S. 1517: 21st Century WPA Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-09-07 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-09-07 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

21st Century WPA Act

Plain summary

21st Century WPA Act - Establishes within the Department of Labor a Works Progress Administration (WPA). Requires eligible federal departments to submit to the WPA proposals for works projects that produce a high number of employee hours per dollar of the total project cost, and meet certain other criteria. Permits such projects to include: (1) residential and commercial building weatherization projects; (2) residential and commercial water use efficiency improvement projects; (3) highway, bridge, and rail repair and maintenance projects; (4) manufacturing projects; (5) school, library, and firehouse construction projects; (6) soil erosion and pesticide runoff prevention projects; and (7) trail maintenance projects. Makes an employer who is unable to hire an individual to fill a job position that has been vacant for 90 days eligible to enter into an agreement with the WPA to provide training to a WPA fellow in order to become qualified to fill such position. Prescribes WPA fellowship program requirements. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to transfer amounts appropriated under this Act to the Attorney General and to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for grants for the hiring of eligible public safety individuals. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 5.4% surcharge on individual taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $1 million ($2 million for joint returns). Dedicates amounts collected from such surcharge to federal deficit reduction.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

21st Century WPA Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] · 5 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s1517.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s1517 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112