[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 43 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2138-S2139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY:
  S. 2755. A bill to provide funding for summer youth jobs; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2755

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Summer Jobs Stimulus Act of 
     2008''.

     SEC. 2. SUMMER YOUTH JOBS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) a temporary $1,000,000,000 investment in summer 
     employment for youth, through the summer youth jobs program 
     supported under this section, will create up to 1,000,000 
     jobs for economically disadvantaged youth and stimulate local 
     economies;
       (2) research from Northwestern University has shown that 
     every $1 a youth earns has an accelerator effect of $3 on the 
     local economy;
       (3) there is a serious and growing need for employment 
     opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth, as 
     demonstrated by statistics from the Bureau of Labor 
     Statistics stating that, in December 2007--
       (A) the unemployment rate increased to 5 percent, as 
     compared to 4.4 percent in December 2006;
       (B) the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds rose to 
     17 percent, as compared to 13 percent in December 2006; and
       (C) the unemployment rate for African-American 16- to 19-
     year-olds increased 5 percent in 1 month, jumping to 34.7 
     percent, as compared to 20 percent in December 2006;
       (4) summer youth jobs help supplement the income of 
     families living in poverty;
       (5) summer youth jobs provide valuable work experience to 
     economically disadvantaged youth;
       (6) often, the summer jobs provided through the program are 
     an economically disadvantaged youth's introduction to the 
     world of work;
       (7) according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at 
     Northeastern University, early work experience is a very 
     powerful predictor of success and earnings in the labor 
     market, and early work experiences raises earnings over a 
     lifetime by 10 to 20 percent;
       (8) participation in a summer youth jobs program can 
     contribute to a reduction in criminal and high-risk behavior 
     for youth; and
       (9)(A) summer youth job programs benefit both youth and 
     communities when designed around principles that promote 
     mutually beneficial programs;
       (B) youth benefit from summer youth jobs that provide them 
     with work readiness skills and that help them make the 
     connection between responsibility on the job and success in 
     adulthood; and

[[Page S2139]]

       (C) communities benefit when youth are engaged productively 
     during the summer, providing much-needed services that meet 
     real community needs.
       (b) Appropriations.--Out of any money in the Treasury not 
     otherwise appropriated, and in addition to any funds 
     appropriated under any provision of Federal law other than 
     this section, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Labor 
     for youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act of 
     1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), $1,000,000,000, which shall be 
     available for the period of April 1, 2008 through December 
     31, 2008, under the conditions described in subsection (c).
       (c) Conditions.--
       (1) Use of funds.--The funds appropriated under subsection 
     (b) shall be used for summer employment opportunities 
     referred to in section 129(c)(2)(C) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
     2854(c)(2)(C)).
       (2) Limitation.--Such funds shall be distributed in 
     accordance with sections 127 and 128 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
     2852, 2853), except that no portion of such funds shall be 
     reserved to carry out 128(a) or 169 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
     2853(a), 2914).
       (3) Measure of effectiveness.--The effectiveness of the 
     activities carried out with such funds shall be measured, 
     under section 136 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871), only with 
     performance measures based on the core indicators of 
     performance described in section 136(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) of such 
     Act (29 U.S.C. 2871(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I)).
                                 ______