I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 56 
To establish a grant program for stipends to assist in the cost of compensa-
tion paid by employers to certain recent college graduates and to provide 
funding for their further education in subjects relating to mathematics, 
science, engineering, and technology. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 3, 2017 
Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program for stipends to assist in the 
cost of compensation paid by employers to certain recent 
college graduates and to provide funding for their further 
education in subjects relating to mathematics, science, 
engineering, and technology. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America Realizing the 
Informational Skills and Initiative of New Graduates Act 
of 2017’’ or ‘‘America RISING Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics, in 2012 the national unemployment rate for in-
dividuals ages 25 years and older with a bachelor’s 
degree was 4.5 percent and 6.2 percent for individ-
uals with an associate’s degree. For college grad-
uates ages 18 to 25 the national unemployment rate 
in 2012 was higher at 7.7 percent. Because the typ-
ical college graduates leaves college owing an aver-
age of $29,400 in student loan debt, a rate that has 
increased 6 percent every year since 2008, the cur-
rent job market offers exceedingly few opportunities 
for such graduates to obtain employment at a salary 
adequate to service their college loan debt. 
(2) There are more than 26 million small busi-
nesses in the United States. In the current economic 
climate, these small businesses are experiencing dif-
ficulty in finding the resources needed to increase 
sales, modernize operations, and hire new employees. 
(3) Recent college graduates need the experi-
ence that can be obtained only in the workplace to 
refine their skills and develop the entrepreneurial 
qualities that can lead to the creation of new busi-
nesses and jobs. 
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(4) Existing small businesses and companies 
will benefit from the information and technology 
skills possessed by many of the Nation’s recent col-
lege graduates. 
(5) Enabling recent college graduates to obtain 
employment with small businesses benefits the na-
tional economy by providing such businesses the 
human capital and technical expertise needed to 
compete and win in the global economy of the 21st 
century. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF AMERICA RISING PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Labor and 
the Secretary of Education shall, jointly, establish a pro-
gram under which— 
(1) grants are paid to eligible employers to de-
fray the cost of compensation paid by such employ-
ers to recent college graduates; and 
(2) grants are paid to recent college graduates 
to enable such graduates to defray the cost of under-
taking further postsecondary courses at an institu-
tion of higher education for up to 24 months in sub-
jects relating to mathematics, science, engineering, 
or technology. 
(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 
may be made on such terms and conditions as the 
Secretary may determine. 
(2) DEFERRAL
OF
FEDERAL
STUDENT
LOAN 
OBLIGATIONS.—Each recent college graduate partici-
pating in the program under this section (by benefit-
ting from a grant awarded under paragraph (1), or 
receiving a grant under paragraph (2), of subsection 
(a)) may defer payment on Federal student loans 
made to the graduate under title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) for 
the period of the graduate’s participation in the pro-
gram. 
(3) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE EMPLOYERS.—With 
respect to a grant awarded under subsection 
(a)(1)— 
(A) an eligible employer— 
(i) may use the grant to defray the 
cost of compensation for not more than 2 
recent college graduates; and 
(ii) shall provide a compensation 
amount to each recent college graduate 
participating in the program that is equal 
to or greater than the grant amount re-
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ceived by the employer for the graduate; 
and 
(B) the Secretary may not award an eligi-
ble employer more than $25,000 per recent col-
lege graduate. 
(4) GRANTS
TO
RECENT
COLLEGE
GRAD-
UATES.—With respect to a grant awarded under 
subsection (a)(2) to a recent college graduate, the 
graduate shall be eligible to receive Federal student 
aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) without regard to 
whether the graduate has been or is delinquent on 
any Federal student loans made to the graduate 
under such title IV (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘eligible 
employer’’ means an employer that— 
(A) is a small business concern; or 
(B) is a major corporation that has an op-
eration located in— 
(i) an enterprise zone; or 
(ii) an area in which, according to the 
most recent data available, the unemploy-
ment rate exceeds the national average un-
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employment rate by more than two per-
centage points. 
(2) ENTERPRISE ZONE.—The term ‘‘enterprise 
zone’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘HUBzone’’ 
in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632). 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Ex-
cept as provided in paragraph (3)(B), the term ‘‘in-
stitution of higher education’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(4) MAJOR CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘major 
corporation’’ means an employer that earns an an-
nual revenue of not less than $5,000,000 and em-
ploys not less than 50 employees. 
(5) RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘recent col-
lege graduate’’ means an individual— 
(i) who has received a baccalaureate 
or associate degree from an institution of 
higher education on or after the date that 
is 24 months before the grant benefitting 
the graduate is awarded under this section; 
and 
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(ii) who has not previously received 
any such baccalaureate or associate degree. 
(B) 
INSTITUTION
OF
HIGHER
EDU-
CATION.—In subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘insti-
tution of higher education’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 102 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
(6) SMALL
BUSINESS
CONCERN.—The term 
‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 3 of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 632). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020. 
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under 
paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended. 
Æ 
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