I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2794 
To strengthen and unite communities through English literacy and civics 
education, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 16, 2015 
Mr. HONDA
(for himself, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BROWN
of Florida, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Ms. LEE, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. TAKAI, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. LOF-
GREN, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To strengthen and unite communities through English 
literacy and civics education, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Strengthen and Unite Communities with Civics Edu-
cation and English Development Act of 2015’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
TITLE I—EXPANDING ENGLISH LITERACY, U.S. HISTORY, AND 
CIVICS EDUCATION 
Sec. 101. Increased investment in English literacy, U.S. history, and civics edu-
cation under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. 
Sec. 102. Definitions of English language learner. 
TITLE II—BUILDING STRONGER COMMUNITIES THROUGH 
INTEGRATION 
Sec. 201. Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration. 
Sec. 202. Grants to States. 
Sec. 203. Authorized activities. 
Sec. 204. Reporting and evaluation. 
Sec. 205. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE III—SUPPORTING ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND 
ADULT EDUCATION IN THE WORKFORCE 
Sec. 301. Credit for employer provided adult English literacy and basic edu-
cation programs. 
Sec. 302. Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting United 
States Citizenship. 
TITLE IV—CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF IMMIGRANTS 
AND NEW AMERICANS 
Sec. 401. New citizens award program. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the U.S. Census, there are 
presently more than 41.3 million foreign-born resi-
dents living in the United States, including 3 million 
refugees. 
(2) Over half, or 50.8 percent, of the total for-
eign-born population reports speaking English ‘‘less 
than very well’’. 
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(3) Limited English proficiency limits the em-
ployment prospects of these individuals and makes it 
more difficult to civically engage new immigrants. 
(4) Moreover, according to a study by the Mi-
gration Policy Institute, in 2008, there were more 
than 1.3 million college-educated immigrants unem-
ployed or working in unskilled jobs. 
(5) This results in a loss in worker productivity, 
loss of income tax revenue, added cost of greater de-
pendence on social services, and undermines the Na-
tion’s ability to attract skilled immigrants. 
(6) A proactive integration policy for new immi-
grants and refugees at the State and local levels will 
maximize the benefits immigrants bring to our Na-
tion. 
TITLE I—EXPANDING ENGLISH 
LITERACY, U.S. HISTORY, AND 
CIVICS EDUCATION 
SEC. 101. INCREASED INVESTMENT IN ENGLISH LITERACY, 
U.S. 
HISTORY, 
AND 
CIVICS 
EDUCATION 
UNDER THE ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY 
LITERACY ACT. 
(a) INTEGRATED ENGLISH LITERACY AND CIVICS 
EDUCATION PROGRAM.—Section 203 of the Adult Edu-
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cation and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3272) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (13) through 
(17) as paragraphs (14) through (18), respectively; 
and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (12), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(13) INTEGRATED
ENGLISH
LITERACY, U.S. 
HISTORY, AND CIVICS EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and 
civics education program’ means a program of in-
struction designed to help an English language 
learner achieve competence in English through 
contextualized instruction on the rights and respon-
sibilities of citizenship, naturalization procedures, 
civic participation, and United States history and 
government to help such learner acquire the skills 
and knowledge to become an active and informed 
parent, worker, and community member.’’. 
(b) 
STATE
LEADERSHIP
ACTIVITIES.—Section 
223(a)(1) of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act 
(29 U.S.C. 3303(a)(1)) is amended by inserting after sub-
paragraph (D) the following: 
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(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(iii) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; and 
(iv) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(v) the extent to which integrated 
English literacy, U.S. history, and civics 
education programs carried out under sec-
tion 244 lead participants in such pro-
grams to increase their civic participation 
and, if applicable, lead such participants to 
become United States citizens;’’. 
(d) INTEGRATED ENGLISH LITERACY, U.S. HIS-
TORY, AND CIVICS EDUCATION.—Subtitle D of the Adult 
Education and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3331 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 244. INTEGRATED ENGLISH LITERACY, U.S. HISTORY, 
AND CIVICS EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From funds appro-
priated to carry out this section, the Secretary shall award 
grants to States, from allocations under subsection (b), 
for integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics 
education programs. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATIONS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
from the amount appropriated under subsection (c) 
for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate— 
‘‘(A) 65 percent of such amount to States 
on the basis of a State’s need for integrated 
English, U.S. history, and civics education pro-
grams, as determined by calculating each 
State’s share of a 10-year average of the data 
compiled by the Office of Immigration Statistics 
of the Department of Homeland Security, for 
immigrants admitted for lawful permanent resi-
dence for the 10 most recent years; and 
‘‘(B) 35 percent of such amount to the 
States on the basis of whether the State experi-
enced growth, as measured by the average of 
the 3 most recent years for which data compiled 
by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the 
Department of Homeland Security are avail-
able, for immigrants admitted for lawful perma-
nent residence. 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM.—No State shall receive an allo-
cation under paragraph (1) in an amount that is less 
than $60,000. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—The term ‘State’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Common-
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wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the 
United States Virgin Islands. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—For the 
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, 
$250,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, and $300,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2018.’’. 
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER. 
(a) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT 
OF 1965.—Section 9101(25) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(25)) is 
amended by striking the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(25) ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
LEARNER.—The 
term ‘English language learner’ means an indi-
vidual—’’. 
(b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 
et seq.) to an individual who is limited English proficient 
shall be construed to refer to an English language learner. 
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TITLE II—BUILDING STRONGER 
COMMUNITIES THROUGH IN-
TEGRATION 
SEC. 201. OFFICE OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRANT INTE-
GRATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF CITIZEN-
SHIP AND IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 
Executive Office of the President an Office of Citi-
zenship and Immigrant Integration. There shall be 
a Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant 
Integration who shall head the office. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 451(f) 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
271(f)) is repealed. 
(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Citizenship and Im-
migrant Integration shall be responsible for— 
(1) establishing national goals for introducing 
new Americans into the United States and meas-
uring the degree to which such goals are met; 
(2) assessing and coordinating Federal policies, 
regulations, task forces, and commissions related to 
introducing immigrants into the United States; 
(3) continuing with the efforts of the Task 
Force on New Americans established under Execu-
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tive Order No. 13404 to facilitate a dialogue among 
Federal agencies, make recommendations to the 
President of the United States, and follow through 
with initiatives administered by the Task Force 
under the authority of such Executive order; 
(4) serving as a liaison and intermediary with 
State and local governments and other entities to as-
sist in establishing local goals, task forces, and coun-
cils to assist in introducing immigrants to the 
United States; 
(5) coordinating with other Federal agencies to 
provide information to State and local governments 
on the demand for English acquisition programs and 
best practices in place on the Federal and State level 
for aliens who have recently arrived in the United 
States; 
(6) assisting States in coordinating activities 
with the grant program carried out under title III 
of the Strengthen and Unite Communities with 
Civics Education and English Development Act of 
2015; and 
(7) promoting instruction and training on citi-
zenship responsibilities for aliens interested in be-
coming naturalized citizens of the United States, in-
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cluding the development of educational materials for 
such aliens. 
(c) DONATIONS.— 
(1) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—The Chief of 
the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration 
may accept monetary and in-kind donations to sup-
port the activities described in subsection (b). 
(2) DEDICATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law— 
(A) any funds donated to the Office of 
Citizenship and Immigrant Integration to sup-
port the activities described in subsection (b) 
shall be deposited entirely into an account es-
tablished for such purpose; 
(B) the funds contained in such account 
shall be used solely to support such activities; 
and 
(C) funds that were not donated for the 
exclusive purpose of supporting such activities 
may not be deposited into such account. 
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Chief of the Office 
of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration shall submit a 
biennial report to the authorizing Committees in Congress 
that describes the activities of the office. 
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SEC. 202. GRANTS TO STATES. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE GRANTS.—Subject to 
subsections (c) and (d), the Chief of the Office of Citizen-
ship and Immigrant Integration is authorized to provide 
competitive grants to States to form State New American 
Councils as described in subsection (b) to carry out activi-
ties described in section 203. 
(b) STATE NEW AMERICAN COUNCILS.—A State 
New American Council shall consist of not less than 15 
and not more than 19 individuals from the State and shall 
include, to the extent practicable, representatives from the 
following sectors: 
(1) Business. 
(2) Faith-based organizations. 
(3) Civic organizations. 
(4) Philanthropic leaders. 
(5) Nonprofit organizations, including those 
with experience working with immigrant commu-
nities. 
(6) Representatives from key education stake-
holders, such as State educational agencies, local 
educational agencies, community colleges, teachers, 
or organizations representing teachers and other em-
ployees. 
(7) Representatives of State adult education of-
fices. 
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(8) Representatives of State or local public li-
braries. 
(9) Representatives of statewide or local govern-
ment officials. 
(c) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) AUTHORITY TO GRANT.—The Chief of the 
Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration 
may award a grant under subsection (a) to a State 
without requiring the State to form a State New 
American Council if the Chief determines that the 
State is carrying out similar statewide initiatives to 
introduce immigrants into the State and into the 
United States. 
(2) GUIDELINES.—The Chief shall establish 
guidelines for awarding grants to States described in 
paragraph (1). 
(d) GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Chief 
of the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration 
may provide a grant under subsection (a) to a local gov-
ernment at the discretion of the Chief. 
(e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, an applicant shall submit an applica-
tion to the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Immi-
grant Integration at such time, in such manner, and con-
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taining such information as the Chief may reasonably re-
quire. Such application shall include— 
(1) if the applicant is a State seeking to form 
a State New American Council, an assurance that 
such State New American Council will meet the re-
quirements of subsection (b); 
(2) the number of immigrants in the State in 
which the applicant is located; 
(3) a description of the challenges in intro-
ducing new Americans in the State and local com-
munity; and 
(4) any other information that the Chief may 
reasonably require. 
(f) DURATION.—A grant awarded under subsection 
(a) shall be for a period of 5 years. 
(g) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to grant appli-
cations that— 
(1) use matching funds, from non-Federal 
sources, which may include in-kind contributions; 
and 
(2) demonstrate collaboration with private enti-
ties to achieve the goals of their comprehensive plan. 
(h) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—Additional con-
sideration shall be given to grant applications submitted 
by States with a large increase in the population of immi-
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grants over the previous 10 years relative to past migra-
tion patterns, based on data compiled by the Office of Im-
migration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity. 
(i) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant award-
ed under subsection (a) shall be not less than $500,000 
and not more than $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. 
(j) RESERVATIONS.— 
(1) NATIONAL.—The Chief of the Office of Citi-
zenship and Immigrant Integration shall reserve not 
more than 1 percent of the amount appropriated to 
carry out this section for such Office, including the 
evaluation of funds distributed. 
(2) STATES.—A State awarded a grant under 
subsection (a) may reserve not more than 10 percent 
of such grant amount for the creation and operation 
of the State New American Council. 
SEC. 203. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 
(a) MANDATORY
ACTIVITIES.—A grant awarded 
under section 202(a) shall be used— 
(1) to develop, implement, expand, or enhance 
a comprehensive plan to introduce new immigrants 
into the State, including the increase in English lit-
eracy, U.S. history, and civics education; 
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(2) to provide subgrants to local communities 
as described in subsection (c); 
(3) if the grant is awarded to a State to form 
a State New American Council, to convene meetings 
of the State New American Council not less fre-
quently than once each quarter; 
(4) to disseminate best practices and other in-
formation compiled by the Office of Citizenship and 
Immigrant Integration that pertains to effective pro-
grams for English acquisition and civics education; 
and 
(5) to convene public hearings not less fre-
quently than once each year to report on the activi-
ties carried out by such grant. 
(b) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A grant awarded 
under section 202(a) may be used— 
(1) to solicit and disseminate solutions and 
remedies to the challenges of introducing new Amer-
icans in the State or municipality in which the grant 
is awarded; 
(2) to provide technical assistance, training, or 
coordination for State or local agencies to improve 
programs to introduce new Americans into the 
United States, such as English literacy, U.S. his-
tory, and civics education; 
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(3) to review and develop strategies to expand 
distance learning as a method of instruction for 
English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education 
and available technological programs that may sup-
plement or supplant quality classroom instruction; 
(4) to coordinate with entities of other States 
engaged in activities under this title or other activi-
ties to introduce new Americans into the State or 
community; and 
(5) to develop materials focused on preparation 
for the naturalization test, engage in outreach and 
educational activities on the naturalization process, 
and provide assistance to immigrants with the natu-
ralization application, where appropriate. 
(c) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT TO AWARD.—A grant under 
section 202(a) shall be used to award competitive 
subgrants— 
(A) to entities of local governments and 
faith-based community organizations to assist 
communities with local efforts to introduce new 
Americans into the community; and 
(B) to support the work of community or-
ganizations and academic institutions assist-
ing— 
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(i) immigrants who were educated 
abroad gain the necessary credentials to 
practice their profession in the United 
States; and 
(ii) skilled immigrants through— 
(I) capacity and identification 
and assessment; 
(II) educational case manage-
ment; 
(III) educational interventions; 
and 
(IV) discharge and job place-
ment. 
(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Subgrants shall 
be awarded under paragraph (1) to entities of local 
governments for use to carry out activities in accord-
ance with— 
(A) a comprehensive plan described in sub-
section (a)(1); and 
(B) any guidance provided by the Chief of 
the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Inte-
gration. 
(3) SUBGRANT
AMOUNT.—The amount of a 
subgrant awarded under this subsection shall be not 
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less than $100,000 and not more than $600,000 for 
a fiscal year. 
SEC. 204. REPORTING AND EVALUATION. 
(a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity awarded a grant 
under section 202(a) shall submit a report annually 
to the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integra-
tion that— 
(A) describes the activities of the State 
New American Council and subgrant recipients 
and how these activities meet the goals of— 
(i) the Chief of the Office of Citizen-
ship and Immigrant Integration; and 
(ii) the comprehensive plan described 
in section 203(a)(1); and 
(B) describes the geographic areas being 
served, the number of immigrants in such 
areas, and the primary languages spoken there. 
(2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The Chief of the 
Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration 
may set out other requirements as the Chief sees fit 
in order to— 
(A) impose accountability; and 
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(B) measure the outcomes of the activities 
carried out with grants awarded under section 
202(a). 
(b) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—The Chief of the Office 
of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration shall conduct an 
annual evaluation of the grant program established under 
this title and use such evaluation— 
(1) to improve the effectiveness of programs 
carried out by the Chief; 
(2) to assess future needs of immigrants and of 
State and local governments related to immigrants; 
(3) to determine the effectiveness of such grant 
program; and 
(4) to ensure that the grantees and subgrantees 
are acting within the scope and purpose of this title. 
SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this title $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 
through 2021. 
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TITLE 
III—SUPPORTING 
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUI-
SITION 
AND 
ADULT 
EDU-
CATION IN THE WORKFORCE 
SEC. 301. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYER PROVIDED ADULT 
ENGLISH LITERACY AND BASIC EDUCATION 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 45S. EMPLOYER-PROVIDED ADULT ENGLISH LIT-
ERACY AND BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of section 38, 
the credit determined under this section with respect to 
any employer for the taxable year is an amount equal to 
20 percent of qualified education program expenses, or no 
more than $1,000 per full-time employee participating in 
the qualified education program. 
‘‘(b) 
QUALIFIED
EDUCATION
PROGRAM
EX-
PENSES.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified edu-
cation program expenses’ means expenses paid or in-
curred by an employer to make available qualified 
education to employees of the employer, who are 
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English language learners or have not received a 
secondary school diploma, or its recognized equiva-
lent, or who lack sufficient mastery of basic edu-
cational skills to enable the individuals to function 
effectively in society. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED EDUCATION.—The term ‘quali-
fied education’ means adult education and literacy 
activities provided— 
‘‘(A) by an eligible provider which for the 
fiscal year ending during the employer’s taxable 
year receives Federal funds under section 231 
of the Adult Education and Family Literacy 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3321) for adult education and 
literacy activities, or 
‘‘(B) in curriculum approved by the De-
partment of Education, the Employment and 
Training Administration of the Department of 
Labor, or in current use by a Federal agency. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PROVIDER; ADULT EDUCATION 
AND LITERACY ACTIVITIES.—The terms ‘eligible pro-
vider’, and ‘adult education and literacy activities’ 
shall have the respective meanings given to such 
terms in section 203 of the Adult Education and 
Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3272). 
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‘‘(4) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 
‘English language learner’ shall have the same 
meaning given to such term in section 9101(25) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(25)), as amended by section 
102(b)(1) of the Strengthen and Unite Communities 
with Civics Education and English Development Act 
of 2015. 
‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.—An employee 
shall be considered full-time if such employee is em-
ployed at least 30 hours per week for 25 or more 
calendar weeks in the taxable year. 
‘‘(2) AGGREGATION RULE.—All persons treated 
as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) or 
section 52, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414, 
shall be treated as one person. 
‘‘(d) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction 
or credit shall be allowed under any other provision of this 
chapter for any amount taken into account in determining 
the credit under this section. 
‘‘(e) ELECTION TO HAVE CREDIT NOT APPLY.—A 
taxpayer may elect (at such time and in such manner as 
the Secretary may by regulations prescribe) to have this 
section not apply for any taxable year.’’. 
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(b) CREDIT TO BE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS 
CREDIT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of such Code (re-
lating to current year business credit) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (35), by striking the 
period at the end of paragraph (36) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, 
and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(37) the adult English literacy and basic edu-
cation programs credit determined under section 
45Q.’’. 
(c) TREATMENT OF POSSESSIONS.— 
(1) PAYMENTS TO POSSESSIONS.— 
(A) MIRROR CODE POSSESSION.—The Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall pay to each posses-
sion of the United States with a mirror code 
tax system amounts equal to the loss to that 
possession by reason of the application of sec-
tion 45S of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(as added by this section). Such amounts shall 
be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury 
based on information provided by the govern-
ment of the respective possession. 
(B) OTHER POSSESSIONS.—The Secretary 
of the Treasury shall pay to each possession of 
the United States which does not have a mirror 
code tax system amounts estimated by the Sec-
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retary of the Treasury as being equal to the ag-
gregate benefits that would have been provided 
to taxpayers such possession by reason of the 
application of section 45S of such Code (as so 
added) if a mirror code tax system had been in 
effect in such possession. The preceding sen-
tence shall not apply with respect to any posses-
sion of the United States unless such possession 
has a plan, which has been approved by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, under which such 
possession will promptly distribute such pay-
ments to the taxpayers of such possession. 
(2) COORDINATION
WITH
CREDIT
ALLOWED 
AGAINST
UNITED
STATES
INCOME
TAXES.—The 
credit allowed against United States income taxes 
for any taxable year under section 38 of such Code 
to any taxpayer shall be reduced by the amount of 
any credit (or other tax benefit described in para-
graph (1)(B)) allowed to such person against income 
taxes imposed by the possession of the United States 
by reason of this subsection for such taxable year. 
(3) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.— 
(A) 
POSSESSION
OF
THE
UNITED 
STATES.—For purposes of this subsection, the 
term ‘‘possession of the United States’’ includes 
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American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States 
Virgin Islands. 
(B) MIRROR CODE TAX SYSTEM.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘‘mirror code 
tax system’’ means, with respect to any posses-
sion of the United States, the income tax sys-
tem of such possession if the income tax liabil-
ity of the residents of such possession under 
such system is determined by reference to the 
income tax laws of the United States as if such 
possession were the United States. 
(C) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.—For pur-
poses of section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 
States Code, the payments under this sub-
section shall be treated in the same manner as 
a refund due from the credit provisions de-
scribed in such section. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the such Code is amended by adding at the end the 
following new item: 
‘‘45S. Employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs.’’. 
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(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2015. 
SEC. 302. PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR BUSINESS LEADER-
SHIP IN PROMOTING UNITED STATES CITI-
ZENSHIP. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Pres-
idential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting 
United States Citizenship (referred to in this section as 
the ‘‘Presidential Citizenship Award’’), which shall be 
awarded to companies and other organizations that make 
extraordinary efforts in assisting their employees and 
members to learn English and increase their under-
standing of United States history and civics. 
(b) SELECTION AND PRESENTATION OF AWARD.— 
(1) SELECTION.—The President shall periodi-
cally award the Presidential Citizenship Award to 
large and small companies and other organizations 
described in subsection (a) after reviewing rec-
ommendations to the President with respect to such 
award by the Secretary of Homeland Security and 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
(2) PRESENTATION.—The presentation of the 
Presidential Citizenship Award shall be made by the 
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President, or a designee of the President, in con-
junction with an appropriate ceremony. 
TITLE 
IV—CELEBRATING 
THE 
CONTRIBUTIONS 
OF 
IMMI-
GRANTS 
AND 
NEW 
AMERI-
CANS 
SEC. 401. NEW CITIZENS AWARD PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a new 
citizens award program to recognize citizens who— 
(1) have made an outstanding contribution to 
the United States; and 
(2) are naturalized during the 10-year period 
ending on the date of such recognition. 
(b) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized 
to present a medal, in recognition of outstanding 
contributions to the United States, to citizens de-
scribed in subsection (a). 
(2) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF AWARDS.—Not more 
than 10 citizens may receive a medal under this sec-
tion in any calendar year. 
Æ 
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