“Unfortunately, millions of Americans out of work through no fault of their own will face a deeper crisis unless Congress breaks through the partisanship to extend unemployment insurance benefits. While nothing can take the place of a good-paying job, ensuring that families have food on the table and a roof over their heads during the holiday season is the decent and right thing to do and strengthens our economy. Unemployment insurance is vital to help families pay for the basics while they look for a new job and for local businesses who count on customers to keep their doors open.

“The economy is slowly turning around and jobs are starting to come back. But, jobs are not returning fast enough for the millions of Americans dealing with this historic economic crisis. Republicans are once again turning their back on hard working Americans and their families.  Congress should extend these benefits before they expire. Our nation should not leave millions of Americans’ tables bare this Thanksgiving.”

“Today’s jobs report shows just how much our economy has improved since the Republican Recession began. When President Obama took over, we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month. Thanks largely to tough decisions Congress and President Obama made over the last two years, September marks the ninth straight month of private sector job growth, with a total of 863,000 private sector jobs created in 2010.

“While the economy is clearly moving in right direction, we must finish the job to get all Americans back to work. Democrats have fought to help families weather this financial storm that the Republicans created and change the way Washington works. Republicans have instead tried every political maneuver to stop job creation.  

“There is a clear choice in priorities for our country and our economy. We must continue to fight for America’s middle class and resist the temptation to return to the irresponsible Bush and Washington Republican economic policies that brought the country to the brink.”

"By withholding $1.2 billion in education funding, the governor is depriving California students, teachers and aides of critical resources just as they're returning to the classroom. California's struggling economy needs this money to ensure that our children don't become victims of Wall Street's scandals, and to continue the education reform efforts of President Obama and Secretary Duncan. The Schwarzenegger administration is proving to be an unreliable partner in our efforts to reform California schools. The governor is playing politics with California schools, putting 16,500 teacher jobs at risk and jeopardizing the future of millions of students. I urge him to sign this legislation, which will distribute the badly needed funding."

Miller has been a staunch advocate for education funding for America's schools. He initially proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009. Twice, the House passed funding to support teacher jobs, but Senate Republicans blocked the legislation from moving forward. Miller also authored the Local Jobs for America Act, introduced in March, which would help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities.

“Labor Day is a time to reflect on the achievements of the American worker and our nation’s commitment to helping all families pursue the American Dream.

“As today’s jobs numbers show, while there are hopeful signs on this Labor Day, it remains a difficult time for many families, especially for millions still looking for a job. The 111th Congress and Obama administration have made great progress in turning our economy around, but more must be done to create jobs. This is not the time to turn back.

“The economic policies of the past that led to stagnating wages, rising inequality and eroding rights at work were not just bad for workers, but these policies were disastrous for the entire economy.  The lesson of the Great Recession is that when you turn your back on working people and weaken America’s middle class, you undermine economic growth. We must not turn back to the reckless policies that brought us economic catastrophe. American workers deserve better.  

“On this Labor Day, we continue our commitment to all workers who contribute to the nation’s success by pushing for good jobs with fair pay, decent retirement, safe working conditions, and dignity and rights on the job. When American workers are allowed to share in the prosperity they help create, they rebuild the middle class and our country’s economy.”

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BACKGROUND
Here are just some of the accomplishments made on behalf of American workers by the 111th Congress and Obama administration:

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (enacted January 29, 2009)
The first major piece of legislation signed by President Obama, ensured that women and other workers who receive discriminatory pay have access to a remedy. The new law reversed the May 2007 Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear and restored prior law which treated each discriminatory paycheck received by a worker as a violation of the Civil Rights Act. As long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their claims for a remedy would be considered timely.

Affordable Care Act (reforms enacted March 23 and March 30, 2010)
The reforms signed into law will protect Americans from the worst insurance company practices, offer the uninsured and small businesses the opportunity to obtain affordable health care plans and cover 32 million uninsured Americans, all while reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next decade and more than a trillion dollars over 20 years.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (enacted February 17, 2009)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has begun to rebuild our economy 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, education investments in the legislation will save or boost job growth well into the future.

Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (enacted March 30, 2010)
The law, which saves taxpayers $61 billion over  10 years by switching to the more efficient Direct Loan program, will help America reach President Obama’s goal of producing the most college graduates by 2020 by making college more accessible and transforming the way our student loan programs operate. It will strengthen community colleges and training programs to help build a highly skilled, innovative, 21st century workforce ready for the global economy.

Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act (enacted August 10, 2010)
The law will help save 161,000 teacher jobs and will discourage American corporations from shipping jobs overseas. The measure includes $10 billion to save teacher jobs and $16.1 billion in health assistance to the states. The funding will also keep police officers and firefighters on the job, at no cost to taxpayers.

Increase the Minimum Wage (July 24, 2009)
The national minimum wage increased by 70 cents per hour – from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour – the final of three increases to take effect under legislation enacted by the Democratic Congress.  This last increase gave 4.5 million workers a badly needed boost in their pay.

401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act (language approved by the House May 28, 2010)
Passed by the House as part of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, 401(k) fee disclosure will help workers secure their retirement by helping them to shop around for the best retirement options by requiring simple fee disclosure on the investment options contained in their employer’s 401(k) plan.

Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act (approved by the Education and Labor Committee on July 21, 2010)
The bill would provide stronger tools to ensure that underground coal mine operations with troubling safety records improve conditions, empower workers to speak up about safety concerns and give the Department of Labor the tools it needs to ensure that all workers go home safely at the end of the day. The bill would also extend similar worker protections to all workplaces in order to hold employers accountable if they knowingly put their workers in danger.

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 (enacted July 22, 2010)
The legislation restored unemployment benefits to an estimated 2.5 million to the long-term unemployed whose benefits ended.

Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act  (approved by the House on July 30, 2010)
On a strong bipartisan vote of 315 to 93, the legislation will extend modern whistleblower protections to workers whose employers are engaged in oil and gas exploration, drilling, production, or cleanup on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Currently, individuals working on the OCS have no protection against retaliation by an employer for speaking up on hazardous conditions.

Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success Act (approved by the House on July 19, 2010)
The bill will help address local skills shortages by bringing employers in key industries together with education, labor, workforce, and other groups to identify and provide training tailored to meet the sector needs of that region’s economy

Affordable Health Care Coverage for Laid-off Workers (enacted as part of the Recovery Act)
A provision in the Recovery Act has helped millions of laid off workers in this recession with the cost of their health insurance coverage.   

Protecting Workers’ Wages (announced March 25, 2009)
As a result of increased funding in the Recovery Act, the Department of Labor announced that the agency plans on hiring 250 investigators for its Wage and Hour Division. A Government Accountability Office investigation found many investigations of wage theft, in which workers are not paid minimum wages or not paid at all, were inadequately handled by the Bush administration’s Wage and Hour Division, which had been starved of staff and resources.

Withdrawing Last-Minute Bush Proposal to Weaken Worker Health & Safety Protections (Announced May 15, 2009)
The Department of Labor announced that they will withdraw a Bush era proposal that would have dramatically weakened future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment. The Washington Post reported that a proposal being developed by Bush political appointees in secret with little consultation with career agency health and safety experts would have added additional red tape to an already slow regulatory process.

Restore Workers’ Rights in Federal Contracts (Jan. 30, 2009)
President Obama overturned three Bush administration executive orders and reaffirmed that the interests of hard working Americans will not take a back seat to corporations and CEOs. Overturning these three Bush-era orders is an important step to restore a rational balance regarding the rights of employees in the workplace.

“As soon as today, California will have access to more than $1.2 billion dollars in emergency aid to help save education jobs – keeping our teachers in their classrooms and our students learning. This is great news for California’s struggling economy, and it’s a critical win for California’s families, teachers and students. This investment ensures California’s students do not become victims of this economy.

“Congress took decisive action earlier this month by returning to Washington for this important vote; prioritizing our teachers and recognizing the urgent needs of our students. Our schools have made real progress under President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan’s leadership, progress that we cannot afford to lose in the wake of this economic crisis.

“This is a significant step forward for our economic recovery, one of many this Congress will take to continue our reform efforts for our children and the future of this country.”

Pelosi and Miller have fought for almost a year for additional emergency aid to keep teachers in the classroom.  Twice, the House passed funding to support teacher jobs, but Senate Republicans blocked the legislation from moving forward. Miller initially proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009.

Miller also authored the Local Jobs for America Act, introduced in March, which would help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities. For more information about Miller’s work on jobs, click here.

“These resources are vital to addressing the funding crisis we’re seeing in California schools and in schools across the nation. This funding helps ensure that California teachers are in the classroom where they belong, not on the unemployment line. A child only has one chance at an education, and continued Recovery Act funding ensures that their educations aren’t jeopardized by overcrowded classrooms.”

This funding comes on the heels of recent action by Congress to save jobs through the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act.  This bill, signed into law by President Obama last week, will provide $10 billion to save and create teacher jobs, which will translate into 16,500 California teacher jobs. California was the first state to submit its application to the Department of Education for this critical funding.

Chairman Miller has been a key advocate in the House for additional aid to keep teachers in the classroom. He proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009 and authored the Local Jobs for America Act, which would help save local communities from devastating public sector layoffs.

More information on the Recovery Act
More information on Chairman Miller’s efforts to save teacher jobs

“It was the right decision to come back to Washington to take this important vote,” Miller added. “It’s not the first time this Congress has voted to support jobs, teachers and the future of this country. And we are not done working to rescue this economy.  Sadly, it is also not the first time Republicans have voted against jobs and against assistance for families across the country.”

The legislation includes $10 billion to save teacher jobs and $16.1 billion in health assistance to the states. The funding will also keep police officers and firefighters on the job, at no cost to taxpayers.

According to estimates from the Department of Education, the $10 billion in education funding will save 161,000 teacher jobs. And the Economic Policy Institute estimates the Medicaid funds will save and create 158,000 jobs, including preventing the layoff of police officers and firefighters.  More than half of these jobs will be in the private sector, including workers who contract for or supply services to state and local governments.  

Under the bill, California will receive an estimated $1.8 billion in Medi-Cal assistance and $1.2 billion in emergency education funding.  It is estimated that 16,500 California teacher jobs would be saved by this funding, including an estimated 249 education jobs in Miller’s 7th Congressional District, which includes portions of Solano and Contra Costa counties.

Miller said that he has indicated to the Department of Education that the education funds should be sent out to the states and distributed to local communities as quickly as possible.

The bill reduces the deficit by $1.4 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  The bill includes costs of $26.1 billion and offsets of $27.5 billion – including $17.7 billion in spending cuts and $9.8 billion by closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas.  

The legislation uses the same formula to distribute the education funds to states as was used in the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund under the Recovery Act .  The formula allocates funds based on each state’s relative population of individuals ages 5 to 24 and of each state’s share of the total population. Governors will distribute funds to districts using the state’s primary funding formulae for K-12 education or each district’s share of Title I.   Once the bill is enacted, Governors will be required to tell local school districts which formula they plan to use to allocate the funds to ensure districts can plan immediately to hire back staff.

Miller has been fighting for almost a year for additional emergency aid to keep teachers in the classroom.  He initially proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009. Twice, the House passed funding to support teacher jobs, but Senate Republicans blocked the legislation from moving forward. Miller also authored the Local Jobs for America Act, introduced in March, which would help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities.

More information about the work Miller has done to save jobs

More information about the bill

“I applaud the Senate for passing this emergency legislation that protects not only our teacher jobs but our economic competitiveness. Next week, my colleagues and I in the House will return to Washington to take this important vote -- a vote we’ve taken twice already in the House -- to keep thousands of teachers in their jobs. We need this bill to ensure our teachers remain in the classroom and our students continue to learn. It’s clear our students, our teachers and our country will reap the benefits of our decisive action. This investment will save jobs and help prevent districts from shortening the school year, increasing class sizes and closing libraries in the wake of horrific and damaging budget cuts. While this latest round of funding isn’t enough to avert all layoffs, it is a critical investment in our children and in our future.”

Miller has helped lead the charge in the House to protect teacher jobs. He introduced the Local Jobs for America Act in March to help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities. The provision in the bill to support education jobs was initially included in the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which passed the House in December 2009.

More information about Miller’s work to save and protect jobs

“I look forward to returning to Washington next week to ensure our teachers, principals, librarians, guidance counselors and countless other school professionals keep their jobs and our students are able to grow, thrive and succeed. While this won't avert all teacher layoffs, it is a critical lifeline for education professionals across the country.”
 
The legislation would provide $10 billion to help local school districts save or hire teachers and other education professionals. Funds would be distributed through the state’s primary elementary and secondary funding formulae or each school district’s relative share of Title I. In Contra Costa and Solano counties in Miller’s district in California, nearly 600 school professionals have been laid off.

The legislation would also provide $16 billion in additional funding to states through the FMAP program. 

Miller introduced the Local Jobs for America Act in March to help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities. The provision in the bill to support education jobs was initially included in the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which passed the House in December 2009. For more information about Miller’s work to save and protect jobs, click here.

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“It is critical that we ensure that workers have the right skills for today’s labor market and that those skills help them move into jobs and careers,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “One of the best ways to do this is to ensure that federally funded training is developed in partnership with local and regional employers.”

“This legislation will strengthen strategic partnerships among business, labor, education, and the workforce to address the needs of regional economies and prepare workers for jobs in growing sectors of our economy,” said Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.  “I applaud the passage of H.R. 1855 and look forward to working with my colleagues to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act.”

Specifically, the SECTORS Act would establish a grant program administered by the Department of Labor to provide designated funding for eligible partnerships in order to coordinate workforce activities between specific industries and educational institutions.  Eligible partnerships could receive up to $2.5 million in grants for the first three years and up to an additional $1.5 million thereafter.

More than 200 local and state business, labor, workforce and education groups support H.R. 1855, including the National Skills Alliance, National Council for Advanced Manufacturing, National Council on Aging, Women Work!, the National Network for Women’s Employment, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, the Center of Industry and Technology, California Manufacturers and Technology Association, Business Council of New York State, the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, and the Illinois Manufacturing Foundation.

More information on H.R. 1855

“It is good news that our nation's economy is improving and headed in the right direction. Unemployment is down and the economy is creating jobs. In the first five months of 2010, the economy created nearly half a million new jobs, not including temporary census jobs.  It is easy to forget that not too long ago this country was shedding more than 700,000 jobs a month. The turnaround is the result of tough choices that this Congress and the Obama administration had to make to save us from total disaster caused by the financial scandals.

“However, for the millions of Americans still looking for work, the economic recovery cannot come fast enough. And, we are seeing reports of layoffs of hundreds of thousands of workers beginning this summer in local communities. These layoffs have the potential to stall the economic recovery because these workers pay mortgages, shop at local stores and provide for their families. Our nation can ill afford the economic consequences of an additional hundreds of thousands of workers going without a paycheck.

“Our responsibility to keep the economic recovery moving forward has not ended. That’s why I introduced the Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812) earlier this year. It will create up to a million jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families rely on. I am pleased to see so many of my colleagues support this legislation and that Senator Sherrod Brown announced he will be introducing a companion bill in the Senate.”

“This massive job loss will harm far more than the public servants who face unemployment.  For one, our communities will be deprived of the vital services they deliver.  Schools would see larger classes sizes, our homes would be less protected from fire, and our streets would become less safe,” the EPI analysis said.

Since the recession began, an estimated half-million Americans have lost their jobs in local communities because of tight budgets. EPI estimates that by 2012, more than 400,000 jobs would have to be restored just to return local government services to pre-recession levels.

“Our nation’s economic progress can ill afford another wave of steep layoffs, which have the potential to overwhelm the significant gains our economy has made,” said U.S Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “In order to sustain our economic recovery, direct assistance to local communities is urgently needed to hold off these layoffs.”   

“Layoffs mean a reduction in critical services, and a reduction in tax revenue,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is drafting legislation to help restore services and prevent lay-offs. “It’s critical that we prevent further economic downturn by ensuring that local communities have the resources they need to maintain services and prevent lay-offs.”

“With states and local governments around the country poised to lay-off thousands of workers in order to balance their budgets, it is imperative that Congress pass legislation to directly create jobs. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus worked closely with Chairman Miller to ensure that the Local Jobs for America Act includes money for on-the-job training and targets funds to communities with persistent levels of poverty and high unemployment rates,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Americans are hurting and communities are suffering and Congress has a duty to act quickly to deliver relief to those most in need of help.”

Cuts to public jobs also reduce employment significantly in the private sector. EPI estimated that for every 100 public-sector workers laid off, 30 private sector workers are let go because of the reduction in consumer spending in the local economy.

EPI says that it can take up to three years for local budgets to recover once a turnaround takes hold. This forces local governments to choose between cutting important services like public safety and raising taxes during an economic recovery.

House Democrats, led by Rep. Miller, introduced the Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812), which will create up to a million jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families rely on. The bill has 161 cosponsors to date.

The bill – developed with a bipartisan group of mayors, county officials and others – will provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services that have been eliminated because of tight budgets. Funding would go directly to local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds.

The legislation also provides $24 billion to states to help support 300,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters. The Local Jobs for America Act  also funds approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to enable workers to acquire core job skills and to help local businesses put people back to work.

Last week, EPI found that the cost of the legislation devoted to local communities would be offset by $39 billion because it would keep taxpayers on payrolls and reduce spending on unemployment and other social safety net benefits.

More information on the Local Jobs for America Act, including estimates on job creation by local communities and support for the bill

U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee and a lead advocate in Congress for education jobs, released the following statement.

“The financial industry collapse has trickled down to local communities in the form of decreased revenues, lost property taxes and, ultimately, harmful budget cuts to school districts across the country. Without immediate action, our students and teachers stand to suffer the consequences of a system breakdown in which they played no part. If we balk now and let our students lose a year of learning in our schools because of the of financial scandals, it will be a scandal on the Congress.”

“These budget cuts would punish teachers, devastate communities and set back the significant progress students have made since the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Keeping teachers in classrooms and educators in schools is part of a larger strategy of getting Americans back to work. By investing this emergency money to save jobs, we prevent further turmoil by keeping unemployment and COBRA costs from spiraling out of control and creating more burden on local communities.”

View the state by state estimates

View the White House fact sheet, “Keep Our Teachers Working”

“Before this Congress and President Obama took decisive action, our nation was losing more than 750,000 jobs a month. It is clear that without the Recovery Act, our nation would be still dealing with an economic catastrophe caused by the financial scandals,” said Miller, the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “While there is more work to continue the recovery, it is clear that the Recovery Act was the right decision. Now is not the time to return to the policies that created this mess.”

The CBO found that the Recovery Act raised the nation’s gross domestic product by as much as 4.2 percentage points, lowered the unemployment rate by 1.5 percentage points, and increased the number of people employed by as much as 2.8 million in the first quarter.  

Miller is the author of the Local Jobs for America Act, legislation to create and save a million jobs over the next two years by restoring vital services in local communities. The recession has forced states and municipalities to cut jobs that are critically important to American families – teachers, police, firefighters, childcare workers, and others. The bill currently has 161 cosponsors and is supported by more than 300 organizations.

“Providing all our children with a world-class education is critical to a sustainable economic recovery. Sadly, budget cuts across the country have threatened the jobs of hundreds of thousands of our teachers, guidance counselors, principals, cafeteria workers, librarians and more. These job losses are devastating for students and our communities. We can’t allow a child’s education to become a casualty of what is happening in our economy.

“I want to commend Chairman Obey for his vision and unwavering commitment to America’s students, teachers and families. Chairman Obey knows that with serious investments in education jobs, we can stave off a crisis in our nation’s schools by keeping teachers in the classrooms helping our children learn.

“This emergency spending will also build on our recent investments in the Pell Grant scholarship so every eligible student can continue to have access to an affordable college education. These investments place the scholarship on solid ground by paying for the accumulated shortfall, fulfilling our promise to students and families who rely on the scholarship by ensuring they will continue to receive benefits. We have a critical opportunity to make a real difference in the future of this country.”

Chairman Miller introduced the Local Jobs for America Act in March to help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities.

To prevent cuts to vital local services, part of the legislation would provide $75 billion over two years directly to local communities to stop planned cuts or to hire back 675,000 workers for local services. EPI’s analysis of this part of the legislation found that almost $39 billion of the cost would be offset because it would keep taxpayers on payrolls and reduce spending on unemployment and other social safety net benefits.

“[The Local Jobs for America Act’s] net cost will be much lower than advertised as it puts people back to work and turns them into tax-payers rather than benefit-collectors,” the EPI analysis concluded.

The bill also would provide $24 billion to states to help support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters. The Local Jobs for America Act would also fund approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to help local businesses put people back to work. Workers would be able to acquire core job skills and important work experience for private employers.

Job estimates released by the Education and Labor Committee.

More than 300 national and local organizations have announced their support of the Local Jobs for America Act to House leadership.

“It is clear from this report that when we invest in education jobs, we can make a difference in local communities and help restart local economies. This is what we need to keep our workforce competitive and regain our footing as a leader in the global marketplace.    

“Sadly, the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and school staff are still at risk, which would be devastating for our students and our nation’s economic future. We have to demand the best for our students, our teachers and our schools. We won’t be able to maintain the success of the Recovery Act if our students can’t continue to build on the progress they’ve made. Congress needs to act swiftly to help keep teachers in the classroom and students learning.”

In March, Chairman Miller introduced the Local Jobs for America Act to invest $23 billion to help states support education jobs.

More information about the legislation to help save local jobs

“Today’s announcement is a devastating blow for workers and communities in New York City, but sadly they are not alone. All across the country, we are hearing from mayors and community leaders who are deeply worried about pending budget crises and their impacts on workers, their families and municipalities. A new study by the American Association of School Administrators predicts that over 80 percent of school districts will have to cut jobs for the coming year.

“Whether it’s the potential loss of teachers, school nurses, janitors, firefighters, law enforcement officers, or countless other critical services – it’s clear that these looming crises, if left unaddressed, stand to threaten the livelihoods of thousands of families, to cut off essential public services, and to undermine our broader economic recovery. In addition to laying off teachers, Mayor Bloomberg’s budget will close 16 daycare centers, 50 senior centers and 20 firehouses, and will shutter libraries, lay off child caseworkers, and close adult literacy programs.

“Instead of cutting services and adding to the unemployment crisis, we should be doing the opposite: Putting people to work providing services that are needed now more than ever. The Local Jobs for America Act has been steadily gaining momentum for months among local mayors and county officials – Democrats and Republicans. The bill will quickly create and save up to one million jobs in both the public and private sectors, and lets local communities decide where jobs are most needed.   These will be local jobs that we can count – and jobs that we can count on.

“The bill means that local governments won’t have to balance their budgets on the backs of students, working families, or homeowners. Local officials shouldn’t have to choose between raising taxes and eliminating key services.

“It will also help local businesses put people back to work by investing in private sector job training for workers – and by spurring hiring. Local businesses won’t be able to start hiring again until consumers start spending again. Investing in jobs for public sector workers who have been pink-slipped will put money back in their pockets – generating spending at their local grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail shops.

“Finally, it will protect our children from paying an unfair price. Teacher and education-related cuts ultimately hurt our students – and our future. This legislation includes a $23 billion education jobs fund that will support at least 250,000 jobs for teachers, principals, cafeteria workers and other key school personnel.

“For all of these reasons, Congress should act immediately. Americans shouldn’t have to wait for another announcement.”

The Local Jobs for America Act was introduced in March and currently has 158 co-sponsors. It has been endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, education groups, and over 300 organizations. Learn more about the Local Jobs for America Act.

Today, both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran opinion pieces calling for Congress to act on Miller’s bill.

Earlier this week, Miller joined the nation’s leading teachers unions and teachers who have been pink-slipped at a press conference. View footage from the event.

“As we rebuild our nation’s economy by putting Americans back to work, we must also strengthen our competitiveness for generations to come. Science, technology, mathematics and engineering are all fields that have a long history of spurring American innovation, and are fields that will continue to play an enormous role in both our national and global economies. By voting to pass the renewal of the COMPETES Act, the Science and Technology Committee took an important step toward building a stronger workforce by improving science, technology engineering, and mathematics education in colleges and universities across the U.S.

“This legislation rightly recognizes that today’s students are tomorrow’s innovators, and that our focus on job creation must be coupled with a focus on preparing our students for high-growth, high-demand jobs. It will increase the number of college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and help move us closer to achieving President Obama’s goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. I congratulate Chairman Gordon and all members of the committee for their work on this bill and look forward to its consideration by the full House.”

More information on the COMPETES Act

“Deep job cuts at the local level over the next couple of years threaten to derail our nation’s economic recovery,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the committee and lead sponsor of the legislation. “We cannot afford these layoffs just as our schoolchildren cannot afford a missed year of education or the cutting of vital services families and communities rely upon.”   

The bill – developed with a bipartisan group of mayors, county officials and others – will provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services who have been laid-off because of tight budgets. Funding would go directly to eligible local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds.

“The impact of the economic downturn has decreased property values and reduced the ability of county governments to provide essential services,” said Judge Glen Whitley (R), chief executive officer of Tarrant County, Texas and incoming president of the National Association of Counties.  “It will probably take longer for counties and other local governments to recover from this recession and this jobs bill is a bridge to get us to a healthy economy. It will help put people back to work and help local governments retain employees and avoid lay-offs.”

The bill also would provide $24 billion to states to help support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters.

“In this tough economic climate, it’s important for us to keep local firefighters, police, and teachers at work in the community while easing the burden on local taxpayers and creating new jobs,” said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME).

The Local Jobs for America Act would also fund approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to help local businesses put people back to work. Workers would be able to acquire core job skills and important work experience for private employers.

"Like those in the private sector, our teachers, cops and firefighters have been hard hit by this recession having lost their jobs through no fault of their own," said U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO).  "Now more than ever we need to work together to help get people back to work and rebuild our economy by helping local communities provide the services we depend on each day in addition to other measures like helping small businesses who serve as the engine of prosperity and jobs."

Job estimates released by the Education and Labor Committee

More than 300 national and local organizations have announced their support of the Local Jobs for America Act to House leadership.

Letter of support to House leadership

The Local Jobs for America Act, authored by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), will save and create jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors. The bill – developed with mayors, county officials and others – will provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services who have been laid-off. Funding would go directly to eligible local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds.

The bill also includes $24 billion, already approved by the House in December, to help states support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters; and fund approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to help businesses put people back to work.

“Job cuts by local communities threaten to derail America’s economic recovery,” said Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Local communities are having to choose between raising taxes to sustain essential services or firing more workers. We should not ask students to forgo a year of education or tell families that their safety will be compromised because local governments have to lay off teachers and police officers. This bill will quickly create local jobs that we can count – and jobs that we can count on.”

The bill – developed with mayors, county officials and others – will provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services who have been laid-off because of tight budgets. Funding would go directly to eligible local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds.

“Mayors are pleased to partner with Chairman Miller to push this important legislation. We deal face-to-face with unemployed citizens because we see them everywhere – in coffee shops, grocery stores, beauty salons and barber shops. And they all tell us the same thing – all they want is a good, dependable job so they can support their families,” said Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, of Burnsville, Minnesota, the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Mayors know from experience that investment in metropolitan economies with direct funding to cities can create and save jobs and can do it quickly.”
The National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Association of Counties, among others, have endorsed the legislation.

The Local Jobs for America Act will also fund approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to help businesses put people back to work. Workers will be able to acquire core job skills and important work experience for private employers.

“Our bill is about getting America back to work,” said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “When Americans faced massive unemployment in the 1930s, our policymakers responded with programs like the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. This bill responds to the needs of this generation, demonstrating once again that we are one nation, indivisible.”

The bill also includes $24 billion, already approved by the House in December, to help states support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters.

“Earlier today, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn gave his annual budget address in which he outlined a plan to borrow billions of dollars alongside $2 billion in cuts. States like mine desperately need federal assistance to directly retain and hire teachers, firefighters, police, and other critical employees,” said Rep. Phil Hare (D-IL), member of the Congressional Task Force on Job Creation and chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Task Force on Jobs. “The Local Jobs for America Act would provide that lifeline. I congratulate Chairman Miller for putting forward the most promising remedy to our unemployment crisis yet.”

“One year ago, our nation was headed toward an economic collapse, shedding an average of 600,000 jobs a month. State and local budget cutbacks were putting teachers’ jobs – and our students’ education – in peril. Our economy was in need of emergency triage that would immediately begin to save and create jobs and lay the foundation for longer-term economic growth.

“One year after its enactment, it is clear that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is meeting these core goals. To date, the law has already created or saved two million jobs and helped our economy grow at its fastest rate in years. It has funded more than 300,000 education jobs, keeping teachers in classrooms and children and students of all ages learning. It has helped minimize harmful cuts at public colleges and universities and provided students with larger Pell Grants to pay for college.

“The Recovery Act has provided a much-needed lifeline for workers who lost their jobs – and their health insurance along with it. Millions of Americans have received extended or increased unemployment benefits and many got help paying for their COBRA premiums because of the Recovery Act. We can’t underestimate the difference this has made for laid-off workers struggling to put food on their tables, heat their homes, or pay for a visit to the doctor.

“The Recovery Act is also making strategic investments in our future. Recovery programs are training displaced workers for high-growth jobs in our health care, biotech, clean energy and manufacturing sectors. The Race to the Top program is leveraging key education reforms that will better prepare our children for college, competitive jobs and a global economy.

“As President Obama and Congress have repeatedly said, the Recovery Act marked the beginning of our efforts to rebuild our economy and our middle class. Too many workers continue to lose their jobs or have trouble finding new ones. Our work will not be over until every American in need of a job can find one.”

RECOVERY ACT: HELPING STUDENTS, WORKERS AND FAMILIES

• 2 million: the number of jobs created or saved by Recovery dollars thus far, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
• 300,000: the number of teaching and other education-related jobs saved or created.
• $500: the increase in the Pell Grant scholarship eligible students received for the 2009-2010 year due to this law alone. 
• $2.4 billion: the amount of Federal support that helped colleges and universities keep teaching, even as enrollments grew, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers.

“Today’s news that the rate of job loss continues to improve shows that the Obama administration’s efforts are moving our economy in the right direction. In the last months of the Bush administration we were losing 650,000 jobs a month on average. Now, almost a year after the Recovery Act was enacted, we have slowed our monthly job losses to less than a tenth of that. Twenty thousand American jobs lost are still far too many, but no one can deny that we’re making out way out of the storm.

“But, much more needs to be done to help the eight million Americans who have lost their job find work. Job creation continues to the top priority for Congress and the Obama administration. The House already passed legislation to create urgently needed jobs for construction workers, teachers, police officers, firefighters and others, and we must continue to consider any proposals that would put people back to work quickly. I urge the U.S. Senate to follow suit without delay.”

The Jobs for Main Street Act, passed by the House of Representatives on December 16, would use existing available funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to pay for targeted investments in infrastructure and emergency aid to state and local governments to hire teachers, police officers and other vital personnel.

“In an especially difficult economy, a responsive Department of Labor is essential to assisting and standing up for workers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Thanks to Secretary Solis, the Department of Labor is playing a central role in our nation’s economic recovery and laying the groundwork for a stronger middle class.”

More than seven million jobs have been cut over the past two years as the result of the financial collapse. From day one of the new Obama administration, Congress worked with the administration on a recovery plan to save the economy from total devastation. Economist from left to right agree that the Recovery Act added real growth to the economy and predicted that without these investments, more than a million more Americans would be out of work.

 “While I came to lead the Department of Labor at a tumultuous and challenging time, I know that we have already made a real difference in the lives of America’s workers and their families,” said Solis. “We successfully implemented the Recovery Act and have seen how these investments have saved and created jobs in communities across the country.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made historic investments in American workers and provided vital resources to families deal with the financial collapse. Among other things, the Department of Labor is responsible for administering increased unemployment benefits, health care premium support for laid off workers and significant investments made in workforce development programs including more than 300,000 summer youth jobs. 

While the Department of Labor has been working on an ambitious agenda to promote economic recovery and train workers for the careers of the future, Solis’ department has also revamped agencies suffering from years of neglect.

“In a labor market where jobs are difficult to find and workers are glad to have the jobs they hold, it is too easy for workers to be exploited,” Solis continued. “We are strengthening our efforts to be vigilant in protecting the rights and safety of workers by hiring additional enforcement personnel and reviewing and improving our regulatory efforts.”

The Recovery Act and the department’s new priorities have allowed agencies to increase their capacity to protect workers’ health and safety, pay, and benefits after nearly a decade of cuts. For example, additional resources have allowed the department to hire an additional 250 investigators to ensure compliance with our nation’s wage and child labor laws.

“Especially in this economy, every dollar an employer steals from a worker is a dollar a family loses to pay for basic necessities,” Miller said.

Solis outlined five key priorities for her department:

(1)        Significantly reduce fatalities resulting from the most common causes at workplaces covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and mining sites.
(2)        Reduce the number of repeat violators of minimum wage, overtime, and workplace safety laws.
(3)        Raise labor standards low-wage trading partners in order to create a more balanced playing field for American manufacturing employees. Create a program to help workers injured on the job return to work so that they can continue to be productive members of America’s workforce.
(4)        Increase opportunities for America’s workers to acquire the skills and knowledge to succeed in a knowledge-based economy.

“The Department has outlined these high-priority goals to focus our agencies on the most critical needs affecting the safety, health, and economic security of workers,” Solis said.

“This study confirms that the House and Senate health reform bills will control health care costs, strengthen our economy, and create millions of new jobs over the next decade.  As President Obama has repeatedly said, the economic argument for fixing our broken health insurance system is just as strong as the moral argument.  Today’s employment numbers remind us that too many Americans are still losing their jobs and looking for work.  This new data reinforces a key fact that too often has gone overlooked in this debate:  our health reform bill is also a job creation measure.  We are committed to working with the Senate and the White House on a health care reform bill that will uphold our commitment to affordability, accountability, and accessibility and also will create millions of new jobs.”

The report estimates that “health reform that reduces premium growth will add between 250,000 and 400,000 jobs annually over the next decade.”  To view the report, click here.

 

“Our nation’s economy has made significant progress since earlier this year when more than 600,000 Americans were losing their jobs every month. While we may have stemmed the tide of steep job losses and the Recovery Act is making an undeniable impact, millions of Americans are still looking for a job,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the lead authors of the bill. “The Jobs for Main Street Act is the right thing to do to continue rebuilding our economy and the just thing to do for the millions of families who urgently need work.”

The legislation uses existing available funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to pay for targeted investments in infrastructure and emergency aid to state and local governments to hire teachers, police officers and other vital personnel.

Among other provisions, the Jobs for Main Street Act provides:

• $23 billion to save an estimated 250,000 education jobs over the next two years;
• $41 billion to extend for six months expanded unemployment benefits, including increased payouts and longer duration of benefits;
• $12.3 billion to extend from nine to 15 months the 65 percent COBRA premium support for individuals who have lost their jobs. In addition, the bill extends eligibility through June 30, 2010;
• $200 million for AmeriCorps programs and the National Service Trust, to support an additional 25,000 AmeriCorps Members;
• $500 million for summer youth employment programs;
• $300 million to support the College Work Study program, which supports low- and moderate-income undergraduate and graduate students who work while attending college; and
• $750 million for competitive grants to support job training for approximately 150,000 individuals in high growth and emerging industry sectors, particularly in the health care and green industries that are adding jobs despite difficult economic conditions.

For more information on the Jobs for Main Street Act, click here.

Earlier in the day, the House also approved the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, which included a separate two-month extension of COBRA premium benefits and unemployment insurance.

“Nothing is more important than the need to put Americans back to work. This legislation will do just that by redirecting funds initially used to help Wall Street to help Main Street, while strengthening the health and safety of our communities and continuing to educate our children for the future,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a lead author of the new bill. “I hope the Senate joins us in acting quickly to create jobs for Main Street and help rebuild a strong U.S. economy.”

Miller, who chairs the Education and Labor Committee and the Democratic Policy Committee, joined Speaker Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders to unveil the new bill, the Jobs for Main Street Act. The legislation uses existing available funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to pay for targeted investments in infrastructure and emergency aid to state and local governments to hire teachers, police officers and other vital personnel.

In addition, the legislation also provides critical safety net funds to extend COBRA premium assistance for people who have lost their health insurance as a result of job loss, as well as unemployment benefits and provide other aid for Americans looking for work.  It also gives assistance to states to pay for Medicaid and for extending the child tax credit.  The House will vote on the initiative Wednesday.

“These measures speak to the urgent needs of Americans across the country – the millions of families directly coping with a lost job, lost health care, or struggling to put food on the table,” Miller continued. “While we have a few positive indicators that our economy is making progress and we are stemming the tide of job losses, we are far from out of the woods. Job creation is the lynchpin in restoring our nation’s economy and fiscal health. To keep our economy on the path to recovery, we must take decisive action, right now, to continue saving and creating jobs and provide emergency relief to millions of families.”
 
Tomorrow the House also expects to vote on the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, which will include a separate two-month extension of COBRA premium benefits and unemployment insurance.

For more information on the Jobs for Main Street Act, click here.

“Today’s news that our nation’s unemployment rate fell in November is a sign that the Obama administration and Democratic Congress’ efforts are helping to move our economy in the right direction. When President Obama first inherited this crisis, our economy was losing hundreds of thousands of jobs each month. Today’s figures reflect what the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and a growing number of economists have told us: that the Recovery Act is helping blunt layoffs and reduce the unemployment rate. 

“This hopeful report is also a reminder that our work is far from over. Each job lost is one too many. We must not let up on our efforts to stem further job losses and get our economy working for every American. While the nation’s employment situation may be stabilizing, millions of Americans are still without a job. In the coming weeks, Congress will move to provide additional relief to those who are struggling to pay their bills while they look for a job."

“President Obama’s ‘Jobs and Economic Growth Summit’ was an important step in advancing additional strategies to help Americans get back to work. I agree with the president that while the Recovery Act is helping to dig our country out of an unprecedented financial and economic crisis – as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office highlighted – this recession is severe and more needs to be done.

“Congress will continue to work with President Obama to provide relief to those who have lost their jobs and are struggling to get by, to help prevent additional layoffs, and to get our nation’s economic engine working for every American.”

The Congressional Budget Office released a report earlier this week on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s impact on the economy and employment. The GAO found that in the third quarter of 2009, because of recovery dollars, 600,000 to 1.6 million more U.S. workers had jobs; Gross Domestic Product was 1.2 percent to 3.2 percent higher; and the unemployment rate was 0.3 to 0.9 percentage points lower than it would have been if no action had been taken.

To view the report, click here.

“When you’re struggling to make ends meet you’re going to do everything possible to not miss a day’s pay,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee. “The lack of paid sick leave encourages workers who may have H1N1 to hide their symptoms and come to work sick – risking the health of their co-workers, customers and the public.”

On November 3, Rep. Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, introduced the Emergency Influenza Containment Act (H.R. 3991). The temporary legislation will guarantee up to five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by an employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that the flu’s spread is very unusual this early in the season. They estimate that 22 million Americans have already become ill in the last six months with H1N1 and 3,900 have died. The CDC issued guidance in August that said, in part, that workers feeling symptoms of the flu should stay home and employers should not penalize them for staying home.

“Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness as well as flu-related hospitalizations and deaths among children and young adults…are higher than expected for this time of the year,” said Assistant Surgeon General Anne Schuchat, who is also the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. “Some ways to combat the spread of respiratory infections include staying home when you are sick and keeping sick children at home.”

Public health officials say that isolating the virus is important to slow the infection rate of the H1N1 flu virus. They recommend strong measures to ensure that those with the infection stay away from others and that mandatory sick leave policies can be helpful to not only slow the spread, but also to improve businesses’ productivity.

“This is particularly a plus for small employers where preventable losses of even a small number of workers can have a devastating effect on the business,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Mandatory sick leave encourages employees to stay out of the workplace when appropriate, protecting the business and I believe hastens the employees return to productive work.”    

While public health officials have advised employers to show flexibility in allowing workers to stay home without taking punitive actions, some workers have reported that employers are not providing needed time off. 

At least 50 million American workers currently do not have access to paid sick leave, many in lower-wage industries that have direct contact with the public such as food-service, hospitality industry, schools and health care fields.

“Our nation’s failure to provide a minimum standard of paid sick leave is putting our public health at risk. More than two-thirds of flu cases are transmitted in schools and workplaces,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. “Workers in child care centers and nursing homes, and retail clerks disproportionately lack paid sick days. Because the lack of paid sick days forces employees to work when they are ill, their coworkers and the general public are at risk of contagion.” 

Studies also show that businesses stand to lose billions in productivity when workers come in sick. Ness said when sick employees come into work and infect co-workers, they lower productivity by as much as $180 billion a year and have the potential to cripple vital business operations.

For more information on the Emergency Influenza Containment Act, click here.

To read the testimony of the hearing, click here.

Matthew Segal, the founder and national co-chair of 80 Million Strong for Young Americans Jobs Coalition, which advocates on behalf issues facing the generation born after 1980, said that employment opportunities are falling and will have a lasting impact on younger Americans.  

“The current economic crisis is disproportionately affecting young Americans, digging a hole that will place a long-term burden on our generation as we attempt to build a stronger future workforce,” said Segal. “Among the many national and global challenges today’s 20-somethings face, we are the first generation likely to be less better off than our parents.”

The employment rate among 16 to 24 year-olds has steadily declined by nearly 20 percent over the past decade to its lowest level since World War II. Recognizing the historic problems facing young workers, Congress included as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act an additional $1.2 billion over two years to beef up youth jobs programs, including summer jobs.  

“It was critical that we intervened in summer 2009 by providing summer employment experiences and other services for youth,” said Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employment and Training Administration. “The lessons we all learned in our first jobs made lasting impressions on our decisions about work over the course of our lifetime. For this generation of young people, the education and skills that they need to fully engage in meaningful work is fundamental to their success and the future of our country.”

The additional funding in the Recovery Act emphasized summer employment opportunities, as well as year-round employment activities for older youth and at-risk populations.  YouthBuild USA is one such program that provides disconnected young adults with the educational opportunities and skills training needed to help secure a decent paying job through building affordable housing. Since 1992, YouthBuild has served 84,000 predominately minority and at-risk students who helped to produce 18,000 units of affordable housing.

“What attracts disconnected young people to YouthBuild is the comprehensiveness of the program coupled with the philosophy of profound respect for their intelligence and inherent value,” said Dorothy Stoneman, president and founder of YouthBuild. “The act of building homes for people who need them, being seen in the community as a hero instead of a hoodlum, changes their identity and relationship to society.”

According to research conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, the consequences of reduced work among teens means that they have fewer long-term employment opportunities, reduced earnings, and a decrease in labor productivity in the future.  Although the magnitude of the effect decreases over time, the impact is still long-term, suppressing wages for more than a decade after entering the workforce.

“When many young people who would like to work cannot find work for an extended period of time, there is a risk that some of them will give up on the formal labor market completely and become discouraged workers,” said Algernon Austin, director of Economic Policy Institute’s program on race, ethnicity and the economy. “In the long-term, work experience acquired as a youth is correlated with better social and economic outcomes in later years.”

The House also recently approved the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which among other things, would make a $10 billion investment to help prepare young workers for the jobs of the future by strengthening partnerships among community colleges, businesses and job training programs that will align community college curricula with the needs of high-wage, high-demand industries.

For more information on the hearing, click here.

“The provisions in this bill will drive energy costs down for consumers and families in the long run and will create millions of clean energy jobs that cannot be shipped overseas,” Miller added. “And, in a very important step, under our bill American workers will be able to take advantage of opportunities that will help them transition into the new sustainable careers of the future.”
 
As chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Miller wrote into the bill significant provisions to ensure workers affected by climate change policy have access to health care coverage, income support, and employment services so they can transition into green economy jobs.

Among other provisions to assist workers in transition, eligible workers impacted by the new energy policy would:

•    Receive income support equal to 70 percent of their income for up to 156 weeks;
•    Receive an 80 percent credit toward their monthly health care premiums;
•    Have access to job training opportunities, including on-the-job training programs, as well as other support services; and
•    Receive job search allowances and relocation assistance, up to $1,500 for each.

“I also applaud President Obama, and Secretaries Duncan and Solis for launching a new user-friendly website to help Americans understand and take advantages of these various student aid benefits. Their proactive leadership will open up new opportunities that will empower students and workers to become part our nation’s recovery.  I look forward to working with them to continue making college more affordable and getting our economy back on track.”

Currently, jobless Americans who receive unemployment benefits cannot keep those benefits if they go to college and receive federal financial aid. President Obama’s proposal will allow these workers to maintain those benefits if they enroll in college. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress increased the Pell Grant scholarship to $5,350 for the 2009-2010 school year – an increase of more than $600 its current level.

Under current law, financial aid offers are allowed to use unemployment benefits as proof that a family’s job status has changed, even if their financial aid forms list an old income level, and adjust their student aid award package accordingly.

For more information, visit www.opportunity.gov. 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law in February, 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 $500 million program to help train American workers for jobs in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries.

“Effective implementation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act energy efficiency measures is essential to our plans,” said Robin Roy, vice president of Serious Materials, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of green building materials. “It will allow us to expand operations and hire up far more rapidly than would be possible with out it.”

With millions of Americans out of work in the manufacturing and construction industries, future sustainable job creation is dependent on the development of good-paying jobs in emerging industries, witnesses told the subcommittee.

"The emergence of a green economy will lead to a new generation of jobs, as well as the eventual transformation of traditional occupations across many industry sectors” said Kathy Krepcio, executive director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.

A number of private groups are already working to bring businesses, environmental groups, labor, and government resources to the table to develop strategies to spur green sector jobs.

“Our energy, climate, and economic crises also present tremendous opportunities,” said Jerome Ringo, president of the clean energy group Apollo Alliance. “We believe our nation can and must achieve a triple bottom line: energy security, climate stability, and broadly shared economic prosperity.”

One element of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is to encourage energy efficiency and job creation through the greening of schools, government buildings and other large office complexes. Advocates say that these investments will not only pay off through lower energy consumption, but have the potential to create millions of jobs for engineers, construction workers, and other well paying trades.

“There are millions of commercial, educational, medical and other very large buildings across our country that are energy and water hogs,” said Jill Sherman of the green building development company Gerding Edlen. “Buildings that are needlessly wasting energy and desperate need retrofitting; and this is where we believe the current opportunity lies.”

“Last week, the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to save or create 3.5 million jobs,” said U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, (D-TX), chair of the subcommittee. “Yet from our last hearing, we know that an estimated 80 – 90 million adults – about half of our workforce – lack the basic education and skills to qualify for the jobs that will be created. We won’t be able to bridge that gap unless we improve our nation’s job training and workforce development programs.”

President Obama’s economic recovery plan invests $5 billion in job training programs to help get Americans back to work. The Workforce Investment Act was enacted in 1998 to expand access to job training, job placement and professional development opportunities for workers. As witnesses explained today, the law expired in 2003, making it long overdue for updates that will address workers’ as the economy begins to rebound.

 “Current economic conditions not withstanding, America’s supply of adequately skilled workers does not meet its demand,” said Kevin Smith, executive director, New York Literacy, Inc.  “It is essential to consider what skills are available versus those needed to support and sustain national, state and local economic development strategies.  As the nation succeeds in building an economic recovery, including job creation, the skills gap will impede progress.”

“With the unprecedented demands on workers for higher levels of education and new, cutting-edge skill sets, quick access to training and education is essential,” Sandi Vito, acting secretary, Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry, agreed today. “Both employed and unemployed workers must have training opportunities throughout the span of their work life in order to get good jobs, advance in their careers and stay competitive.”

Several witnesses also discussed the need for improved coordination at the local, state, and national level to meet the growing need for a well-trained, 21st century American workforce.

“The Department’s work in partnership with the States has produced significant accomplishments and helped many learners achieve their education and employment goals” said Cheryl Keenan, the director of Division of Adult Education and Literacy.  “Many challenges still exist, particularly in the job market, where the “bar” for literacy skills that are required for family-supporting employment is constantly being raised.”

To view all of the testimonies from today’s hearing, click here.