Other priority job creation legislation introduced in the 111th Congress includes the following bills. The Put America to Work Campaign thanks the sponsors of these bills for their leadership, and also expresses our appreciation to all members of Congress who are fighting to pass comprehensive job creation legislation.
§ $75 billion over two years to local communities to hire vital staff
§ Funding for 50,000 on-the-job private-sector training positions
§ $23 billion this year to help states support 250,000 education jobs
§ $1.18 billion to put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat
§ $500 million to retain, rehire, and hire firefighters
The bill provides $75 billion for 750,000 jobs providing needed local services:
-- $52.5 billion directly to communities with at least 50,000 residents – Mayors, County Officials and Governors would submit a statement to the need for the specific positions to the Department of Labor. The department would then distribute funding to communities based on the Community Development Block Grant formula.
Half of the funding will go to positions that would be eliminated due to ongoing budget shortfalls. Up to 25 percent of the funding can go to non-profit community organizations that provide services not customarily provided by local government employees. The remaining 25 percent may be used for creation of new jobs in local government.
-- $22.5 billion directly to governors to distribute to communities with fewer than 50,000 residents – Job creation funding will sent to towns, counties, or private non-profits outside of those communities eligible for the funding above. Local governments will apply to the governor for the funding.
Like support to larger communities, half of the funding may be spent on retention of positions slated for elimination, up to 25 percent of the funding can go to non-profit community organizations that provide services not customarily provided by local government employees. The remaining 25 percent may be used for creation of new jobs in local government. The governor must fairly distribute the funding among congressional districts, in proportion to each district’s rural population. Appropriates $40 billion to local governments to create jobs in the public or non-profit sector and potentially in small businesses that provide public services. This investment will create approximately 1 million jobs across the nation.
Directs the Secretary of Labor to award fast-track federal grants to local governments to create employment opportunities across a broad array of critical infrastructure and revitalization projects.
(A) The painting and repair of schools, community centers, and libraries.
(B) The restoration and revitalization of abandoned and vacant properties to alleviate blight in distressed and foreclosure-affected areas of a unit of general local government.
(C) The expansion of emergency food pro- grams to reduce hunger and promote family stability.
(D) The augmentation of staffing in Head Start, child care, and other early childhood edu- cation programs to promote school readiness and early literacy.
(E) The renovation and enhancement of maintenance of parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces.
After 9 months, additional grants would be made grant to public entities, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, or small businesses to create opportunities for employment in the following areas:
(A) Construction, re-construction, rehabilitation, and site improvements of residences or public facilities, including improvements in the energy efficiency or environmental quality of such public facilities or residences.
(B) Provision of human services, including child care services, health care services, education, or recreational programs.
(C) The remediation and demolition of vacant and abandoned properties to eliminate blight.
(D) Programs that provide disadvantaged youth with opportunities for employment, education, leadership development, entrepreneurial skills development, and training.
Local governments would collaborate with community organizations, labor and other community leaders to identify the projects that would be most beneficial. All jobs would be subject to strict non-displacement requirements, and no individual could be employed by any employer where there is a collective bargaining agreement in effect covering the same or similar work, except with concurrence of the union.
The bill would invest $60 billion in federal funding to create 3 million jobs through a targeted, three-tiered approach.
- First, the bill would establish a public works and public interest grant program administered by the Department of Labor to put people back to work immediately, similar to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. $31 billion would be appropriated to make grants to state, county and municipal governments and non-profit community based organizations to create jobs to meet community needs. Jobs would include afterschool programs, environmental restoration, social services, painting schools and restoring and preserving historical landmarks.
- Second, it would distribute $20 billion in direct aid to financially-strapped state and local governments so they can retain their current workforce and make new hires. Funds would be provided in federal grants to retain and hire personnel for elementary and secondary education, public works and economic development, police and homeland security.
- Third and finally, $9 billion funding would be spent to put Americans back to work renovating our National Parks and Forests, much like the Conservation Corps of the 1970’s.
The National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2009 would:
Create a National Infrastructure Development Bank: Modeled after the European Investment Bank and other development banks around the world, it would include an independent and objective Board of Directors to, among other things, make final infrastructure financing determinations; an Executive Committee to handle the day-to-day operations of the Bank; and Risk Management and Audit Committees to carefully manage risk and monitor the bank’s activities.
Attract Private Investment Toward Critical Infrastructure Projects: The bank Board would have the authority to, among other things, issue “public benefit” bonds; make loans and offer loan guarantees; and purchase and sell infrastructure-related loans and securities on the global capital market.
Depoliticize Infrastructure Investment: The Bank would consider infrastructure projects Depoliticize Infrastructure Investment: The Bank would consider infrastructure projects in the realm of transportation (i.e. highways, transit, inland waterways, rail and air travel), the environment (i.e. drinking and wastewater facilities and hazardous waste facilities); energy (i.e. renewable energy transmission and building efficiency); and telecommunications (i.e. broadband development). The Bank would objectively consider the economic, environmental, social benefits and costs of infrastructure projects, as well as other specific criteria, and fund projects of significance.
Capitalize a Bank: The bank is capitalized with authorized appropriations of $5 billion a year for 5 years as paid in capital, like the Obama budget, and a total of $250 billion in total subscribed capital available from the Treasury if needed.
Capitalize a Bank: The bank is capitalized with authorized appropriations of $5 billion a year for 5 years as paid in capital, like the Obama budget, and a total of $250 billion in total subscribed capital available from the Treasury if needed.
Establishes within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Federal Coordinator of Gulf Coast Rebuilding the Gulf Coast Civic Works Commission. Requires the Commission to: (1) establish regional taskforces and prepare a regional policy plan; (2) establish and administer a Gulf Coast Civic Works Project that employs a minimum of 100,000 Gulf Coast region residents and evacuees for public works projects to rebuild and develop the Gulf Coast region impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; (3) establish or support existing job-training programs and apprenticeships to recruit and train qualified workers, with emphasis on women and disadvantaged workers from the Gulf Coast region, for specific job vacancies in approved Civic Works Projects and other recovery, rebuilding, and development projects; (4) ensure that all workers are paid wages at not less than the prevailing locality rate (Davis-Bacon Act); and (5) establish or coordinate other infrastructure projects, including environmental restoration, energy efficiency and conservation, search for affordable workforce housing, and youth works projects.
