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Congress Passes Continuing Resolution
On Wednesday, September 30, the Senate approved a Continuing Resolution (CR) on a 62-38 vote to continue most government funding at current levels through the month of October. The legislation, which was attached to the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations spending bill (HR 2918) cleared the House on September 25 and now awaits President Obama’s signature.
The Legislative Branch spending bill is the only Appropriations legislation to make it through both the House and the Senate. Conference Reports have been agreed upon for the Agriculture and Energy-Water appropriations measures, but three other spending bills are awaiting Conference Committees. The House has passed all 12 appropriations legislation, but the Senate has passed only six and is currently considering the FY 2010 Defense measure. The Senate does not plan to take its week-long Columbus Day recess to ensure health care reform passage by Thanksgiving.
Assistant Secretary of Labor Jane Oates Testifies for Summer Jobs to Senate HELP Committee
On October 1, Assistant Secretary of Labor Jane Oates testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee at a hearing on "Ensuring Economic Opportunities for Young Americans." Highlighting the ARRA Summer Youth Program's success and advocating for continued funding of Summer Jobs, Assistant Secretary Oates spoke of her experiences meeting and reading letters from Summer Youth participants, and thanked the Administration for its investment in youth. She drew particular attention to three of the 30 binders of program participant letters supplied to her by WDC members to demonstrate the program's positive impact. She admitted the program had flaws, which the Department plans to address in the future, but urged Senators to keep in mind the short time frame in implementing the program. She also explained that many of the program's benefits may not be apparent until participants graduate from high school or college.
Other witnesses at the hearing included the Economic Policy Institute's Race, Ethnicity and the Economy Program Director Algernon Austin, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of 80 Million Strong Matthew Segal, President and Founder of YouthBuild USA Dorothy Stoneman and Principal of Applied Economic Strategies, LLC, D. Mark Wilson.
Click here to view Assistant Secretary Oates’ statement submitted to the Committee.
Click here to access statements submitted by the other witnesses.
Senate Climate Legislation Includes Funding for Green Jobs Training
On Wednesday, September 30, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (MA) and Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (CA) released details of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. The proposal is modeled on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454), the House-passed cap and trade legislation. The bill provides funding for the following job training programs:
- Nuclear Worker Training: An EPA-administered grant program providing assistance for worker training essential for growing safe, domestic nuclear and nuclear-related industries.
- Clean Energy Curriculum Development Grants: Competitive grants to eligible partnerships developing programs focused on emerging careers in the areas of energy, climate change mitigation, renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change adaptation.
- Development of an Information and Resources Clearinghouse for Vocational Education and Job Training in Renewable Energy Sectors: Develops an internet-based information and resources clearinghouse developed by the Secretary of Labor to help technical and career job training and education programs in the renewable energy sectors.
- Green Construction Careers Demonstration Project: Establishes a Green Construction Careers demonstration project by the Secretary of Labor to promote quality employment practices and careers in the green construction sector and advancement of performance and efficiency, and on related construction projects.
- Climate Change Worker Adjustment Assistance: Establishes a program entitling any worker whose displacement is a result of the Clean Air Act to 156 weeks of supplemental income, $1,500 for assistance in job searching, $1,500 for moving assistance, 80% of their monthly health care premium, and additional employment services for training, job counseling, skills assessment, and other services. Payments under the program are limited at a maximum of the proceeds from allowance auction set aside for this purpose.
Click here to view the Section by Section Kerry Boxer Bill Summary.
Senate to Introduce Student Loan Bill Next Week
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is expected to introduce its version of student loan reform legislation sometime next week. The draft version of the bill offers states and colleges more money for access and completion programs and differs in how it would distribute Perkins allocations to colleges. The Senate bill would distribute the money based on need, but would decrease awards to colleges that don’t meet the bill’s targets for enrollment and graduation of Pell Grant recipients. The draft legislation also requires participating institutions of the Perkins program to match five percent of their federal allocation.
The House passed its version, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), HR 3221, on September 17. The bill includes $9.5 billion for community colleges, broken down into three programs:
- $2.5 billion provided in FY2011 for grants to community colleges to repair, renovate and modernize their facilities.
- $6.3 billion provided over ten years for the Community College Challenge Grant Program. The program will offer competitive grants geared towards community colleges during the first four years and targeted to states during the remaining six years.
- $700 million provided for competitive grants designated for national activities, including grants to develop free online courses and training.
Unemployment Extension Stalled in the Senate
On Wednesday, September 30, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) was blocked in his attempt to receive unanimous consent for the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (HR 3548). Passed by the House on September 22, the legislation extends unemployment benefits eligibility for an additional 13 weeks to jobless peoples living in states with an average three-month unemployment rate over 8.5 percent. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH) along with 14 other Democrats and two independents are calling for the bill to expand extended eligibility to workers in any of the 50 states. Currently, unemployed people are eligible for benefits for a minimum of 46 weeks, and benefits are extended to 59 weeks for those in states with unemployment rates over 6 percent. The system, implemented under both the FY2009 supplemental spending bill and the Recovery Act, will expire when the year ends.
September Unemployment Rate Rises
The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the September unemployment rate at 9.8 percent this morning. The September rate is 0.1 percent higher than it was in August and has now doubled since the beginning of the recession. 15.1 million Americans are currently unemployed, and long-term unemployment has risen to 5.4 million, a more than four-fold increase since the start of the recession.
Department of Labor Hosts National Listening Session on WIA Reauthorization
On Thursday, October 1, the Department of Labor held another in its series of several national listening sessions to receive public input on WIA reauthorization at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Jane Oates and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Kathy Martinez heard from workforce investment system personnel, nonprofit organization leaders, disability community representatives, academic professionals and the general public. The session was attended by approximately 700 people, in person, by conference call, or via webinar.
The session reflects Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis' directive for the Department to offer a series of opportunities for interested stakeholders to provide their input regarding pending WIA reauthorization, DOL is accepting additional comments by email sent to WIA.Reauthorization@dol.gov until Oct. 15.
An audio file and transcript of the session will be available after October 6 at www.workforce3one.org.
Senator Michael Bennet (CO) Joins Senate HELP Committee
On Tuesday, September 29, Senator Michael Bennet (CO) was appointed to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to fill the vacancy left by the late Senator Edward Kennedy (MA). Although Committee assignments are normally based on seniority, HELP Committee leadership allowed Bennett to jump ahead of several more senior Senators, most likely due to his connections with the Administration’s education team.
He is known as a school reformer and is expected to contribute to the significant education legislation expected to move through the HELP Committee over the next 12 months. Bennett, formerly Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, was appointed to the Senate by Governor Bill Ritter this year to fill a vacancy. Senator Bennet will relinquish his seat on the Homeland Security Committee, but will maintain seats on the Banking and Agriculture Committees and the Select Committee on Aging.
Senate to Consider William Edward Spriggs as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy
On October 7, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing to confirm pending nominations including that of William Edward Spriggs, Ph. D. for the position of Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy. Spriggs is currently chair of the Economics department at Howard University in Washington D.C. He is also on the board of the Retiree Health Administration Corporation and Chair of the Independent Health Care Trust for UAW Retirees of Ford Motor Company. Dr. Spriggs is a Senior Fellow with the Community Service Society of New York, and contributes to Working for Change, a public policy forum addressing issues pertaining to young low-income workers and their families.
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