WORK NOW Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 740 To help charitable nonprofit organizations provide services to meet the in- creasing demand in community needs caused by the coronavirus pan- demic, preserve and create jobs in the nonprofit sector, reduce unemploy- ment, and promote economic recovery. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 11, 2021 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BROWN, Mr. COONS, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. SMITH) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To help charitable nonprofit organizations provide services to meet the increasing demand in community needs caused by the coronavirus pandemic, preserve and create jobs in the nonprofit sector, reduce unemployment, and promote economic recovery. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Work Opportunities 4 and Resources to Keep Nonprofit Organizations Well Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘WORK NOW Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 740 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds as follows: 2 (1) Charitable nonprofit organizations serve on 3 our society’s frontlines in good times and bad. Col- 4 lectively, nonprofit organizations employed more 5 than 12,000,000 Americans prior to the pandemic. 6 (2) As the nation confronts the coronavirus 7 pandemic and the attendant economic crisis and re- 8 covery, communities throughout the United States 9 will rely on nonprofit organizations more than ever 10 to help more people in more challenging cir- 11 cumstances. 12 (3) Nonprofit shelters, food banks, domestic vi- 13 olence services, early childhood care and education 14 centers, and after-school facilities are being called to 15 feed, house, and care for the people whose lives have 16 been disrupted by illness, job loss, and closures. 17 (4) Charitable nonprofit organizations are being 18 confronted by a combination of contradictory forces, 19 exponentially increasing demand and devastating de- 20 creases in revenues. 21 (5) At the same time that need is soaring, 22 many nonprofit organizations are unable to host 23 fundraising events, which threatens an essential 24 source of revenue. Charitable giving has also become 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 740 IS more precarious as American families conserve re- 1 sources in the face of the economic crisis. 2 (6) Without immediate and longer-term re- 3 sources to keep their doors open to meet ever-in- 4 creasing needs, many nonprofit organizations will 5 cease to exist for people in local communities 6 throughout the country. 7 (7) In order to meet the needs of the 8 coronavirus pandemic and drive recovery, many non- 9 profit organizations must innovate and create new 10 models of service delivery. 11 (8) More than 36,000,000 American workers 12 lost their jobs and filed for unemployment benefits 13 in the 8 weeks following March 15, 2020. 14 (9) As of January 2021, more than 950,000 15 nonprofit organization jobs have been lost during the 16 pandemic, according to the Johns Hopkins Center 17 for Civil Society Studies. 18 (10) Providing these newly unemployed workers 19 the opportunity to find employment at nonprofit or- 20 ganizations in their local communities will benefit 21 these workers, nonprofit organizations, and the peo- 22 ple these organizations serve. 23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 740 IS (1) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.— 1 The term ‘‘eligible nonprofit organization’’ means an 2 entity, other than an intermediary, that is described 3 in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 4 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 5 501(a) of such Code. 6 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 7 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 8 section 102 of the Housing and Community Devel- 9 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 10 (3) INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘‘intermediary’’ 11 means an entity, described in section 501(c)(3) of 12 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 13 taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, that 14 is— 15 (A) a national or regional nonprofit organi- 16 zation that operates in multiple locations 17 throughout the United States, or a region of 18 the United States, as a single legal entity and 19 directly employs more than 500 employees; or 20 (B) a national or regional nonprofit orga- 21 nization that provides administrative and sup- 22 portive services to its network of affiliates, 23 members, or branches, which may include pass- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 740 IS through funding, training, and technical assist- 1 ance. 2 (4) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local 3 government’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘unit 4 of general local government’’ in section 102 of the 5 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 6 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 7 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary of the Treasury. 9 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 10 ing given the term in section 102 of the Housing 11 and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 12 U.S.C. 5302). 13 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF WORK NOW GRANT PROGRAM. 14 The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish a pro- 15 gram in accordance with this Act to award grants for the 16 purpose of providing emergency relief to eligible nonprofit 17 organizations and intermediaries, particularly those orga- 18 nizations and intermediaries whose workers are serving 19 public needs that have increased as a result of the 20 coronavirus pandemic and the attendant economic crisis, 21 by helping such organizations and intermediaries scale 22 their services and put unemployed individuals back to 23 work serving their communities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 740 IS SEC. 5. GRANTS TO STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND 1 INDIAN TRIBES. 2 (a) FORMULA.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis- 4 tribute 78 percent of the amounts appropriated 5 under section 10 as block grants to States and local 6 governments, based on a formula developed by the 7 Secretary that is consistent with the formula under 8 section 106 of the Housing and Community Devel- 9 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306), for distribu- 10 tion through grants to eligible nonprofit organiza- 11 tions. 12 (2) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall dis- 13 tribute 2 percent of the amounts appropriated under 14 section 10 as block grants to Indian Tribes based on 15 a formula developed by the Secretary that is con- 16 sistent with the formula for the Indian Community 17 Development Block Grant Program authorized 18 under title I of the Housing and Community Devel- 19 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), not- 20 withstanding section 106(a)(1) of such Act (42 21 U.S.C. 5306(a)(1)), for distribution through grants 22 to eligible nonprofit organizations. 23 (b) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible nonprofit organiza- 24 tion seeking a grant from a State, local government, or 25 Indian Tribe receiving funding under subsection (a) shall 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 740 IS submit an application to the State, local government, or 1 Indian Tribe at such time, in such manner, and containing 2 such information as the State, local government, or Indian 3 Tribe may reasonably require. 4 (c) LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNTS.—In awarding 5 grants under this section, a State, local government, or 6 Indian Tribe receiving funding under subsection (a) shall 7 have discretion to set the size of each grant to an eligible 8 nonprofit organization, except each such grant shall not 9 exceed $3,000,000. 10 (d) SELECTION.—A State, local government, or In- 11 dian Tribe receiving funding under subsection (a), in 12 awarding grants to eligible nonprofit organizations, 13 shall— 14 (1) give priority to such organizations that 15 serve public needs that have increased as a result of 16 the coronavirus pandemic and associated economic 17 crisis, including— 18 (A) organizations that provide housing and 19 emergency shelter; 20 (B) organizations that provide public 21 health or patient and caregiver support services 22 and are not hospital organizations to which sec- 23 tion 501(r) of the Internal Revenue Code of 24 1986 applies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 740 IS (C) arts and cultural organizations; 1 (D) organizations that address food insecu- 2 rity; 3 (E) organizations that provide supple- 4 mental educational services to children, includ- 5 ing tutoring, social emotional development ac- 6 tivities, and other extracurricular activities to 7 compensate for learning loss and other disrup- 8 tions due to the pandemic; 9 (F) direct services organizations that pro- 10 vide services to individuals in order to help 11 them stabilize their lives and find self-suffi- 12 ciency through providing for basic needs, such 13 as housing, emergency shelter, food, water, 14 clothing, transportation, child care, and out-of- 15 school time youth service providers; and 16 (G) organizations that serve rural areas; 17 and 18 (2) ensure that a significant proportion of such 19 grants are awarded to eligible nonprofit organiza- 20 tions that are able to scale services quickly and hire 21 back former employees and new workers. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 740 IS SEC. 6. GRANTS TO INTERMEDIARIES. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall distribute 20 2 percent of the amounts appropriated under section 10 3 through grants to intermediaries. 4 (b) APPLICATIONS.—An intermediary seeking a grant 5 under this section— 6 (1) may seek such grant on behalf of— 7 (A) the intermediary; 8 (B) the network of affiliates, members, or 9 branches of the intermediary; or 10 (C) the intermediary and the network de- 11 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 12 (2) shall submit an application to the Secretary 13 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 14 information as the Secretary may reasonably re- 15 quire, including an assurance that the intermediary 16 has systems in place to disburse funds efficiently. 17 (c) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 19 and (3), in awarding grants under this section, the 20 Secretary shall have the discretion to determine the 21 amount of each grant. 22 (2) LIMITATION.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 23 grant awarded under this section shall not exceed 24 $100,000,000. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 740 IS (3) ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR HIRING NEW 1 EMPLOYEES.—The Secretary may award a grant 2 under this section that exceeds the maximum 3 amount under paragraph (2), but does not exceed 4 $300,000,000, if the intermediary demonstrates in 5 the application under subsection (b) that the inter- 6 mediary intends to use the difference between the 7 amount awarded through the grant and the max- 8 imum amount under paragraph (2) for hiring em- 9 ployees after the date of enactment of this Act. 10 (d) SELECTION.—In awarding grants under this sec- 11 tion, the Secretary shall— 12 (1) give the same priority to intermediaries as 13 States, local governments, and Indian Tribes are re- 14 quired to give to eligible nonprofit organizations 15 under section 5(d)(1); 16 (2) ensure that all intermediaries that receive 17 grants under this section are able to scale services 18 quickly and hire new workers; and 19 (3) give special consideration to intermediaries 20 with a history of dispersing funds, staffing that is 21 sufficient to ensure compliance, and a history of 22 working with communities most impacted by the 23 coronavirus pandemic. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 740 IS SEC. 7. USES OF FUNDS. 1 (a) EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION COSTS.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 3 each eligible nonprofit organization or intermediary 4 receiving funding under this Act (and any entity re- 5 ceiving funding through such intermediary) shall 6 (subject to subsection (c)) use not less than 60 per- 7 cent of the funds of the grant for employee com- 8 pensation costs, including— 9 (A) wages and salaries, not to exceed 10 $50,000; 11 (B) benefits, including paid sick leave; and 12 (C) worker protections, including protective 13 personal equipment. 14 (2) LIMITATIONS.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The employee com- 16 pensation costs described in paragraph (1) 17 shall, with respect to an eligible nonprofit orga- 18 nization or intermediary receiving funding 19 under this Act (and any entity receiving fund- 20 ing through such intermediary) that is not de- 21 scribed in subparagraph (B), shall only be for 22 employees hired after the date of enactment of 23 this Act, including any such employee with 24 whom the organization, intermediary, or entity 25 has terminated employment, or placed on fur- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S740.IS S740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 740 IS lough, at any time prior to such date of enact- 1 ment. 2 (B) ORGANIZATIONS IN FINANCIAL DIS- 3 TRESS.— 4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The employee com- 5 pensation costs described in paragraph (1) 6 may, with respect to an eligible nonprofit 7 organization or intermediary receiving 8 funding under this Act (and any entity re- 9 ceiving funding through such intermediary) 10 that is described in clause (ii), be for em- 11 ployees described in subparagraph (A) or 12 employees who were hired prior to the date 13 of enactment of this Act. 14 (ii) DEMONSTRATION OF FINANCIAL 15 [Text truncated for display. 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