NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANTS.

SEC. 173. NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANTS. (a) In General.— The Secretary is authorized to award national emergency grants in a timely manner— (1) to an entity described in subsection (c) to provide employment and training assistance to workers affected by major economic dislocations, such as plant closures, mass layoffs, or closures and realignments of military installations; (2) to provide assistance to the Governor of any State within the boundaries of which is an area that has suffered an emergency or a major disaster as defined in paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, of section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 (1) and (2)) (referred to in this section as the “disaster area”) to provide disaster relief employment in the area; and (3) to provide additional assistance to a State or local board for eligible dislocated workers in a case in which the State or local board has expended the funds provided under this section to carry out activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2) and can demonstrate the need for additional funds to provide appropriate services for such workers, in accordance with requirements prescribed by the Secretary. (b) Administration.— The Secretary shall designate a dislocated worker office to coordinate the functions of the Secretary under this title relating to employment and training activities for dislocated workers, including activities carried out under the national emergency grants. (c) Employment and Training Assistance Requirements.— (1) Grant recipient eligibility.— (A) Application.— To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a)(1), an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. 112 STAT. 1036 (B) Eligible entity.— In this paragraph, the term “entity” means a State, a local board, an entity described in section 166(c), entities determined to be eligible by the Governor of the State involved, and other entities that demonstrate to the Secretary the capability to effectively respond to the circumstances relating to particular dislocations. (2) Participant eligibility.— (A) In general.— In order to be eligible to receive employment and training assistance under a national emergency grant awarded pursuant to subsection (a)(1), an individual shall be— (i) a dislocated worker; (ii) a civilian employee of the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy employed at a military installation that is being closed, or that will undergo realignment, within the next 24 months after the date of the determination of eligibility; (iii) an individual who is employed in a nonmanagerial position with a Department of Defense contractor, who is determined by the Secretary of Defense to be at-risk of termination from employment as a result of reductions in defense expenditures, and whose employer is converting operations from defense to nondefense applications in order to prevent worker layoffs; or (iv) a member of the Armed Forces who— (I) was on active duty or full-time National Guard duty; (II) (aa) is involuntarily separated (as defined in section 1141 of title 10, United States Code) from active duty or full-time National Guard duty; or (bb) is separated from active duty or full-time National Guard duty pursuant to a special separation benefits program under section 1174a of title 10, United States Code, or the voluntary separation incentive program under section 1175 of that title; (III) is not entitled to retired or retained pay incident to the separation described in subclause (II); and (IV) applies for such employment and training assistance before the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date of that separation. (B) Retraining assistance.— The individuals described in subparagraph (A)(iii) shall be eligible for retraining assistance to upgrade skills by obtaining marketable skills needed to support the conversion described in subparagraph (A)(iii). (C) Additional requirements.— The Secretary shall establish and publish additional requirements related to eligibility for employment and training assistance under the national emergency grants to ensure effective use of the funds available for this purpose. (C) Definitions.— In this paragraph, the terms “military institution” and “realignment” have the meanings 112 STAT. 1037given the terms in section 2910 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note). (d) Disaster Relief Employment Assistance Requirements.— (1) In general.— Funds made available under subsection (a)(2)— (A) shall be used to provide disaster relief employment on projects that provide food, clothing, shelter, and other humanitarian assistance for disaster victims, and projects regarding demolition, cleaning, repair, renovation, and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed structures, facilities, and lands located within the disaster area; (B) may be expended through public and private agencies and organizations engaged in such projects; and (C) may be expended to provide employment and training activities. (2) Eligibility.— An individual shall be eligible to be offered disaster relief employment under subsection (a)(2) if such individual is a dislocated worker, is a long-term unemployed individual, or is temporarily or permanently laid off as a consequence of the disaster. (3) Limitations on disaster relief employment.— No individual shall be employed under subsection (a)(2) for more than 6 months for work related to recovery from a single natural disaster.