To amend section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to ensure improved access to employment opportunities for low-income people.

June 2, 2003

Ms. VELAZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

To amend section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to ensure improved access to employment opportunities for low-income people.

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 `Earning and Living Opportunities Act'.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701u) is amended--

(1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as subsections (g), (h), and (i), respectively;

(2) in subsection (g), as so redesignated--

(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting at the end `Provided, however, that any resident of a public or Indian housing development or any other person who qualifies as a low- or very low-income person under the preference categories set forth in section (c)(1)(B) shall, for purposes of this statute, continue to qualify, as initially verified, as a low- or very low-income person for a period of five years, irrespective of any increase in the person's income during that period.'; and

(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph:

`(3) ONE-STOP DELIVERY SYSTEM- The term `one-stop delivery system' has the meaning given that term in section 134(c) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2864(c)).'; and

(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsections:

`(e) REQUIREMENT FOR EMPLOYING LOW- AND VERY LOW-INCOME PERSONS-

`(1) TWENTY PERCENT REQUIREMENT-

`(A) CONDITION OF ASSISTANCE- It shall be a condition of any assistance provided to a public or Indian housing agency or contract awarded by a public or Indian housing agency for work to be performed in connection with development assistance provided from the capital fund under section 9(d) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, the operating fund under section 9(e) of such Act, or any other Federal assistance for housing and community development that, except as provided in paragraph 2(B), a minimum of 20 percent of all hours worked by employees of the public or Indian housing agency or of a contractor in connection with such contract shall be performed by low- or very low-income persons hired in accordance with subsection (c)(1)(B)

`(B) REQUIREMENT- Recipients of Federal housing and community development assistance for housing rehabilitation, housing construction, or other public construction projects and their contractors shall provide that a minimum of 20 percent of all hours worked by new employees of the recipient or its contractors shall be performed by low- or very low-income persons hired in accordance with subsection (c)(2)(B).

`(2) COMPLIANCE- As a condition of any contract awarded for the work described in paragraph (1), any contractor awarded such a contract shall--

`(A)(i) immediately before beginning work under such contract, submit evidence to the satisfaction of the public or Indian housing agency, and the tenant association (or tenant delegate where a tenant association does not exist) at the development where the contracted work is to be done, showing that a minimum of 20 percent of all hours worked in connection with such contract shall be performed by low- or very low-income persons hired in accordance with subsection (c)(1)(B); and

`(ii) submit evidence to the satisfaction of the public or Indian housing agency showing that a minimum of 20 percent of all hours actually worked in connection with such contract were in fact performed by low- or very low-income persons hired in accordance with subsection (c)(1)(B); or

`(B) if such contractor cannot meet the requirement imposed by paragraph (1)--

`(i) submit evidence to the satisfaction of the public or Indian housing agency and the tenant association (or tenant delegate where a tenant association does not exist) at the development where the contracted work is to be done, that such contractor made a best effort to hire low- and very low-income persons in conformance with subsection (c)(1)(B) by taking steps which include--

`(I) recruiting and conducting job interviews at the affected development and in the affected community;

`(II) working with the public and Indian housing agency to advertise and recruit low- and very low-income persons; and

`(III) giving notice of such contract to the one-stop delivery system for the area which the housing subject to the contract is located, including the particular skills, knowledge, and abilities needed by potential employees for work under such contract; and

`(ii) provide to the public or Indian housing agency and the tenant association (or tenant delegate where a tenant association does not exist) at the development where the contracted work is to be done, evidence, as the Secretary shall by regulation require, sufficient to show why low- or very low-income persons who were provided by either the public or Indian housing agency or by the one-stop delivery system, or who otherwise made themselves available did not have the skills, knowledge, or abilities to perform the work.

`(3) TRAINING- Any contractor awarded a contract for the work described in paragraph (1) shall provide on-the-job training to any employee who is a low- or very low-income person and hired in conformance with subsection (c)(1)(B). Such training may be provided through an approved apprenticeship program.

`(f) RECRUITMENT, REFERRAL, AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS- Public and Indian housing agencies shall--

`(1) maintain a registry of eligible low- and very low-income persons who reside in the public housing which is the site of a contract referred to in this section;

`(2) provide to any contractor and the tenant association (or tenant delegate where a tenant association does not exist) at the development where the contracted work is to be done, awarded such a contract names and applications from low- and very low-income persons;

`(3) refer any low- or very low-income persons seeking qualifying skills to the one-stop delivery system for the area in which the housing subject to a contract is located;

`(4) consult with contractors to ensure that with the skills, knowledge, and abilities, and in the priority categories of subsections (c)(1)(B) and (c)(2)(B) low- and very low-income persons are not passed over in hiring;

`(5) provide to the one-stop delivery system for the area in which the housing subject to a contract is located a detailed description of the work to be done on all projects for which it is accepting, or will be accepting, bids, and a list of the priority categories, so that eligible low- and very low-income persons may be appropriately trained; and

`(6) make any other effort that may be necessary to increase the number of low- and very low-income persons hired in accordance with subsection (c)(1)(B).'.

END