[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5531 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5531
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to promote the
employment of older individuals, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 8, 2021
Ms. Newman (for herself, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Bonamici, and Ms. Garcia of
Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to promote the
employment of older individuals, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Older Workers Act''.
SEC. 2. INCENTIVE GRANTS AND ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE OLDER
WORKERS.
Section 134(a)(3)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(a)(3)(A)) is amended--
(1) in clause (viii)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of item (ee);
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(gg) programs under the
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); and'';
(2) in clause (xi), by inserting before the semicolon the
following: ``, including for such performance that serves
individuals with barriers to employment'';
(3) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (xiii);
(4) in clause (xiv), by striking the period and inserting
``; and''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(xv) supporting the development of
alternative, evidence-based programs and other
activities that enhance the choices available
to older individuals (including options for
self-employment and other wage-earning
activities that lead to economic self-
sufficiency), and enhance skills (such as
digital literacy) in older individuals.''.
SEC. 3. SPECIALIZED CENTERS; OLDER WORKERS LOCAL AND STATE COORDINATOR
GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Specialized Centers in One-Stop Delivery Systems.--Section
121(e)(2)(C) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3151(e)(2)(C)) is amended by inserting ``older individuals,'' after
``youth,''.
(b) Grant Program.--
(1) In general.--Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et seq.) is
amended--
(A) by redesignating section 172 (29 U.S.C. 3227)
as section 173; and
(B) by inserting after section 171 (29 U.S.C. 3226)
the following:
``SEC. 172. OLDER WORKERS LOCAL AND STATE COORDINATOR GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) Authority To Award Grants.--From the amounts appropriated to
carry out this section, the Secretary shall award grants, on a
competitive basis, to States and local areas to hire an older worker
coordinator or coordinators to--
``(1) use a person-centered approach to increase
recruitment, job training, and job placement for older
individuals throughout the State or local area, including
through outreach (such as through job fairs for older
individuals and programming) to employers who may hire older
individuals;
``(2) promote coordination of available supportive services
for older individuals, including services available through
area agencies on aging (as defined in section 102 of the Older
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002) or under the Older
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.)), and which may
include coordination with labor organizations, community
colleges, small business development centers (as defined in
section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), women's
business centers (described under section 29 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)), non-profit organizations,
community-based organizations, or community centers; and
``(3) document and share best practices for serving older
workers.
``(b) Reporting.--Not later than 3 years after the first grant is
awarded under this section, the Secretary shall report to Congress on
the performance in serving older individuals by States and local areas
with one or more older worker coordinators.''.
(2) Table of contents.--The table of contents of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is amended by striking
the item relating to section 172 and inserting the following:
``172. Older Workers Local and State Coordinator Grant Program.
``173. Authorization of appropriations.''.
SEC. 4. OLDER WORKERS BUREAU.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of Labor
an Older Workers Bureau.
(b) Assistant Secretary of the Older Workers Bureau.--The President
shall appoint an Assistant Secretary of the Older Workers Bureau--
(1) to carry out the mission of the Older Workers Bureau;
and
(2) who shall be directed and supervised by the Secretary
of Labor.
(c) Mission.--The mission of the Older Workers Bureau is lead and
coordinate the Federal response to advance employment, economic
success, and well-being of older individuals through policy
development, research and reporting, and technical assistance. The
Assistant Secretary of the Older Workers Bureau may administer grants
and contracts in support of such mission.
(d) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the establishment of the
Older Workers Bureau, and every 2 years thereafter, the Assistant
Secretary of the Older Workers Bureau shall submit to Congress a report
that--
(1) catalogs Federal programs, including programs outside
the Department of Labor, that support the employment, and the
economic success and well-being, of older individuals; and
(2) identifies issues affecting older individuals in the
workforce that may be improved with Federal support and
coordination.
SEC. 5. GAO STUDY.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a
report on how accurately the State and local performance accountability
measures under section 116 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (29 U.S.C. 3141) measure the success of older individuals,
including older individuals who pursue self-employment or bridge
employment prior to retirement, with a particular focus on older
individuals who have additional barriers to employment and dislocated
older individuals.
SEC. 6. OLDER INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``older individual'' has the meaning given
the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3102).
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