Economic Recovery

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a member of the Democratic Congressional Jobs Working Group. Together, we are proposing solutions to our job crisis. In fact, one of those proposals is H.R. 4564, the Emergency Jobs Program and Assistance for Families Act. This bill extends an extremely successful employment program that we call Jobs NOW. It has created over 156,000 jobs over 29 States and is still developing more.

In Palmdale, California, Jobs NOW helped Jody, a single mother of two, find a job at a local coffeehouse working as a barista. The regular paycheck puts food on the table and is helping her get through a rough patch. Her boss is impressed with her work and plans to permanently hire her and the other three subsidized employees they brought in. It is this kind of success story that makes Jobs NOW such a model for job creation. Without it, the coffeehouse would not have been able to grow its business or take on new employees. Jody would not have had a chance to learn new skills and support her family.

I first learned of this innovative program in Los Angeles County. One of the supervisors, Don Knabe, created 11,000 jobs over the last year, using stimulus funds to create subsidized jobs.

How does it work? Eligible participants are placed into subsidized jobs in all sectors of the economy, from nonprofits to government agencies to private businesses, and are matched with jobs that complement their employment goals. The employer must provide supervision equal to 20 percent of the wage cost and ensure that the job does not displace an existing employee or replace someone who was to be promoted. This means the county is paying for 80 percent or more of payroll costs in Recovery Act funds.

Some examples of these jobs include park rangers, receptionists, teacher assistants, dental assistant trainees, customer service clerks, and child care workers. Workers get paid $10 per hour for up to 40 hours per week. Jobs NOW allows businesses to succeed and the employee to succeed.

I have spoken to countless people in my district about this program, and I keep hearing about how this program is a win/win. It works for both workers and businesses. Workers benefit beyond the paycheck by getting hands-on experience in a setting where they earn wages, develop new skills, and enhance existing skills. Businesses benefit by getting the help they need to grow or expand while temporarily reducing payroll costs. Companies may ultimately decide to hire these subsidized workers permanently as the economy improves. The jobs generated by this program can help businesses expand in these difficult times by reducing their economic risk and need for expensive loans.

California is leading the Nation in creating these subsidized jobs. For instance, V-Cube, a high-tech firm in Torrance, California, hired two subsidized employees with very little experience. Very quickly, these two employees showed they were motivated and quick to learn. Now one of the employees runs Web seminars and the other is a project coordinator. It is only through Jobs NOW that V-Cube and other businesses feel secure in taking on new workers in this economic environment.

You can see that across California, in this map here, many, many jobs were created. In Fresno, 1,000 jobs were created. In San Francisco, over 1,500 jobs were created. In Los Angeles, an astonishing 11,000 jobs were created by the country's Jobs NOW program in less than a year. The State predicts that 25,000 jobs will be created through the Jobs NOW program by the end of present funding.

However, we must act quickly or the job placements will stop when the program expires on September 30. Because subsidized employment programs often run for at least 6 months, many localities are planning to discontinue their jobs program between March and June of this year in anticipation of the emergency funds expiration date. Almost 60,000 jobs will disappear if the fund expires.

In California, L.A. County will stop placing participants in new jobs in June. San Bernardino County has to stop creating new jobs in April. Sacramento County will stop putting people in 6-month-long jobs in March. It will pay people for shorter periods until June 2010, and then stop the program altogether.

But the full amount of funding has yet to be claimed by the States. The Recovery Act authorized $5 billion for Jobs NOW employment subsidization programs, but actually less than $1.5 billion has been accessed by the States. And the program is still in the process of expanding. That's why I am proposing, along with the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), a bill that will allow more States to help residents get back on their feet and into a job.

In fact, all across the country there have been programs such as this. We can see that all across the country in the dark green spots there have been successful programs.

In Tennessee, the State focused on rural Perry County, which was hard hit by a plant closure. The unemployment rate had risen to 27 percent. Tennessee brought local workforce development and human service agencies and the business community together and developed a subsidized employment program for over 500 individuals.

In Mississippi, the State has developed the Steps Program, which uses Jobs NOW money to create private sector jobs that transition into permanent employment. The State begins by funding all of the wages of a new employee and steadily reduces its commitment until the business can support the employee on its own.

As you can see, 29 States across the country have implemented programs that created subsidized jobs, and even more want to jump on the bandwagon. That's why people on each side of the aisle are in strong support of this proposal. President Obama is a strong supporter. Besides its funding in the Recovery Act, he has proposed a $2.5 billion increase and a year-long extension for

this upcoming year's budget.

But it is not just the President who thinks this is a good idea; there is deep bipartisan support. The American Enterprise Institute's Kevin Hassett recently wrote in Business Week that this program should be renewed and said, ``Given the state of the labor market, it is hard to imagine how any sensible person could oppose such a move.''

Jobs NOW allows States to be in the driver's seat for this program, and that is why the National Governors Association also supports this, urging Congress to pass an extension because of the outsized benefits to the States.

The human cost of the recession has been high. It is easy to think of unemployment in terms of numbers and statistics, but numbers cannot describe the anxiety and fear a person feels when they are unemployed. Numbers can't show the hope and pride a person feels when they find a job.

I was moved by the words of Ms. Taylor in Los Angeles about the Jobs NOW program and its effect on her life. Ms. Taylor is a mother of two children, one with autism. She has been living on her aunt's couch because she couldn't find work. Because of a job through Jobs NOW, she was able to get back on her feet and into her own apartment. She told California Social Services, ``You guys gave me a chance when the whole world seemed like they were saying `No, not this time.' Without this program, I could not have paid my rent, and my babies and I would be on the streets.''

She is not the only one. There are millions of economically disadvantaged people on the front lines of this economy. They are struggling every day. The Jobs NOW emergency fund gives them a chance to find work and start moving towards a future. It helps businesses expand in these tough times.

I strongly urge the House leadership and my colleagues not to forget the thousands of people who need this help. We must pass H.R. 4564 for Jobs NOW.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source