I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8689 
To award funds to States and local areas for public, subsidized employment 
programs for youth. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 27, 2020 
Ms. FUDGE (for herself and Ms. KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition 
to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To award funds to States and local areas for public, 
subsidized employment programs for youth. 
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 ‘‘Connecting Youth to 
Jobs Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
During periods which the national rate of youth un-
employment is above the full youth employment rate and 
in excess of the overall national rate, as determined by 
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the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or during a qualifying 
emergency or economic recession (as determined by the 
Chairman of the Federal Reserve), it is the purpose of 
this Act to provide— 
(1) youth public subsidized employment to as-
sist in State and local improvement activities, includ-
ing public works, the arts, and community develop-
ment; and 
(2) additional and continual funding that is tar-
geted to high poverty areas with historically high 
youth unemployment rates, particularly high minor-
ity youth unemployment rates, for the purpose of 
creating such employment opportunities. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
QUALIFYING
EMERGENCY.—The 
term 
‘‘qualifying emergency’’ means— 
(A) a public health emergency declared by 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 
(B) an event for which the President de-
clared a major disaster or an emergency under 
section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert 
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T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As-
sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191); or 
(C) a national emergency declared by the 
President under section 201 of the National 
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 
(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ 
have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(3) HIGH-POVERTY
AREA.—The term ‘‘high- 
poverty area’’ means a census tract with a youth 
poverty rate of at least 20 percent during the most 
recent 5 consecutive years. 
(4) HISTORICALLY
HIGH
YOUTH
UNEMPLOY-
MENT LEVELS.—The term ‘‘historically high youth 
unemployment levels’’ means any local area with a 
youth unemployment rate of at least 10 percent, as 
measured over the most recent decennial censuses, 
or by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the most 
recent 5-year period for which data are available. 
(5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
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(6) PUBLIC
EDUCATION
ENTITY.—The term 
‘‘public education entities’’ includes— 
(A) a local educational agency; 
(B) a State educational agency; or 
(C) a public institution of higher edu-
cation. 
(7) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 
The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship programs’’ 
means an apprenticeship program registered under 
the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as 
the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, 
chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), including any re-
quirement, standard, or rule promulgated under 
such Act, as such requirement, standard, or rule was 
in effect on December 30, 2019. 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Labor. 
(9) WORK-BASED LEARNING.—The term ‘‘work- 
based learning’’ as the meaning given in section 3 of 
the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 
(10) WIOA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘in-demand in-
dustry sector or occupation’’, ‘‘individual with a bar-
rier to employment’’, ‘‘in-school youth’’, ‘‘local 
area’’, ‘‘local board’’, ‘‘out-of-school youth’’, ‘‘out-
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lying area’’, ‘‘recognized postsecondary credential’’, 
‘‘supportive services’’, ‘‘State’’, ‘‘State board’’, and 
‘‘unit of general local government’’ have the mean-
ings given the terms in section 3 of the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 
TITLE I—YOUTH PUBLIC 
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM 
SEC. 101. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES AND LOCAL AREAS. 
(a) FUNDING ALLOTMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS.— 
(1) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—For each fiscal year 
during a period described in section 2, to assist 
States and outlying areas, and to enable States and 
outlying areas to assist local areas, in carrying out 
subsidized public employment programs described in 
subsection (b) for eligible youth, from the funds ap-
propriated under section 103(1), the Secretary of 
Labor shall— 
(A) make an allotment in accordance with 
section 127(b)(1)(C)(ii) of the Workforce Inno-
vation 
and 
Opportunity 
Act 
(29 
U.S.C. 
3162(b)(1)(C)(ii)) to each State that meets the 
requirements of section 102 or 103 of such Act 
(29 U.S.C. 3112, 3113); and 
(B) award a grant to each outlying area 
that complies with the requirements of title I of 
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