and civics education programs, as determined by calculating each State's share of a 10-year average of the data compiled by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Security, for immigrants admitted for lawful permanent residence for the 10 most recent years; and (B) 35 percent of such amount to the States on the basis of whether the State experienced growth, as measured by the average of the 3 most recent years for which data compiled by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Security are available, for immigrants admitted for lawful permanent residence. (2) Minimum No State shall receive an allocation under paragraph (1) in an amount that is less than $60,000. (c) Definition The term State (d) Authorization of appropriation For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, and $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2018. . 102. Definitions of English language learner (a) Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 Section 9101(25) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801(25) (25) English language learner The term English language learner . (b) References Any reference in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq. II Building Stronger Communities Through Integration 201. Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration (a) Establishment of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration (1) In general There is established in the Executive Office of the President an Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration. There shall be a Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration who shall head the office. (2) Conforming amendment Section 451(f) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 271(f) (b) Functions The Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration shall be responsible for— (1) establishing national goals for introducing new Americans into the United States and measuring the degree to which such goals are met; (2) assessing and coordinating Federal policies, regulations, task forces, and commissions related to introducing immigrants into the United States; (3) continuing with the efforts of the Task Force on New Americans established under Executive Order No. 13404 to facilitate a dialogue among Federal agencies, make recommendations to the President of the United States, and follow through with initiatives administered by the Task Force under the authority of such Executive order; (4) serving as a liaison and intermediary with State and local governments and other entities to assist in establishing local goals, task forces, and councils to assist in introducing immigrants to the United States; (5) coordinating with other Federal agencies to provide information to State and local governments on the demand for English acquisition programs and best practices in place on the Federal and State level for aliens who have recently arrived in the United States; (6) assisting States in coordinating activities with the grant program carried out under title III of the Strengthen and Unite Communities with Civics Education and English Development Act of 2015 (7) promoting instruction and training on citizenship responsibilities for aliens interested in becoming naturalized citizens of the United States, including the development of educational materials for such aliens. (c) Donations (1) Acceptance of donations The Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration may accept monetary and in-kind donations to support the activities described in subsection (b). (2) Dedication of funds Notwithstanding any other provision of law— (A) any funds donated to the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration to support the activities described in subsection (b) shall be deposited entirely into an account established for such purpose; (B) the funds contained in such account shall be used solely to support such activities; and (C) funds that were not donated for the exclusive purpose of supporting such activities may not be deposited into such account. (d) Report to Congress The Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration shall submit a biennial report to the authorizing Committees in Congress that describes the activities of the office. 202. Grants to States (a) Authority To Provide Grants Subject to subsections (c) and (d), the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration is authorized to provide competitive grants to States to form State New American Councils as described in subsection (b) to carry out activities described in section 203. (b) State new American councils A State New American Council shall consist of not less than 15 and not more than 19 individuals from the State and shall include, to the extent practicable, representatives from the following sectors: (1) Business. (2) Faith-based organizations. (3) Civic organizations. (4) Philanthropic leaders. (5) Nonprofit organizations, including those with experience working with immigrant communities. (6) Representatives from key education stakeholders, such as State educational agencies, local educational agencies, community colleges, teachers, or organizations representing teachers and other employees. (7) Representatives of State adult education offices. (8) Representatives of State or local public libraries. (9) Representatives of statewide or local government officials. (c) Waiver of requirement (1) Authority to grant The Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration may award a grant under subsection (a) to a State without requiring the State to form a State New American Council if the Chief determines that the State is carrying out similar statewide initiatives to introduce immigrants into the State and into the United States. (2) Guidelines The Chief shall establish guidelines for awarding grants to States described in paragraph (1). (d) Grants to local governments The Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration may provide a grant under subsection (a) to a local government at the discretion of the Chief. (e) Application To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an applicant shall submit an application to the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Chief may reasonably require. Such application shall include— (1) if the applicant is a State seeking to form a State New American Council, an assurance that such State New American Council will meet the requirements of subsection (b); (2) the number of immigrants in the State in which the applicant is located; (3) a description of the challenges in introducing new Americans in the State and local community; and (4) any other information that the Chief may reasonably require. (f) Duration A grant awarded under subsection (a) shall be for a period of 5 years. (g) Priority Priority shall be given to grant applications that— (1) use matching funds, from non-Federal sources, which may include in-kind contributions; and (2) demonstrate collaboration with private entities to achieve the goals of their comprehensive plan. (h) Additional consideration Additional consideration shall be given to grant applications submitted by States with a large increase in the population of immigrants over the previous 10 years relative to past migration patterns, based on data compiled by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Security. (i) Grant amount The amount of a grant awarded under subsection (a) shall be not less than $500,000 and not more than $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (j) Reservations (1) National The Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration shall reserve not more than 1 percent of the amount appropriated to carry out this section for such Office, including the evaluation of funds distributed. (2) States A State awarded a grant under subsection (a) may reserve not more than 10 percent of such grant amount for the creation and operation of the State New American Council. 203. Authorized activities (a) Mandatory activities A grant awarded under section 202(a) shall be used— (1) to develop, implement, expand, or enhance a comprehensive plan to introduce new immigrants into the State, including the increase in English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education; (2) to provide subgrants to local communities as described in subsection (c); (3) if the grant is awarded to a State to form a State New American Council, to convene meetings of the State New American Council not less frequently than once each quarter; (4) to disseminate best practices and other information compiled by the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration that pertains to effective programs for English acquisition and civics education; and (5) to convene public hearings not less frequently than once each year to report on the activities carried out by such grant. (b) Permissible activities A grant awarded under section 202(a) may be used— (1) to solicit and disseminate solutions and remedies to the challenges of introducing new Americans in the State or municipality in which the grant is awarded; (2) to provide technical assistance, training, or coordination for State or local agencies to improve programs to introduce new Americans into the United States, such as English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education; (3) to review and develop strategies to expand distance learning as a method of instruction for English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education and available technological programs that may supplement or supplant quality classroom instruction; (4) to coordinate with entities of other States engaged in activities under this title or other activities to introduce new Americans into the State or community; and (5) to develop materials focused on preparation for the naturalization test, engage in outreach and educational activities on the naturalization process, and provide assistance to immigrants with the naturalization application, where appropriate. (c) Subgrants to local communities (1) Requirement to award A grant under section 202(a) shall be used to award competitive subgrants— (A) to entities of local governments and faith-based community organizations to assist communities with local efforts to introduce new Americans into the community; and (B) to support the work of community organizations and academic institutions assisting— (i) immigrants who were educated abroad gain the necessary credentials to practice their profession in the United States; and (ii) skilled immigrants through— (I) capacity and identification and assessment; (II) educational case management; (III) educational interventions; and (IV) discharge and job placement. (2) Authorized activities Subgrants shall be awarded under paragraph (1) to entities of local governments for use to carry out activities in accordance with— (A) a comprehensive plan described in subsection (a)(1); and (B) any guidance provided by the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration. (3) Subgrant amount The amount of a subgrant awarded under this subsection shall be not less than $100,000 and not more than $600,000 for a fiscal year. 204. Reporting and evaluation (a) Reporting requirement (1) In general Each entity awarded a grant under section 202(a) shall submit a report annually to the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration that— (A) describes the activities of the State New American Council and subgrant recipients and how these activities meet the goals of— (i) the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration; and (ii) the comprehensive plan described in section 203(a)(1); and (B) describes the geographic areas being served, the number of immigrants in such areas, and the primary languages spoken there. (2) Other requirements The Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration may set out other requirements as the Chief sees fit in order to— (A) impose accountability; and (B) measure the outcomes of the activities carried out with grants awarded under section 202(a). (b) Annual evaluation The Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration shall conduct an annual evaluation of the grant program established under this title and use such evaluation— (1) to improve the effectiveness of programs carried out by the Chief; (2) to assess future needs of immigrants and of State and local governments related to immigrants; (3) to determine the effectiveness of such grant program; and (4) to ensure that the grantees and subgrantees are acting within the scope and purpose of this title. 205. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2021. III Supporting English language acquisition and adult education in the workforce 301. Credit for employer provided adult English literacy and basic education programs (a) In general Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 45S. Employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs (a) In general For the purposes of section 38, the credit determined under this section with respect to any employer for the taxable year is an amount equal to 20 percent of qualified education program expenses, or no more than $1,000 per full-time employee participating in the qualified education program. (b) Qualified education program expenses For purposes of this section: (1) In general The term qualified education program expenses (2) Qualified education The term qualified education (A) by an eligible provider which for the fiscal year ending during the employer’s taxable year receives Federal funds under section 231 of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3321 (B) in curriculum approved by the Department of Education, the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor, or in current use by a Federal agency. (3) Eligible provider; adult education and literacy activities The terms eligible provider adult education and literacy activities 29 U.S.C. 3272 (4) English language learner The term English language learner 20 U.S.C. 7801(25) (c) Special rules For purposes of this section: (1) Full-time employment An employee shall be considered full-time if such employee is employed at least 30 hours per week for 25 or more calendar weeks in the taxable year. (2) Aggregation rule All persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) or section 52, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414, shall be treated as one person. (d) Denial of double benefit No deduction or credit shall be allowed under any other provision of this chapter for any amount taken into account in determining the credit under this section. (e) Election To have credit not apply A taxpayer may elect (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe) to have this section not apply for any taxable year. . (b) Credit To be part of general business credit Subsection (b) of section 38 of such Code (relating to current year business credit) is amended by striking plus , plus (37) the adult English literacy and basic education programs credit determined under section 45Q. . (c) Treatment of possessions (1) Payments to possessions (A) Mirror code possession The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to each possession of the United States with a mirror code tax system amounts equal to the loss to that possession by reason of the application of section 45S (B) Other possessions The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to each possession of the United States which does not have a mirror code tax system amounts estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury as being equal to the aggregate benefits that would have been provided to taxpayers such possession by reason of the application of section 45S of such Code (as so added) if a mirror code tax system had been in effect in such possession. The preceding sentence shall not apply with respect to any possession of the United States unless such possession has a plan, which has been approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, under which such possession will promptly distribute such payments to the taxpayers of such possession. (2) Coordination with credit allowed against United States income taxes The credit allowed against United States income taxes for any taxable year under section 38 of such Code to any taxpayer shall be reduced by the amount of any credit (or other tax benefit described in paragraph (1)(B)) allowed to such person against income taxes imposed by the possession of the United States by reason of this subsection for such taxable year. (3) Definitions and special rules (A) Possession of the United States For purposes of this subsection, the term possession of the United States (B) Mirror code tax system For purposes of this subsection, the term mirror code tax system (C) Treatment of payments For purposes of section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United States Code, the payments under this subsection shall be treated in the same manner as a refund due from the credit provisions described in such section. (d) Clerical amendment The table of sections for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 45S. Employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs. . (e) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015. 302. Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting United States Citizenship (a) Establishment There is established the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting United States Citizenship (referred to in this section as the Presidential Citizenship Award (b) Selection and presentation of award (1) Selection The President shall periodically award the Presidential Citizenship Award to large and small companies and other organizations described in subsection (a) after reviewing recommendations to the President with respect to such award by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Commerce. (2) Presentation The presentation of the Presidential Citizenship Award shall be made by the President, or a designee of the President, in conjunction with an appropriate ceremony. IV Celebrating the Contributions of Immigrants and New Americans 401. New citizens award program (a) Establishment There is established a new citizens award program to recognize citizens who— (1) have made an outstanding contribution to the United States; and (2) are naturalized during the 10-year period ending on the date of such recognition. (b) Presentation authorized (1) In general The President is authorized to present a medal, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the United States, to citizens described in subsection (a). (2) Maximum number of awards Not more than 10 citizens may receive a medal under this section in any calendar year.

Summary: Strengthen and Unite Communities with Civics Education and English Development Act of 2015 This bill amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to: (1) award grants to states for integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs; and (2) expand certain federally funded adult education and literacy activities to include such programs. This bill establishes the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration to form national goals, assess and coordinate policies, and assist with other efforts related to new Americans. The office may award grants to states to form and operate State New American Councils to, among other activities: (1) develop, implement, or enhance plans to introduce new immigrants to a state; and (2) disseminate best practices pertaining to English acquisition and civics education. The bill also establishes, as part of the general business credit, a tax credit for employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs. For the taxable year, the employer's credit is an amount equal to 20% of qualified education program expenses, or no more than $1,000 per full-time employee participating in the program. In addition, the bill establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting United States Citizenship to recognize businesses and other organizations, and a citizen award program to recognize naturalized citizens who have made an outstanding contribution to the United States.