Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5699-5704)
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 18, 2002
Support, Training, Employment Programs Act of 2002 or the STEP Act of 2002 - Amends title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Labor to make a grant to assist each transitional jobs State to create and expand transitional jobs programs that: (1) combine publicly subsidized time-limited employment with skill development and barrier removal activities; (2) provide job development and placement assistance to help participants move from subsidized employment in transitional jobs into unsubsidized employment; and (3) serve assistance recipients and other low-income individuals who have been unable to secure employment through job search or other employment-related services because of limited skills, experience, or other employment barriers.Requires the Secretary of Labor to award national competitive grants for transitional jobs programs proposed for services in: (1) multiple sites in more than one State; (2) States not otherwise eligible; or (3) rural areas or areas with high concentrations of residents with income below the poverty line.Specifies worker job protections so as not to infringe on or displace otherwise employed individuals.Requires the State to establish and maintain specified grievance procedures for resolving complaints.Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services jointly to award business link partnership grants to nonprofit organizations, local workforce investment boards, or political subdivisions of States to fund innovative programs designed to: (1) upgrade job and related skills in partnership with employers in order to increase substantially the wages of low-income parents, noncustodial parents, and other low-income individuals; and (2) expand and link work and training opportunities for low-earning workers in collaboration with employers.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 19, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze S.2631 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine S.2631 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine S.2631 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine S.2631 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.