GoLocal Worcester - Sen. Scott Brown Announces Summer Job Legislation

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Senator Scott Brown announced today that he will introduce the Youth Summer Jobs Acts of 2012 when the Senate returns to session next week.

Sen. Brown made the announcement at a job fair at Metro Credit Union which was designed to help high school and college students find summer work.

"I'm excited to announce a new bill to create summer jobs for young Americans," said Senator Brown. "My legislation will allow states to establish or strengthen current summer jobs programs and give young people a better shot at working."

According to the Employment Policies Institute, teen unemployment rate stands at 24.9 percent, and has averaged above 20 percent for over 40 months. The number of employed teens fell by 14,000 from March to April 2012.

The $1 billion program takes unspent federal funds during the summer of 2012 and 2013 and uses them to establish and/or strengthen state-level youth summer jobs programs and provide summer employment opportunities for youth, ages 16-24.

Based on President Obama's American Jobs Act Pathways to Work Summer Jobs Initiative, Sen. Brown's proposal works by allocating funds to states according to the rules of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998.

Unlike the President's proposal, Sen. Brown's bill only funds jobs for citizens and legal residents, no taxes are increased to finance it, and it funds only summer jobs and not year-round jobs.

"I strongly believe that we need to provide our youth with the tools they need to find a summer job and that is the goal of my legislation," Brown said.

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