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Appropriations
The Senate enters the August Recess on August 7 with eight spending bills left unfinished including the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill.
The House completed work on all 12 appropriation bills before it broke for recess on Friday, July 31.
Despite the progress, appropriators will find it difficult to finish their work. The Senate has less than a month left to pass the remaining bills and resolve differences with the House on all 12 before the end of the fiscal year.
While appropriators are set on trying to finish by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, some recently stated that a short-term extension of funding may be needed.
Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.4 Percent
The Department of Labor reported a 9.4 percent unemployment rate in July, down from 9.5 percent in June. This is the first drop in unemployment in 15 months. Employers cut 347,000 jobs, the fewest in a year, an indication to some analysts that the recession is ending.
Senator Stabenow Introduces RAISE UP Act
On Thursday, August 6 Senator Stabenow (MI) Introduced the Reengaging Americans in Serious Education by Uniting Programs (RAISE UP) Act, S 1608. The legislation provides support targeted to youth who have dropped out of high school, assisting them in attaining a high school diploma, a post-secondary credential, and a career. The Act unites education, workforce and youth support services by funding community partnerships in the three categories to create a dropout recovery system. The measure targets disadvantaged young adults including youth with disabilities, those in foster care and homeless and runaway youth. Funding priority is directed towards communities with high dropout rates, high youth unemployment rates and large populations of youth from low-income families. The legislation is authorized at $1 billion.
Click here to view the press release:
http://usmayors.org/workforce/documents/2009-8-06RAISEUPAct%20_2_.pdf
Conference Call with U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Hilda Solis and Assistant Secretary Jane Oates on Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Reauthorization and Other Concerns Regarding DOL Programs
On Wednesday, August 26, 2009, U.S. Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran will host a conference call with mayors, Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Hilda Solis and Assistant Secretary Jane Oates, to discuss their concerns regarding reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and any other issues regarding DOL programs.
With the nation’s unemployment rate at 9.7%, we are at a critical juncture in reauthorizing this crucial job training legislation and we need your help in securing mayors for the call. Please make sure to get this conference call on your mayor’s schedule and to brief him/her on the critical issues of importance to the local workforce system. We will be providing you with an updated version of the WDC Policy Paper on WIA Reauthorization, along with a side-by-side chart for mayors, to use as you help prepare your mayors for the call.
Conference call information is as follows:
Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 (Eastern)
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Number: 1 (800) 569-1949
Password: 535498#
Please contact Juliette Jardim on my staff at 202-861-6715 or jjardim@usmayors.org to RSVP your mayor for the call.
INVITE YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES TO
VISIT YOUR ONE-STOPS
Members of Congress will soon be breaking for the August recess and this is the time to meet with them and get them into your One-Stop Centers! You should contact your congressional delegation’s district office immediately to schedule a visit as their summer recess schedule fills fast. It is critical for your Senators and Representatives to see first-hand the value of
the investment they have made on behalf of the local workforce system, particularly with regard to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Please keep us updated on your congressional delegation outreach during August recess by emailing mgrothus@usmayors.org.
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