Miller Announces Jobs Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With families and local communities struggling especially hard in this economy, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced a jobs bill today. The bill, the Local Jobs for America Act, will save and create jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families and local communities rely on. It is similar to legislation Miller introduced last year with the support of hundreds of organizations across the country.
“Job losses in communities across the country are a threat to our economic stability. Communities are being forced to choose between raising taxes to continue their vital services or letting go of vital employees. Families, similarly, are experiencing these dangerous cuts in the form of fewer teachers and fewer police officers. Families shouldn’t have to worry about their children losing a year of learning or about their safety being compromised, on top of everything else they’re dealing with in this economy. This bill will quickly create local jobs that we can count – and jobs that we can count on.”
“Republicans in Congress have yet to outline a jobs plan. Instead, they have shown time and time again that they would rather kill jobs in America if their extreme and ideological demands are not met,” Miller continued. “Republicans’ inability to compromise is the biggest threat to Americans jobs right now. This legislation outlines a jobs plan that every Member of Congress should be proud to support.”
Statistics show that while the demand for services provided by state and local governments has increased, the number of people employed in these offices has fallen by over 400,000 since August 2008. In April, May and June of this year, communities averaged a loss of 23,000 jobs a month.
The bill will provide an investment 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 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.
The bill also includes $24 billion to help states support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters.
For more information on The Local Jobs for America Act, click here.
Next Article