I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2209 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the work opportunity 
credit for certain youth employees, and to extend empowerment zones. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2017 
Ms. KELLY of Illinois (for herself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 
and Mr. GUTIE´RREZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify 
the work opportunity credit for certain youth employees, 
and to extend empowerment zones. 
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 ‘‘Helping to Encourage 
Real Opportunities (HERO) for At-Risk Youth Act’’. 
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF WORK OPPOR-
TUNITY CREDIT FOR CERTAIN YOUTH EM-
PLOYEES. 
(a) EXPANSION OF CREDIT FOR SUMMER YOUTH.— 
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(1) CREDIT ALLOWED FOR YEAR-ROUND EM-
PLOYMENT.—Section 51(d)(7)(A) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 
(A) by striking clauses (i) and (iii) and re-
designating clauses (ii) and (iv) as clauses (i) 
and (ii), respectively, 
(B) in clause (i) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘(or if later, on May 1 of the calendar 
year involved),’’ and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iii) who will be employed for not 
more than 20 hours per week during any 
period between September 16 and April 30 
in which such individual is regularly at-
tending any secondary school.’’. 
(2) INCREASE
IN
CREDIT
AMOUNT.—Section 
51(d)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by striking subparagraph (B) and by re-
designating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B). 
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Subparagraph (F) of section 51(d)(1) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by striking ‘‘summer’’. 
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(B) Paragraph (7) of section 51(d) of such 
Code is amended— 
(i) by striking ‘‘summer’’ each place it 
appears in subparagraph (A), 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), as redesig-
nated by paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub-
paragraph (A)(iv)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
paragraph (A)(ii)’’, and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘SUMMER’’ in the 
heading thereof. 
(b) CREDIT FOR AT-RISK YOUTH.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 
51(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (I), by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (J) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding 
at the end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(K) an at-risk youth.’’. 
(2) AT-RISK YOUTH.—Paragraph (14) of sec-
tion 51(d) of such Code is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(14) AT-RISK
YOUTH.—The term ‘at-risk 
youth’ means any individual who is certified by the 
designated local agency— 
‘‘(A) as— 
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‘‘(i) having attained age 16 but not 
age 25 on the hiring date, 
‘‘(ii) not regularly attending any sec-
ondary, technical, or post-secondary school 
during the 6-month period preceding the 
hiring date, 
‘‘(iii) not regularly employed during 
such 6-month period, and 
‘‘(iv) not readily employable by reason 
of lacking a sufficient number of basic 
skills, or 
‘‘(B) as— 
‘‘(i) having attained age 16 but not 
age 21 on the hiring date, and 
‘‘(ii) an eligible foster child (as de-
fined in section 152(f)(1)(C)) who was in 
foster care during the 12-month period 
ending on the hiring date.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to individuals who begin work for 
the employer after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF EMPOWERMENT ZONES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1391(d)(1)(A)(i) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
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‘‘December 31, 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 
2019’’. 
(b) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TERMINATION DATES 
SPECIFIED IN NOMINATIONS.—In the case of a designa-
tion of an empowerment zone the nomination for which 
included a termination date which is contemporaneous 
with the date specified in subparagraph (A)(i) of section 
1391(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as in 
effect before the enactment of this Act), subparagraph (B) 
of such section shall not apply with respect to such des-
ignation if, after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the entity which made such nomination amends the nomi-
nation to provide for a new termination date in such man-
ner as the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s 
designee) may provide. 
Æ 
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