I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6561 
To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to States to hire 
teachers and prevent layoffs, to direct the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity to make grants to hire firefighters and prevent layoffs, and to 
direct the Attorney General to make grants to hire law enforcement 
officers and prevent layoffs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 
Mr. CROWLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Commit-
tees on the Judiciary and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to 
States to hire teachers and prevent layoffs, to direct 
the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to 
hire firefighters and prevent layoffs, and to direct the 
Attorney General to make grants to hire law enforcement 
officers and prevent layoffs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teachers and First 
Responders Back to Work Act of 2012’’. 
TITLE I—TEACHER 
STABILIZATION 
SEC. 101. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 
Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry 
out this title, the Secretary of Education (referred to in 
this title as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall make grants to States 
to prevent teacher layoffs and support the creation of ad-
ditional jobs in early childhood, elementary, and secondary 
public education in the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 school 
years. 
SEC. 102. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. 
(a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From the amount ap-
propriated to carry out this title under section 109, the 
Secretary— 
(1) shall reserve not more than 1⁄2 of 1 percent 
to provide assistance to the outlying areas on the 
basis of their respective needs, as determined by the 
Secretary, for activities consistent with this title 
under such terms and conditions as the Secretary 
may determine; 
(2) shall reserve not more than 1⁄2 of 1 percent 
to provide assistance to the Secretary of the Interior 
to carry out activities consistent with this title in 
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schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian 
Education; and 
(3) may reserve not more than $2,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013 for administra-
tion and oversight of this title, including program 
evaluation. 
(b) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall determine an 
award amount for each State on the following basis: 
(1) Of the amount that is 60 percent of the re-
maining funds after reserving funds under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall allocate to each State 
an amount that bears the same ratio as the popu-
lation of individuals aged 5 through 17 living in the 
State to the population of such individuals in all 
other States. 
(2) Of the amount that is 40 percent of the re-
maining funds after reserving funds under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall allocate to each State 
an amount that bears the same ratio as the State’s 
total population to the total population of all other 
States. 
(c) REALLOCATION.—If a State does not receive a 
grant under this title, the Secretary shall reallocate such 
State’s grant allocation to States receiving grants under 
this title using the formula described in subsection (b). 
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SEC. 103. STATE APPLICATION. 
(a) APPLICATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, a chief executive of a State 
seeking a grant under this title shall submit an application 
to the Secretary in such manner, and containing such in-
formation, as the Secretary may reasonably require, in-
cluding an assurance that the State will, for fiscal years 
2012 and 2013— 
(1) maintain State support for early childhood, 
elementary, and secondary education (in the aggre-
gate or on the basis of expenditure per pupil) at an 
amount that is not less than the level of such sup-
port for fiscal year 2011; or 
(2) maintain State support for early childhood, 
elementary, and secondary education (in the aggre-
gate or on the basis of expenditure per pupil) at a 
percentage of a State’s total expenditures for a fiscal 
year that is equal to or greater than the percentage 
that the State provided for fiscal year 2011. 
(b) LETTER.—Not later than 30 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, a chief executive of a State desir-
ing not to receive a grant under this title shall submit 
a letter to the Secretary that includes an explanation of 
such chief executive’s desire not to receive such funds and 
such additional information as the Secretary may require. 
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(c) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require-
ment that a State provide an assurance in subsection (a) 
(1) or (2) with regard to any State if the Secretary deter-
mines that a waiver would be equitable due to— 
(1) exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, 
such as a natural disaster; or 
(2) a precipitous decline in the financial re-
sources of the State, as determined by the Secretary. 
SEC. 104. STATE GRANTS. 
(a) RESERVATION.—Each State receiving a grant 
under this title shall reserve— 
(1) not more than 10 percent of the grant 
funds for awards to State-funded early learning pro-
grams; and 
(2) not more than 2 percent of the grant funds 
for the administrative costs of carrying out its re-
sponsibilities under this title. 
(b) SUBGRANTS
TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—A State that receives a 
grant under this title shall, after reserving any funds 
under subsection (a), use the remaining grant funds 
for awards to local educational agencies for the sup-
port of early childhood, elementary, and secondary 
public education. 
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(2) ALLOCATION.—A State that receives a 
grant under this title shall distribute the remaining 
grant funds described in paragraph (1) through sub-
grants on the following basis: 
(A) Of the amount that is 60 percent of 
such remaining grant funds, the State shall al-
locate to each local educational agency an 
amount that bears the same ratio as the local 
educational agency’s enrollment to the enroll-
ment for all other local educational agencies in 
the State. 
(B) Of the amount that is 40 percent of 
such remaining grant funds, the State shall al-
locate to each local educational agency an 
amount that bears the same ratio as the funds 
that the local educational agency received under 
part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 
et seq.) for fiscal year 2011 to the funds that 
all other local educational agencies in the State 
receive under such Act. 
(3) TIMING.—A State that receives a grant 
under this title shall make subgrants available to 
local educational agencies not later than 100 days 
after receiving a grant under this title. 
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(c) PROHIBITIONS.—A State that receives a grant 
under this title may not use the grant funds to directly 
or indirectly— 
(1) establish, restore, or supplement a rainy-day 
fund; 
(2) supplant State funds in a manner that has 
the effect of establishing, restoring, or supplement-
ing a rainy-day fund; 
(3) reduce or retire debt obligations incurred by 
the State; or 
(4) supplant State funds in a manner that has 
the effect of reducing or retiring debt obligations in-
curred by the State. 
SEC. 105. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY SUBGRANTS. 
(a) USES OF FUNDS.—A local educational agency 
that receives a subgrant under this title shall use the 
subgrant funds only to pay compensation, benefits, and 
other expenses necessary to retain existing employees, re-
call or rehire former employees, or hire new employees to 
provide early childhood, elementary, or secondary edu-
cational and related services. 
(b) TIMING.—A local educational agency that receives 
a subgrant under this title shall obligate such funds not 
later than September 30, 2014. 
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SEC. 106. EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS. 
(a) USES OF FUNDS.—A State-funded early learning 
program that receives funds under this title shall use those 
funds only for compensation, benefits, and other expenses 
necessary to retain early childhood educators, recall or re-
hire former early childhood educators, or hire new early 
childhood educators to provide early learning services. 
(b) TIMING.—A State-funded early learning program 
that receives funds under this title shall obligate those 
funds not later than September 30, 2014. 
SEC. 107. REPORTING. 
Not later than September 30 of 2013 and 2014, a 
State that receives a grant under this title shall submit 
a report to the Secretary that contains— 
(1) a description of how the State expended or 
obligated funds received under this title; and 
(2) an estimate of the number of jobs that the 
State supported using funds received under this 
title. 
SEC. 108. DEFINITIONS. 
Except as otherwise provided, in this title: 
(1) The terms ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘out-
lying area’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have 
the meanings given those terms in section 9101 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
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(2) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 
States, the District of Columbia, and the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico. 
(3) The term ‘‘State-funded early learning pro-
gram’’ means a program that provides educational 
services to children from birth to kindergarten entry 
and receives funding from the State other than 
funds received under this title. 
SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
For each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013, there is au-
thorized to be appropriated $30,000,000,000 to carry out 
the grant program under this title. 
TITLE II—FIRST RESPONDER 
STABILIZATION 
SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this title is to provide funds to States 
and localities to prevent layoffs of, and support the cre-
ation of additional jobs for, law enforcement officers and 
firefighters. 
SEC. 202. FIREFIGHTER GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations to carry out this title, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall make competitive 
grants to hire, rehire, and retain firefighters pursuant to 
section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 
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of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) and to maintain resources for 
fire departments. In making such grants, the Secretary 
may waive the requirements in subsections (a)(1)(A), 
(a)(1)(B), (a)(1)(E), (c)(1), (c)(2), and (c)(4)(A) of sec-
tion 34 of such Act. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to funds otherwise appropriated for grants under sec-
tion 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 
of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a), there is authorized to be ap-
propriated $1,000,000,000 to carry out this section for 
each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013, of which the Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall reserve an amount not to ex-
ceed $2,000,000 for each such fiscal year to carry out the 
administrative costs of this section. 
SEC. 203. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) POLICE OFFICERS.—Subject to the availability of 
appropriations to carry out this title, the Attorney General 
shall make competitive grants to hire, rehire, and retain 
career law enforcement officers pursuant to section 1701 
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd). Grants awarded under this sec-
tion shall not be subject to subsections (g) or (i) of section 
1701 or to section 1704 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3796dd; 
42 U.S.C. 3796dd–3). 
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(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to funds otherwise appropriated for grants under sec-
tion 1701 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd), there is authorized to 
be appropriated $4,000,000,000 to carry out this section 
for each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013, of which the Attor-
ney General shall reserve an amount not greater than 
$8,000,000 for each such fiscal year to carry out the ad-
ministrative costs of this section. 
Æ 
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