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H.R.1617 / 113th Congress

Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act

Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Apr 18, 2013

Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act - Requires the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date.

Allocates grant funds among states on the basis of the relative portion of school improvement funds provided to local educational agencies (LEAs) in each state under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Reserves 2% of the grant funds for assistance to outlying areas and Indian schools.

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Reserves 5% of the grant funds for LEAs serving geographic areas: (1) with significant economic distress, (2) recovering from a natural disaster, or (3) containing a military installation selected for closure.

Requires states to reallocate such grant funds to LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of school improvement funds received by LEAs in the state for the previous fiscal year.

Allows LEAs to give priority to projects involving the abatement, removal, or interim control of asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, mold, mildew, lead-based hazards, or a proven carcinogen.

Requires the iron and steel used in projects funded under this Act to have been produced in the United States, subject to specified exceptions.

Directs LEA grantees to use their grants for public school modernization, renovation, repairs, construction, or maintenance that meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System standards, Energy Star standards, Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over such LEAs.

Requires the Secretary to work with grant recipients to promote appropriate opportunities for individuals enrolled in YouthBuild, Job Corps, junior or community college, or preapprenticeship programs to gain employment experience on projects funded under this Act.

Authorizes appropriations for: (1) grants to institutions of higher education to provide an additional 250,000 part-time work-study jobs; (2) creation of an additional 100,000 Public Lands Corps positions; (3) the retention, rehiring, and hiring of 300,000 education jobs; (4) grants to state, local, and Indian tribal governments to hire and rehire overall an additional 40,000 career law enforcement officers; and (5) the hiring and rehiring of an additional 12,000 firefighters.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to eligible health care and long-term care (LTC) providers to hire and retain 40,000 health care and LTC professionals.

Authorizes appropriations for state and local government units to establish a Community Corps to create an additional 750,000 jobs for unemployed individuals to carry out specified activities.

Amends the Head Start Act to authorize appropriations to employ an additional 100,000 full-time infant and toddler Head Start specialists.

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Who introduced it

Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] · D–IL

Committees

  • Education and Workforce Committee
  • Agriculture Committee
  • Judiciary Committee
  • Natural Resources Committee
  • Energy and Commerce Committee
  • Science, Space, and Technology Committee
19 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

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  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

  2. Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

  3. Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry.

  4. Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

  5. Referred to the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation.

  6. Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

  7. Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, 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.

  8. Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, 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.

  9. Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, 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.

  10. Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, 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.

  11. Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, 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.

  12. Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, 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.

  13. Introduced in House

  14. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

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Related bills identified by Congress.gov

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Source last updated: Mar 23, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

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