(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Paul Tonko, Education and Labor Committee Member.)
As we celebrate Earth Day for the 39th year – by volunteering in our local areas through our own individual efforts and raising awareness globally – we must all do our part. This year represents a great opportunity for all of us to ensure a cleaner, safer and greener environment. We can and we must achieve these ends. A major component of shifting our economy from one that pollutes, relies on carbon based fuels and approaches problem solving from an antiquated angle is no longer acceptable. We must all go beyond the traditional “Think Globally, Act Locally” mantra to curb our environmental impacts. We can act personally by lowering our thermostats, using compact fluorescent bulbs and weatherizing our homes. We can act locally by creating no idle zones, making our cities and towns more pedestrian friendly and driving energy efficient vehicles. We can act regionally by building on mass transit, supporting high speed rail initiatives and thinking more strategically. We can act nationally by passing a cap and trade bill, supporting improved efficiency measures and catalyzing a green energy work force.
Here in Congress we have taken the first steps towards greening our workforce through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
We know that we must modernize our training techniques in our schools
and universities. In the Recovery Bill we provided $48.6 billion for
services to low-income students, students with disabilities, and career
tech to modernize schools and colleges, which would include facility
repairs, updating technology, and making facilities more
energy-efficient.
Congress must also assist in training workers for 21st century jobs.
The Recovery Bill provides nearly $4 billion to prepare adult, youth
and dislocated workers for green jobs, and other emerging industries,
including training for retrofitting buildings, green construction and
production of renewable energy. It also includes $1.2 billion to
create job opportunities for younger Americans, including summer jobs.
Congress invested in early education by providing $2.1 billion for Head
Start, and Early Head Start, which provides comprehensive development
services for low-income preschool children, infants and toddlers. These
investments will create 50,000 new jobs, increasing demand for early
educators, transportation, nutrition providers, and more.
These investments now, in education and our children, will pay massive
dividends in our future. They will create American businesses and
American jobs for America’s working families. Whether or not we, as a
country, move towards a new green economy now or not, we must
acknowledge that other countries in the world are ahead of us on this
front. It is important to change our way of thinking and I believe
this year’s Earth Day, along with the bold visions and goals of the new
Obama Administration offer us a springboard to launch into the future
of our economy – one that finally thinks outside of the barrel and is
able to offer greener and cleaner outcomes.
On Tuesday, March 31, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a
hearing to examine green jobs and their role in our nation’s economic recovery. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set aside $50 billion in grants and tax incentives to promote energy efficiency and the renewable energy sector. Congress also approved the Green Jobs Act in 2007, a program to help train American workers for jobs in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries.
WHAT:
Hearing on “Green Jobs and their Role in our Economic Recovery”
WHO:
William T. Bogart, dean of academic affairs and professor of economics, York College, York, Pa.
Kathy Krepcio, executive director, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University
Jerome Ringo, president, the Apollo Alliance, San Francisco
Robin Roy, vice president for projects and policy, Serious Materials, Sunnyvale, Calif.
Jill Sherman, Gerding Edlen Development, Portland, Ore.
Clinton R. Wolfe, executive director of citizens for nuclear technology awareness, Aiken, South Carolina
WHEN:
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
10:00 a.m. EDT
WHERE:
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
Building a Strong, Competitive 21st Century Economy
Economists across the board agree that the key to jumpstarting our economy is putting Americans back to work quickly. Earlier this month major U.S. corporations announced another 75,000 in job cuts, adding to the 2.6 million jobs our economy has lost in the last year.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will start rebuilding our economy immediately by creating or saving 3 to 4 million jobs – including hundreds of thousands of jobs in the education sector – and provide workers with the training and skills they need to succeed in green and other emerging industries. In addition to creating jobs in other sectors of our economy, the following education investments will save or boost job growth:
Modernizing our schools and universities – creating green jobs - Provides $48.6 billion for services to low-income students, students with disabilities, and career tech to modernize schools and colleges, which would include facility repairs, updating technology, and making facilities more energy-efficient. According to estimates, this could create thousands of new jobs in the construction, energy, technology, and other industries.
Investing in early education - Provides $2.1 billion for Head Start, and Early Head Start, which provides comprehensive development services for low-income preschool children, infants and toddlers. These investments will create 50,000 new jobs, increasing demand for early educators, transportation, nutrition providers, and more;
- Create room for 124,000 additional children to attend Head Start and Early Head Start.
Helping states prevent teacher layoffs and other critical public sector jobs- Provides $53.6 billion state stabilization fund to help prevent education-related layoffs and restore harmful cuts to education funding;
- Includes $8 billion for states and local governments to meet needs in public safety, health and other critical public services, which may include education.
Training workers for 21st century jobs- Provides nearly $4 billion to prepare adult, youth and dislocated workers for green jobs, and other emerging industries, including training for retrofitting buildings, green construction and production of renewable energy;
- Include $1.2 billion to create job opportunities for younger Americans, including summer jobs.
Creating service and volunteer opportunities to rebuild America- Creates work study opportunities for an additional 130,000 college students in a field related to either their major or community service;
- Invests $200 million for 16,000 new slots in Americorps which will create more opportunities for more Americans of all generations to serve in their communities.
(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.)
America’s workers are in dire straits -- 3.6 million jobs have been lost since December 2007, with 598,000 jobs shed last month alone and unemployment surging to 7.6 percent.
Worse, we have failed to provide our workers with the education and skills that would help them weather the storm. According to the National Commission on Adult Literacy, 80 to 90 million U.S. adults, roughly half of the nation’s workforce, currently lack the basic education and communication skills required for jobs that pay family sustaining wages.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes $4 billion for job training to help prepare laid-off, adult, and younger workers for work in emerging industries, is a critical first step toward getting America back to work.
However, our Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which authorizes our job training, adult education, and vocational rehabilitative services programs, is also long overdue for an upgrade. The current authorization expired in 2003, and the law has not been reauthorized since 1998 – when the economy was stronger and we were adding jobs rather than shedding them.
We must strengthen WIA to meet today’s challenges and position our workers for long-term success in the global economy.
An improved WIA should be a key plank in our plans to restore economic
prosperity to America’s working families. We have an opportunity to
update our job training programs so that they not only place workers
into jobs but onto career pathways that lead to better wages and
advancement in the workplace. We should seize the moment to re-engage
adult learners who struggle with low literacy levels or who lack a high
school diploma, providing them with the skills and credentials they
need for success on the job and an improved quality of life at home and
in the community.
The Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and
Competitiveness will kick off the drive to reauthorization with a
hearing looking at innovation and best practices under the current
Workforce Investment Act. We will be seeking input from all
stakeholders on how we need to modernize WIA to weather today’s
economic crisis and to lay the foundation for a dynamic, highly skilled
workforce for the future.
Though the Department is required to conduct audits of applications
submitted to ensure against fraud, the OIG found that the Department
actually discontinued some types of audits nearly three years ago.
Additionally, the OIG found that the Department did not even audit many
applications which had been selected for either random or targeted
audits.
The OIG concluded:
“The effect of [the DOL] not
auditing applications selected for audit is that fraudulent or
non-meritorious applications may have been certified. Certifying
non-eligible foreign workers could negatively affect the U.S. workforce
by reducing the amount of jobs available for U.S. workers.”
Chairman Miller's letter to Secretary Chao states:
“The
OIG report demonstrates that your Department has failed to properly
implement the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM), a program
that is similar to one you propose in the H-2A and H-2B regulations.
Thus, we worry that the Bush Administration scheme for the H-2A and
H-2B programs could lead to more fraudulent or non-meritorious requests
for temporary foreign guest workers, at the expense of U.S. workers,
with little risk of detection.”
Note: Sensitive information has been redacted from the OIG report.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today that 159,000 jobs were lost in September, the steepest decline in five years and the 9th consecutive month of job losses.
Today’s jobs report highlights the massive destruction that the Bush-Cheney-McCain wrecking ball has done to our economy, workers, and families. Eight years of their misguided policies have culminated in nine straight months of job losses. Two million workers have been unemployed for more than 27 months – 167,000 more than in August. Our nation is now dealing with the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
America’s working families are hurting, and in need of real solutions
to get our economy back on track. For starters, we must extend
unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of out-of-work
Americans whose current benefits are set to expire this weekend. Today,
as the House considers a financial rescue plan to protect the credit
that small businesses and families rely on, we will also vote to extend
unemployment benefits to help workers cover their bills while looking
for a new job.
But workers also need a long-term strategy to
generate new jobs. Last week, the House passed a much-needed stimulus
that would create millions of good-paying jobs by investing in our
crumbling infrastructure – an investment that would get our nation back
to work and prevent our economy from falling deeper into recession.
Unfortunately for American families, Senate Republicans blocked the
package.
This latest news underscores the urgent need to ease
the pain of America’s working families and get our economy on the road
to recovery.
As we celebrate Earth Day for the 39th year – by volunteering in our local areas through our own individual efforts and raising awareness globally – we must all do our part. This year represents a great opportunity for all of us to ensure a cleaner, safer and greener environment. We can and we must achieve these ends. A major component of shifting our economy from one that pollutes, relies on carbon based fuels and approaches problem solving from an antiquated angle is no longer acceptable. We must all go beyond the traditional “Think Globally, Act Locally” mantra to curb our environmental impacts. We can act personally by lowering our thermostats, using compact fluorescent bulbs and weatherizing our homes. We can act locally by creating no idle zones, making our cities and towns more pedestrian friendly and driving energy efficient vehicles. We can act regionally by building on mass transit, supporting high speed rail initiatives and thinking more strategically. We can act nationally by passing a cap and trade bill, supporting improved efficiency measures and catalyzing a green energy work force.
