I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2731 
To amend title III of the Social Security Act to provide for demonstration 
projects designed to expedite the reemployment of unemployed workers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2011 
Mr. BERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend title III of the Social Security Act to provide 
for demonstration projects designed to expedite the reem-
ployment 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 ‘‘Helping Innovation 
of Re-Employment Services in States Act’’ or the ‘‘HIRES 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. STATE FLEXIBILITY TO PROMOTE THE REEMPLOY-
MENT OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 501 and following) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS 
‘‘SEC. 305. (a) The Secretary of Labor may enter 
into agreements, with States submitting an application de-
scribed in subsection (b), for the purpose of allowing such 
States to conduct demonstration projects to test and 
evaluate measures designed— 
‘‘(1) to expedite the reemployment of individ-
uals who establish initial eligibility for unemploy-
ment compensation under the State law of such 
State; or 
‘‘(2) to improve the effectiveness of a State in 
carrying out its State law with respect to reemploy-
ment. 
‘‘(b) The Governor of any State desiring to conduct 
a demonstration project under this section shall submit 
an application to the Secretary of Labor. Any such appli-
cation shall, at a minimum, include— 
‘‘(1) a general description of the proposed dem-
onstration project, including the authority (under 
the laws of the State) for the measures to be tested, 
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as well as the period of time during which such dem-
onstration project would be conducted; 
‘‘(2) if a waiver under subsection (c) is re-
quested, the specific aspects of the project to which 
the waiver would apply and the reasons why such 
waiver is needed; 
‘‘(3) a description of the goals and the expected 
programmatic 
outcomes 
of 
the 
demonstration 
project, including how the project would contribute 
to the objective described in subsection (a)(1), sub-
section (a)(2), or both; 
‘‘(4) assurances (accompanied by supporting 
analysis) that the demonstration project would not 
result in any increased net costs to the State’s ac-
count in the Unemployment Trust Fund; 
‘‘(5) a description of the manner in which the 
State— 
‘‘(A) will conduct an impact evaluation, 
using a control or comparison group or other 
valid methodology, of the demonstration project; 
and 
‘‘(B) will determine the extent to which the 
goals and outcomes described in paragraph (3) 
were achieved; and 
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‘‘(6) assurances that the State will provide any 
reports relating to the demonstration project, after 
its approval, as the Secretary of Labor may require. 
‘‘(c) The Secretary of Labor may waive any of the 
requirements of section 3304(a)(4) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 or of paragraph (1) or (5) of section 
303(a), to the extent and for the period the Secretary of 
Labor considers necessary to enable the State to carry out 
a demonstration project under this section. 
‘‘(d) A demonstration project under this section— 
‘‘(1) may be commenced any time after the date 
of the enactment of this section; and 
‘‘(2) may not be approved for a period of time 
greater than 3 years, subject to extension upon re-
quest of the Governor of the State involved for such 
additional period as the Secretary of Labor may 
agree to, except that in no event may a demonstra-
tion project under this section be conducted after 
the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this section. 
‘‘(e) The Secretary of Labor shall, in the case of any 
State for which an application is submitted under sub-
section (b)— 
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‘‘(1) notify the State as to whether such appli-
cation has been approved or denied within 30 days 
after receipt of a complete application; and 
‘‘(2) provide public notice of the decision within 
10 days after providing notification to the State in 
accordance with paragraph (1). 
Public notice under paragraph (2) may be provided 
through the Internet or other appropriate means. Any ap-
plication under this section that has not been denied with-
in such 30 days shall be deemed approved. 
‘‘(f) The Secretary of Labor may terminate a dem-
onstration project under this section if the Secretary 
makes a final determination that the State has violated 
the substantive terms or conditions of the project.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply to weeks beginning after Sep-
tember 30, 2011. 
Æ 
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