II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2923 

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

programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 22, 2009 

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 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 ‘‘Youth Jobs Act of 

5 2010’’. 

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

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) a $1,500,000,000 investment in summer 

9 and year-round employment for youth, through the 

10 program supported under this section, can create up 


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1 to 450,000 temporary jobs and meaningful work ex2 periences for economically disadvantaged youth and 

3 stimulate local economies; 

4 (2) there is a serious and growing need for em5 ployment opportunities for economically disadvan6 taged youth (including young adults), as dem7 onstrated by statistics from the Bureau of Labor 

8 Statistics stating that, in November 2009— 

9 (A) the unemployment rate increased to 10 

10 percent, as compared to 6.8 percent in Novem11 ber 2008; 

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

13 year-olds rose to 26.7 percent, as compared to 

14 20.4 percent in November 2008; and 

15 (C) the unemployment rate for African16 American 16- to 19-year-olds increased to 49.4 

17 percent, as compared to 32.2 percent in Novem18 ber 2008; 

19 (3) research from Northwestern University has 

20 shown that every $1 a youth earns has an accel21 erator effect of $3 on the local economy; 

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

23 supplement the income of families living in poverty; 


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1 (5) summer and year-round jobs for youth pro2 vide valuable work experience for economically dis3 advantaged youth; 

4 (6) often, a summer or year-round job provided 

5 under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is an 

6 economically disadvantaged youth’s introduction to 

7 the world of work; 

8 (7) according to the Center for Labor Market 

9 Studies at Northeastern University, early work expe10 rience is a very powerful predictor of success and 

11 earnings in the labor market, and early work experi12 ence raises earnings over a lifetime by 10 to 20 per13 cent; 

14 (8) participation in a youth jobs program can 

15 contribute to a reduction in criminal and high-risk 

16 behavior for youth; and 

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

18 and communities when designed around principles 

19 that promote mutually beneficial programs; 

20 (B) youth benefit from jobs that provide them 

21 with work readiness skills and that help them make 

22 the connection between responsibility on the job and 

23 success in adulthood; and 


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1 (C) communities benefit when youth are en2 gaged productively, providing much-needed services 

3 that meet real community needs. 

4 (b) REFERENCES.— 

5 (1) CERTIFICATE; CREDENTIAL.—In subsection 

6 (d), references to the terms ‘‘certificate’’ and ‘‘cre7 dential’’ have the meanings prescribed by the Sec8 retary of Labor. 

9 (2) YOUTH-RELATED REFERENCES.—In this 

10 Act, and in the provisions referred to in subsections 

11 (c) and (d) for purposes of this Act— 

12 (A) a reference to a youth refers to an in13 dividual who is not younger than age 14 and 

14 not older than age 24, and meets any other re15 quirements for that type of youth; and 

16 (B) a reference to a youth activity refers 

17 to an activity covered in subsection (d)(1) that 

18 is carried out for a youth described in subpara19 graph (A). 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Labor 

22 for youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act 

23 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), $1,500,000,000, which 

24 shall be available for the period of January 1, 2010, 


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1 through June 30, 2011, under the conditions described in 

2 subsection (d). 

3 (d) CONDITIONS.— 

4 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds made available 

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

6 training programs, to provide opportunities referred 

7 to in subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), and (F) of sec8 tion 129(c)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2854(c)(2)) 

9 and, as appropriate, opportunities referred to in sub10 paragraphs (A) and (G) of such section, except that 

11 no such funds shall be spent on unpaid work experi12 ences and the opportunities may include learning de13 scribed in paragraph (3)(B). 

14 (2) LIMITATION.—Such funds shall be distrib15 uted in accordance with sections 127 and 128 of 

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

17 portion of such funds shall be reserved to carry out 

18 128(a) or 169 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2853(a), 

19 2914). 

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

21 under subsection (c), a local area (as defined in sec22 tion 101 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2801))— 

23 (A) shall give priority to providing— 

24 (i) work experiences in viable, emerg25 ing, or demand industries, or work experiVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:30 Dec 23, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2923.IS S2923

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1 ences in the public or nonprofit sector that 

2 fulfill a community need; and 

3 (ii) job referral services for youth to 

4 work experiences described in clause (i) in 

5 the private sector, for which the employer 

6 involved agrees to pay the wages and bene7 fits, consistent with Federal and State 

8 child labor laws; and 

9 (B) may give priority to providing— 

10 (i) work experiences combined with 

11 linkages to academic and occupational 

12 learning, so that the experiences and learn13 ing provide opportunities for youth to earn 

14 a short-term certificate or credential that 

15 has value in the labor market; and 

16 (ii) work experiences combined with 

17 learning that are designed to encourage 

18 and maximize the likelihood of a partici19 pant’s return to, or completion of, a pro20 gram of study leading to a recognized sec21 ondary or postsecondary degree, certificate, 

22 or credential. 

23 (4) MEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The effec24 tiveness of the activities carried out with such funds 

25 shall be measured, under section 136 of such Act 


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1 (29 U.S.C. 2871), only with performance measures 

2 based on the core indicators of performance de3 scribed in section 136(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) of such Act (29 

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

5 served through the activities. 

Æ 


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