Senior job seekers stand to benefit from a new bill recently introduced in the Senate to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA). Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the bill (S. 2037) on January 26 and highlighted several provisions in the legislation, including those intended to strengthen and expand the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).
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A new study released by Indiana University finds that poverty is likely to get worse despite a recovering economy due to long periods of unemployment, continued impact on budget cuts to social programs and the quality of new jobs. The study warns that if Congress does not protect benefits for the long-term unemployed, and continues to make cuts to social safety net programs while reducing state fiscal relief, the poverty situation will worsen.
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When the 112th Congress wrapped up its first session in December, it left behind a legacy of partisanship that caused public approval ratings to reach historic lows. As the second session kicks into gear this month, lawmakers will have to work quickly on payroll tax relief, emergency unemployment benefits, and reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), all of which were only extended through February .Goodwill® looks forward to Congress addressing several other issues of importance to the enterprise and the people we serve.
READ MORE from Congress to Resume Spending Bill Discussions on Heels of 2011 Logjams
On December 17, the Senate voted 67-32 to approve a $915 billion “megabus” spending package. The bill provides $10.7 billion to the Department of Labor’s Employment Training Administration (ETA), which administers several programs that support local Goodwill® agencies’ efforts to help people find jobs and advance in careers.
African-American man participants in automotive job training programIn response to a January 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), introduced the Streamlining Workforce Development Programs Act last week, which proposes to eliminate 33 existing training programs and consolidate them under four new workforce investment funds.
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On Monday, November 21, 2011, leaders of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction confirmed that the supercommittee was unable to craft a bi-partisan agreement for cutting the deficit by $1.2 trillion before Wednesday’s deadline. As a result of the panel’s failure, a range of federal programs face automatic spending cut unless Congress can reach an agreement before January 2013.
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On November 16, Goodwill® took to Capitol Hill to brief Congress on our work with military families and present our latest white paper. Given the stubbornly bleak job market and constrained federal budgets, Goodwill calls for a continuum of coordinated services that address the unique needs and complex employment challenges facing veterans and military families. We also urge greater collaboration among the community-based providers, federal agencies and veteran service organizations.
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Action is needed to prevent Congress from drastically cutting funding for job training programs that support Goodwill’s efforts to help people with employment challenges in your community to find jobs and advance in careers. Send a letter to your members of Congress and ask them to support the Senate version of the FY 2012 spending bill that funds the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
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On Tuesday, October 25, President Obama announced two executive actions that aim to help veterans find jobs. Goodwill® commends efforts to create more jobs for service members, veterans and their families in light of the continuing challenges this population faces in transitioning to the civilian workforce, and plans to release a white paper next month to help stakeholders understand the current employment situation and support systems for this population.
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One week after President Obama’s American Jobs Act (S 1660) was blocked in the Senate, Democratic leaders have been working to dissect and move segments of the comprehensive mix of tax cuts and spending proposals. While the prospects for passing a jobs bill are bleak, Congress must also take up measures that could cause problems for existing job training programs. The future is also unclear for the bill that funds the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
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