I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1091 
To amend certain provisions of the Social Security Act relating to demonstra-
tion projects designed to promote the reemployment of unemployed work-
ers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2017 
Mr. RENACCI (for himself, Mr. BUCSHON, and Mr. KILMER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend certain provisions of the Social Security Act relat-
ing to demonstration projects designed to promote the 
reemployment of unemployed workers. 
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 ‘‘Flexibility to Promote 
Reemployment Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO PROMOTE REEMPLOY-
MENT 
THROUGH 
DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECTS. 
(a) MODIFICATION OF NUMERICAL LIMITATION.— 
Subsection (a) of section 305 of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 505) is amended by inserting ‘‘per year’’ after 
‘‘10 States’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION
OF
APPLICATION
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Subsection (b) of such section 305 is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘or his or her designee’’ after 
‘‘The Governor of any State’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(2) for any waiver requested under subsection 
(c), a statement describing— 
‘‘(A) the specific provision or provisions of 
law for which such waiver is requested; and 
‘‘(B) the specific aspects of the project to 
which such waiver would apply and the reasons 
why it is needed;’’. 
(c) EXTENSION OF ELIGIBLE TIME PERIOD.—Sub-
section (d) of such section 305 is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘may not be 
approved’’ and inserting ‘‘may not be conducted’’; 
and 
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(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘December 
31, 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2021’’. 
(d) CLARIFICATION
OF DEMONSTRATION ACTIVI-
TIES.—Subsection (e) of such section 305 is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘for employer- 
provided training, such as’’ and inserting ‘‘to em-
ployers or claimants for employer-provided training 
or’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, not to ex-
ceed the weekly benefit amount for each such indi-
vidual, to pay part of the cost of wages that exceed 
the unemployed individual’s prior benefit level’’ and 
inserting ‘‘that include disbursements promoting re-
tention’’. 
(e) SELECTION OF QUALIFYING APPLICATIONS ON A 
FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS.—Subsection (f) of 
such section 305 is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
paragraphs (2) and (3); and 
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redes-
ignated by this subsection) the following: 
‘‘(1) approve completed applications in the 
order of receipt;’’. 
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(f) TERMINATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 
Subsection (g) of such section 305 is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(g) The Secretary of Labor may terminate a dem-
onstration project under this section if the Secretary— 
‘‘(1) determines that the State has violated the 
substantive terms or conditions of the project; 
‘‘(2) notifies the State in writing with sufficient 
detail describing the violation; and 
‘‘(3) determines that the State has not taken 
action to correct the violation within 90 days after 
the notification.’’. 
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE.— 
(1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this section shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(2) TRANSITION RULE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act 
shall be considered to terminate or otherwise af-
fect any demonstration project approved under 
section 305 of the Social Security Act before 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(B) ORIGINAL CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO 
APPLY.—A demonstration project described in 
subparagraph (A) shall be conducted in the 
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same manner as if subsections (a) through (f) 
had not been enacted. 
SEC. 3. EVALUATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 305 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 505) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(i) The Secretary of Labor shall conduct an impact 
evaluation of each demonstration project conducted under 
this section, using existing data sources to the extent pos-
sible and methodology appropriate to determine the effects 
of the demonstration project, including on individual skill 
levels, earnings, and employment retention.’’. 
(b) COOPERATION BY STATE.—Section 305(b) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 505(b)) (as amended by 
section 2(b) of this Act) is further amended by striking 
paragraphs (5) and (6) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(5) a description of the manner in which the 
State will determine the extent to which the goals 
and outcomes described in paragraph (3) were 
achieved; 
‘‘(6) assurances that the State will cooperate, in 
a timely manner, with the Secretary of Labor with 
respect to the impact evaluation conducted under 
subsection (i); and’’. 
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(c) REPORTING.—Not later than 90 days after the 
end of fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
until the completion of the last evaluation under section 
305(i) of the Social Security Act, the Secretary shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
Senate, a report that includes a description of— 
(1) the status of each demonstration project 
being carried out under this section; 
(2) the results of the evaluation completed dur-
ing the previous fiscal year; and 
(3) the Secretary’s plan for— 
(A) disseminating the findings of the re-
port to appropriate State agencies; and 
(B) incorporating the components of suc-
cessful demonstration projects that reduced 
benefit duration and increased employment into 
Federal unemployment law. 
(d) PUBLIC DISSEMINATION.—In addition to the re-
porting requirements under subparagraph (c), evaluation 
results shall be shared broadly to inform policy makers, 
service providers, other partners, and the public in order 
to promote wide use of successful strategies, including by 
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posting evaluation results on the Internet website of the 
Department of Labor. 
Æ 
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