Press Releases
Washington—In an effort to protect the country’s Job Corps programs from closure, U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) has joined Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to introduce a bipartisan bill that would prevent the removal of funds from these critical employment programs.
The bill was introduced after the administration announced last month that it would close nine Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers across the country. The Job Corps Protection Act blocks the administration from using federal government funds in 2019 or 2020 to close any Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers in the United States. The bill will also prohibit any federal government agency from making changes to agreements that operate Job Corps facilities—preventing them from privatization.
“Job training is often hard to come by in rural America. Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers fill the void and offer invaluable skills training in underserved areas,” Boozman said. “We should be looking for opportunities to expand workforce development programs in rural America as opposed to finding reasons to reduce them.”
“Whether it is the businesses who rely on Job Corps or the students who graduate, we need everyone in this chamber, Republicans and Democrats, to make sure that we have Job Corps around for our next generation and the generations after,” Tester said. “Without important resources like Job Corps, we are making it harder than ever for young people in rural areas to access the job training they need to succeed in the 21st century economy.”
Last year, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed legislation that invested $1.7 billion in Job Corps programs across the country.
