1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Connecting Youth to Jobs Act . 2. Purpose During periods which the national rate of youth unemployment is above the full youth employment rate and in excess of the overall national rate, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or during a qualifying emergency or economic recession (as determined by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve), it is the purpose of this Act to provide— (1) youth public subsidized employment to assist in State and local improvement activities, including public works, the arts, and community development; and (2) additional and continual funding that is targeted to high poverty areas with historically high youth unemployment rates, particularly high minority youth unemployment rates, for the purpose of creating such employment opportunities. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Qualifying emergency The term qualifying emergency means— (A) a public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ); (B) an event for which the President declared a major disaster or an emergency under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191)