S 2755
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2755
To provide funding for summer youth jobs.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 13, 2008
Mrs. MURRAY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To provide funding for summer youth jobs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Summer Jobs Stimulus Act of 2008'.
SEC. 2. SUMMER YOUTH JOBS.
(a) Findings- Congress finds that--
(1) a temporary $1,000,000,000 investment in summer employment for
youth, through the summer youth jobs program supported under this
section, will create up to 1,000,000 jobs for economically disadvantaged
youth and stimulate local economies;
(2) research from Northwestern University has shown that every $1
a youth earns has an accelerator effect of $3 on the local economy;
(3) there is a serious and growing need for employment opportunities
for economically disadvantaged youth, as demonstrated by statistics
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stating that, in December 2007--
(A) the unemployment rate increased to 5 percent, as compared to
4.4 percent in December 2006;
(B) the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds rose to 17 percent,
as compared to 13 percent in December 2006; and
(C) the unemployment rate for African-American 16- to 19-year-olds
increased 5 percent in 1 month, jumping to 34.7 percent, as compared
to 20 percent in December 2006;
(4) summer youth jobs help supplement the income of families living
in poverty;
(5) summer youth jobs provide valuable work experience to economically
disadvantaged youth;
(6) often, the summer jobs provided through the program are an economically
disadvantaged youth's introduction to the world of work;
(7) according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern
University, early work experience is a very powerful predictor of
success and earnings in the labor market, and early work experiences
raises earnings over a lifetime by 10 to 20 percent;
(8) participation in a summer youth jobs program can contribute to
a reduction in criminal and high-risk behavior for youth; and
(9)(A) summer youth job programs benefit both youth and communities
when designed around principles that promote mutually beneficial programs;
(B) youth benefit from summer youth jobs that provide them with work
readiness skills and that help them make the connection between responsibility
on the job and success in adulthood; and
(C) communities benefit when youth are engaged productively during
the summer, providing much-needed services that meet real community
needs.
(b) Appropriations- Out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
and in addition to any funds appropriated under any provision of Federal
law other than this section, there is appropriated to the Secretary
of Labor for youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), $1,000,000,000, which shall be available
for the period of April 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008, under the
conditions described in subsection (c).
(1) USE OF FUNDS- The funds appropriated under subsection (b) shall
be used for summer employment opportunities referred to in section
129(c)(2)(C) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2854(c)(2)(C)).
(2) LIMITATION- Such funds shall be distributed in accordance with
sections 127 and 128 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2852, 2853), except that
no portion of such funds shall be reserved to carry out 128(a) or
169 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2853(a), 2914).
(3) MEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESS- The effectiveness of the activities
carried out with such funds shall be measured, under section 136 of
such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871), only with performance measures based on
the core indicators of performance described in section 136(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I)
of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I)).
END
