Employing Youth for the American Dream Act of 2010

Bill: 111-hr-4920
Sponsor: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1]
Introduced: 2010-03-24 in the House
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Department of the Interior
Educational facilities and institutions
Employment and training programs
Forests, forestry, trees
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Income tax credits
Infrastructure development
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Public contracts and procurement
Roads and highways
Small business
Unemployment
Wages and earnings
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: 
Employing Youth for the American Dream Act of 2010 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to expand to age 24 the age eligibility requirements under the youth opportunity grants program for youth activities.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to make certain allotments to states for summer jobs programs for disconnected youth (youth age 16 to 24 who are not regularly employed or attending school).
 
Requires the Secretary to award grants to states to carry out employment programs for the partial reimbursement of wages paid by employers of small or medium-sized business concerns for new hires or rehires of former employees. Requires states to give priority for payments to eligible employers who hire or rehire a disconnected youth.
 
Requires the Secretary to make allotments and grants to states to carry out eligible on-the-job training programs for disconnected youth.
 
Directs the President to establish a public service employment program to employ individuals to carry out works of a public nature in connection with parks, roads, schools, and after-school programs. Requires priority for such jobs to be given to individuals who are long-term unemployed, low-income, and disconnected youth. 
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend the work opportunity tax credit through calendar 2015; (2) include as a member of a targeted group for purposes of such credit a qualified Title 1-B youth services recipient and rename a &quot;qualified ex-felon&quot; as a &quot;qualified ex-offender&quot; for purposes of the credit; (3) double the amount of allowable wages that may be considered in calculating such credit; (4) revive and extend the designation period for tax-preferred empowerment zones and revive certain zone designations that terminated on December 31, 2009; and (5) allow an employer tax credit through 2012 for the employment of disconnected youth. 
 
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to give preference to the hiring of individuals age 16 to 24 for federal park and forestry jobs.
 
Authorizes contracting officers of executive agencies to give preference in the award of federal contracts for the procurement of goods and services to employers: (1) that employ, in a youth apprenticeship and in the performance of the contract, disconnected youth who reside in high unemployment areas; and (2) whose contracts are funded for FY2011 under a law enacted to create infrastructure, transportation, or green energy jobs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-04-30
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.
action_date: 2010-03-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Referred to House Natural Resources
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Referred to House Ways and Means
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Referred to House Education and Labor
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Introduced in House