I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5164 
To amend the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to ensure 
improved access to employment opportunities for low-income people. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2006 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. NORTON, 
and Mr. MEEKS of New York) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 
to ensure improved access to employment opportunities 
for low-income people. 
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 ‘‘Earning and Living 
Opportunities Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR EMPLOYING LOW- AND VERY 
LOW-INCOME PERSONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Housing and 
Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701u) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and 
(g) as subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; 
(2) in subsection (i), as so redesignated— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting at the 
end ‘‘Provided, however, that any resident of a 
public or Indian housing development or any 
other person who qualifies for a priority under 
section (c)(1)(B), and who was very low-income 
shall, for purposes of this Act, continue to qual-
ify, as initially verified, for a period of 5 years, 
irrespective of any increase in the person’s in-
come or other change in that person’s priority 
status during that period.’’; and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) ONE-STOP DELIVERY SYSTEM.—The term 
‘one-stop delivery system’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 134(c) of the Workforce Invest-
ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2864(c)).’’; and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
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‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT
FOR EMPLOYING LOW- AND 
VERY LOW-INCOME PERSONS.— 
‘‘(1) TWENTY PERCENT REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) CONDITION OF ASSISTANCE.—It shall 
be a condition of any assistance provided to a 
public or Indian housing agency or contract 
awarded by a public or Indian housing agency 
for work to be performed in connection with de-
velopment assistance provided from the capital 
fund under section 9(d) of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937, the operating fund under 
section 9(e) of such Act, or any other Federal 
assistance for housing and community develop-
ment, 
including 
funding 
under 
section 
(8)(o)(13) of such Act, that, except as provided 
in paragraph 2(B), a minimum of 20 percent of 
all hours worked by employees of the public or 
Indian housing agency or of a contractor in 
connection with such contract shall be per-
formed by low- or very low-income persons who 
qualify 
for 
a 
priority 
under 
subsection 
(c)(1)(B). 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—It shall be a condi-
tion of any assistance provided to a recipient of 
other Federal housing and community develop-
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ment assistance for housing rehabilitation, 
housing construction, or other public construc-
tion projects and their contractors, that a min-
imum of 20 percent of all hours worked by em-
ployees of the recipient or its contractors shall 
be performed by low- or very low-income per-
sons who qualify for a priority under subsection 
(c)(2)(B). 
‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—As a condition of any con-
tract awarded for the work described in paragraph 
(1), any contractor awarded such a contract shall— 
‘‘(A)(i) immediately before beginning work 
under such contract, submit evidence to the sat-
isfaction of the contracting agency and the sec-
tion 3 committee, showing that a minimum of 
20 percent of all hours worked in connection 
with such contract shall be performed by low- 
or very low-income persons who qualify for a 
priority under paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) of 
subsection (c); and 
‘‘(ii) submit evidence to the satisfaction of 
the contracting agency and the section 3 com-
mittee showing that a minimum of 20 percent 
of all hours actually worked in connection with 
such contract were in fact performed by low- or 
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very low-income persons who qualify for a pri-
ority under paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) of 
subsection (c); or 
‘‘(B) if such contractor cannot meet the re-
quirement imposed by paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(i) submit evidence to the satisfac-
tion of the contracting agency and the sec-
tion 3 committee that such contractor used 
all feasible means to meet such require-
ment by taking steps which include— 
‘‘(I) recruiting and conducting 
job interviews at the affected develop-
ment, in the affected community, and 
at training facilities; 
‘‘(II) working with the con-
tracting agency to advertise and re-
cruit low- and very low-income per-
sons; and 
‘‘(III) giving notice of such con-
tract to the one-stop delivery system 
for the area in which the work is to 
be done, including the particular 
skills, knowledge, and abilities needed 
by potential employees for work under 
such contract; and 
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‘‘(ii) provide to the contracting agency 
and the section 3 committee, evidence, as 
the Secretary shall by regulation require, 
sufficient to show why low- or very low-in-
come persons who were referred by either 
the contracting agency or by the one-stop 
delivery system, or who otherwise made 
themselves available did not have the skills, 
knowledge, or abilities to perform the 
work. 
‘‘(3) SECTION
COMMITTEE.—The Secretary 
shall require that a public and Indian housing agen-
cy and other recipients of Federal housing and com-
munity development assistance establish a section 3 
committee composed of interested parties, including 
a representative of the affected section 3 residents to 
oversee all aspects of compliance with section 3. For 
projects with a significant economic impact relative 
to the community size and the public housing agen-
cy, membership on the section 3 committee shall, at 
a minimum, include a representative of— 
‘‘(A) the contractor; 
‘‘(B) the public or Indian Housing Agency; 
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