II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 267 

To provide funding for summer and year-round youth jobs and training 

programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 15, 2009 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Ms. STABENOW) 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 and year-round youth jobs 

and training programs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Summer and Year5 Round Jobs for Youth Stimulus Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SUMMER AND YEAR-ROUND YOUTH JOBS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) a $1,000,000,000 investment in summer 

9 and year-round employment for youth, through the 

10 program supported under this section, can create up 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•S 267 IS

1 to 1,000,000 jobs for economically disadvantaged 

2 youth and stimulate local economies; 

3 (2) there is a serious and growing need for em4 ployment opportunities for economically disadvan5 taged youth (including young adults), as dem6 onstrated by statistics from the Bureau of Labor 

7 Statistics stating that, in December 2008— 

8 (A) the unemployment rate increased to 

9 7.2 percent, as compared to 4.9 percent in De10 cember 2007; 

11 (B) the unemployment rate for 16- to 19- 

12 year-olds rose to 20.8 percent, as compared to 

13 16.9 percent in December 2007; and 

14 (C) the unemployment rate for African15 American 16- to 19-year-olds increased to 33.7 

16 percent, as compared to 28 percent in Decem17 ber 2007; 

18 (3) research from Northwestern University has 

19 shown that every $1 a youth earns has an accel20 erator effect of $3 on the local economy; 

21 (4) summer and year-round jobs for youth help 

22 supplement the income of families living in poverty; 

23 (5) summer and year-round jobs for youth pro24 vide valuable work experience for economically dis25 advantaged youth; 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•S 267 IS

1 (6) often, a summer job provided under the 

2 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is an economi3 cally disadvantaged youth’s introduction to the world 

4 of work; 

5 (7) according to the Center for Labor Market 

6 Studies at Northeastern University, early work expe7 rience is a very powerful predictor of success and 

8 earnings in the labor market, and early work experi9 ence raises earnings over a lifetime by 10 to 20 per10 cent; 

11 (8) participation in a youth jobs program can 

12 contribute to a reduction in criminal and high-risk 

13 behavior for youth; and 

14 (9)(A) youth jobs programs benefit both youth 

15 and communities when designed around principles 

16 that promote mutually beneficial programs; 

17 (B) youth benefit from jobs that provide them 

18 with work readiness skills and that help them make 

19 the connection between responsibility on the job and 

20 success in adulthood; and 

21 (C) communities benefit when youth are en22 gaged productively, providing much-needed services 

23 that meet real community needs. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•S 267 IS

1 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘green2 collar industries’’ means industries throughout the econ3 omy of the United States— 

4 (1) that promote energy efficiency, energy con5 servation, and environmental protection, including 

6 promoting renewable energy and clean technology; 

7 (2) that offer jobs with substantial pay and 

8 benefits; and 

9 (3) that are industries in which there is likely 

10 to be continued demand for workers. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Labor 

13 for youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act 

14 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), $1,000,000,000, which 

15 shall be available for the period of January 1, 2009 

16 through December 31, 2010, under the conditions de17 scribed in subsection (d). 

18 (d) CONDITIONS.— 

19 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds appropriated 

20 under subsection (c) shall be used for youth jobs and 

21 training programs, to provide opportunities referred 

22 to in subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), and (F) of sec23 tion 129(c)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2854(c)(2)) 

24 and, as appropriate, opportunities referred to in sub25 paragraphs (A) and (G) of such section, except that 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•S 267 IS

1 no such funds shall be spent on unpaid work experi2 ences. 

3 (2) LIMITATION.—Such funds shall be distrib4 uted in accordance with sections 127 and 128 of 

5 such Act (29 U.S.C. 2852, 2853), except that no 

6 portion of such funds shall be reserved to carry out 

7 128(a) or 169 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2853(a), 

8 2914). 

9 (3) PRIORITY.—In using funds made available 

10 under this section, a local area (as defined in section 

11 101 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2801)) shall give pri12 ority to providing— 

13 (A) work experiences in public and non14 profit sector green-collar industries; 

15 (B) work experiences in other viable indus16 tries, including health care; and 

17 (C) job referral services for youth to work 

18 experiences in green-collar industries in the pri19 vate sector or work experiences in other viable 

20 industries in the private sector, for which the 

21 employer involved agrees to pay the wages and 

22 benefits, consistent with Federal and State 

23 child labor laws. 

24 (4) MEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The effec25 tiveness of the activities carried out with such funds 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•S 267 IS

1 shall be measured, under section 136 of such Act 

2 (29 U.S.C. 2871), only with performance measures 

3 based on the core indicators of performance de4 scribed in section 136(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) of such Act (29 

5 U.S.C. 2871(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I)), applied to all youth 

6 served through the activities. 

7 (e) AGE-RELATED.—As used in this Act, and in the 

8 provisions referred to in subsections (c) and (d) for pur9 poses of this Act— 

10 (1) a reference to a youth refers to an indi11 vidual who is not younger than age 14 and not older 

12 than age 24, and meets any other requirements for 

13 that type of youth; and 

14 (2) a reference to a youth activity refers to an 

15 activity covered in subsection (d)(1) that is carried 

16 out for a youth described in paragraph (1). 

Æ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS