I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5654 
To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide oil spill relief 
employment, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 30, 2010 
Mr. MCDERMOTT (for himself, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. CONNOLLY 
of Virginia, Mr. HIMES, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 
and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide 
oil spill relief employment, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Gulf Coast Restoration 
Act’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:38 Jul 01, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5654.IH
H5654
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT 
ACT OF 1998. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 173(a) of the Workforce 
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2918(a)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) to provide assistance to the Governor of 
any State within the boundaries of an area that is 
the subject of a Presidential determination that ad-
ditional resources are necessary to respond to an in-
cident related to a spill of national significance de-
clared under the National Contingency Plan pro-
vided for under section 105 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil-
ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605) (‘covered inci-
dent’) by providing oil spill relief employment in the 
area in accordance with subsection (h).’’. 
(b) OIL SPILL RELIEF EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE 
REQUIREMENTS.—Section 173 of the Workforce Invest-
ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2918) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:38 Jul 01, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5654.IH
H5654
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(h) OIL SPILL RELIEF EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE 
REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Funds made available 
under subsection (a)(5)— 
‘‘(A) shall be used to provide oil spill relief 
employment on projects with respect to clean-
ing, restoration, renovation, repair, and recon-
struction (including the construction of infra-
structure to facilitate ecosystem and habitat 
restoration, protection, creation, enhancement 
and species repopulation) of lands, marshes, 
waters, structures, and facilities, located within 
an area of a covered incident, as well as off-
shore areas related to such incident, and 
projects that provide food, clothing, shelter, and 
other humanitarian assistance to individuals 
harmed by the covered incident; 
‘‘(B) shall be used to establish general 
cleanup standards approved by the Secretary 
for the selection of remedial actions for an area 
of a covered incident (including offshore areas 
related to such incident); 
‘‘(C) may be expended through public and 
private agencies and organizations engaged in 
projects described in subparagraph (A); 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:38 Jul 01, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5654.IH
H5654
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(D) may be expended to provide employ-
ment and training activities; 
‘‘(E) may be expended to provide personal 
protective equipment to workers engaged in oil 
spill relief employment described in subpara-
graph (A); 
‘‘(F) may be used to increase the capacity 
of States to make available the full range of 
services authorized under this title and provide 
information (in languages appropriate to the in-
dividuals served) about, and access to, the vari-
ety of public and private services available to 
individuals adversely affected by the covered in-
cident at one-stop centers described in section 
134(c) and other access points (including other 
public facilities, mobile service delivery units, 
and social services offices); and 
‘‘(G) may be used to provide temporary 
employment by public sector entities, in addi-
tion to the oil spill relief employment described 
in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—An individual shall be given 
priority consideration for the oil spill relief employ-
ment described in subsection (a)(5) if such indi-
vidual— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:38 Jul 01, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5654.IH
H5654
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(A) is temporarily or permanently laid off 
as a consequence of a covered incident with re-
spect to which such employment is being pro-
vided; 
‘‘(B) is a dislocated worker; 
‘‘(C) has been an unemployed individual 
for a prolonged period; or 
‘‘(D) meets such other criteria as the Sec-
retary may establish. 
‘‘(3) PREVAILING WAGES.—The Secretary shall 
require that each State receiving support under sub-
section (a)(5) provide reasonable assurance that all 
employees and contractors employed in the perform-
ance of a project for which the support is provided 
will be paid wages at rates not less than those pre-
vailing on similar work in the locality as determined 
by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub-
chapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of 
title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to 
as the ‘Davis-Bacon Act’). 
‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS ON OIL SPILL RELIEF EM-
PLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.—An individual shall be em-
ployed under subsection (a)(5) in oil spill relief em-
ployment with respect to a covered incident for a pe-
riod of 6 months. Such period of employment may 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:38 Jul 01, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5654.IH
H5654
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS