Sen. Brown Announces Summer Jobs Legislation at Youth Jobs Fair •Major differences between this proposal and the President’s:this bill only funds jobs for citizens and legal residents, no taxes are increased to finance it,and it funds summer rather than year-round
PoliticalNews.me - Jun 04,2012 - Sen. Brown Announces Summer Jobs Legislation at Youth Jobs Fair
Boston – Senator Scott Brown hosted his fifth jobs fair, which aimed to connect high school and college-aged students with summer job opportunities. While at the jobs fair – held at Metro Credit Union in Dorchester – Senator Brown announced the Youth Summer Jobs Act of 2012, summer jobs legislation he will introduce when the Senate returns to session next week.
“I’m excited to announce a new bill to create summer jobs for young Americans,” said Senator Brown. “My legislation will allow states to establish or strengthen current summer jobs programs and give young people a better shot at working. I strongly believe that we need to provide our youth with the tools they need to find a summer job and that is the goal of my legislation.”
Summary of Youth Summer Jobs Act of 2012:
“Nationally, the teen unemployment rate stands at 24.9 percent, and has averaged above 20 percent for over 40 months. The number of employed teens fell by 14,000 from March to April 2012.” – Employment Policies Institute
•The program makes $1 billion available from unspent federal funds for each of the next two summers (2012 and 2013) for the purpose of establishing and/or strengthening state-level youth summer jobs programs;
•The program is based on President Obama’s American Jobs Act Pathways to Work Summer Jobs Initiative. It works by allocating funding pursuant to an existing formula under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 to States who would then distribute to local workforce investment areas again pursuant to the WIA. The WIA program is existing infrastructure through which states have already developed labor and workforce investment plans. States only need to submit modifications of those plans to the Department of Labor in order to participate in this new summer jobs program;
•The Secretary of Labor has 7 days from enactment to issue program guidance and the States have 30 days after Labor’s issuance of the guidelines to submit a plan requesting funds. The Secretary of Labor then has 7 days to then approve the plan;
•The program requires that funds be used to provide summer employment opportunities for youth, ages 16-24 (with states deciding on means testing and encouraged to set aside some funds for disabled youth employment). These jobs will provide direct linkages to academic and occupational learning;
•The program is essentially a block grant to the states and localities, with awards based upon their submission of an acceptable plan. Due to the differing needs of each state, the exact implementation may vary significantly among the states. However, all spending must be in accordance with WIA accountability standards and federal labor protections;
•States are required to describe how the program will help youth, the outcomes expected, and the data necessary to ensure effective program accountability such as the tracking of program funds;
•Major differences between this proposal and the President’s proposal: this bill only funds jobs for citizens and legal residents, no taxes are increased
