I

114TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

H. R. 2990

To provide for the conduct of demonstration projects to test the effectiveness

of subsidized employment for TANF recipients.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. DOLD

JULY 9, 2015
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Ways and Means

A BILL
To provide for the conduct of demonstration projects to
test the effectiveness of subsidized employment for
TANF recipients.
1

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3
4

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the Accelerating Individ-

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5 uals into the Workforce Act.

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SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TO SUPPORT SUB-

SIDIZED EMPLOYMENT FOR TANF RECIPI-

ENTS.

Section 403 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

10 603) is amended by adding at the end the following:

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(c) SUBSIDIZED EMPLOYMENT DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECTS.
3

(1) IN

Secretary shall make

grants to States to conduct demonstration projects

designed to implement and evaluate strategies that

provide wage subsidies to enable low-income individ-

uals to enter into and retain employment.

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9
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GENERAL.The

(2) APPLICATION

REQUIREMENTS.The

retary shall require each State that applies for a

grant under this subsection to do the following:

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(A) Describe how wage subsidies will be

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provided (such as whether paid directly to the

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employer or the individual), the duration of the

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subsidies, the amount of the subsidies, the

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structure of the subsidies, and how employers

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will be recruited to participate in the subsidized

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employment program.

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(B) Describe how the State expects those

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participating in subsidized employment to be

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able to retain employment after the subsidy

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ends.

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(C) Describe how the State will coordi-

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nate subsidized employment funded under this

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subsection with other efforts to help low-income

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individuals enter work as conducted by the

State.

(3) USE

(A) IN

GENERAL.A

State to which a

grant is made under this subsection may use

the grant to subsidize the wages of an eligible

recipient for a period not exceeding 12 months,

and only to the extent that the total of the

funds paid under this project and any other

10

Federal funds so used with respect to the re-

11

cipient does not exceed 50 percent of the

12

amount of the wages received by the recipient

13

during the period.

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(B) ELIGIBLE

RECIPIENT.For

of subparagraph (A), an eligible recipient is

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(i)(I) a recipient of assistance under

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the State program funded under this part;

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(II) an adult with children;

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(III) a noncustodial parent; or

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(IV) an individual who has attained

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16 years of age but not 26 years of age;

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(ii) who, at the time the subsidy begins, is unemployed; and

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(iii) whose income, at that time, is

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less than 200 percent of the poverty line

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purposes

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OF FUNDS.

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(as defined by the Office of Management

and Budget, and revised annually in ac-

cordance with section 673(2) of the Omni-

bus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42

U.S.C. 9902(2))).

(4) REPORTS.As a condition of receiving

funds under this subsection for a fiscal year, a State

shall submit to the Secretary, within 6 months after

the end of the fiscal year, a report that

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(A) specifies, for each month of the fiscal

11

year, the number of individuals whose employ-

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ment is subsidized with these funds;

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(B) specifies, for each month of the fiscal

14

year, the number of the individuals who re-

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mained employed by the same employer in an

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unsubsidized position in the month immediately

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succeeding the month in which the last subsidy

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payment was made with respect to the employ-

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ment; and

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(C) describes the structure of the State

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activities to use the funds to subsidize employ-

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ment, including the amount and duration of the

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subsidies provided.

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(5) EVALUATION.The Secretary, in consulta-

25

tion with each State conducting a demonstration

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project, shall conduct a high-quality evaluation of

the demonstration project, and may reserve funds

made available under this subsection to conduct the

evaluation in accordance with the following:

(A) EVALUATOR

Secretary may not enter into a contract with an

evaluator unless the evaluator has demonstrated

experience in conducting rigorous evaluations of

program effectiveness including, where available

10

and appropriate, well-implemented randomized

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controlled trials.

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(B) METHODOLOGIES

TO BE USED.The

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evaluation of a demonstration project shall use

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experimental designs using random assignment

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or other reliable, evidence-based research meth-

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odologies that allow for the strongest possible

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causal inferences when random assignment is

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not feasible.

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QUALIFICATIONS.The

(C) PUBLIC

DISCLOSURE.The

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shall publish the results of the evaluation on the

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website of the Department of Health and

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Human Services in a location easily accessible

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by the public.

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(6) RECOMMENDATIONS

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TO CONGRESS.The

Secretary shall submit recommendations to the Con-

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Secretary

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gress on how to increase the employment, retention,

and advancement of individuals currently or for-

merly receiving assistance under a State program

funded under this part or any other State program

funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined

in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)).

(7) FUNDING.Of the amounts made avail-

able to carry out subsection (b) for fiscal year 2016

and each succeeding fiscal year, the Secretary shall

10

reserve $100,000,000 to carry out this subsection.

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(8) AVAILABILITY

OF FUNDS.Funds

12

vided to a State under this subsection for a fiscal

13

year shall be expended by the State in the fiscal year

14

or in the succeeding fiscal year..

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SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The amendment made by this Act shall take effect

17 on October 1, 2015.

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