[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 125 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2204-E2205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. FRED UPTON

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 8, 2009

  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information 
regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3293, the Labor/HHS 
spending bill for Fiscal Year 2009.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Fred Upton
  Benton Harbor Workforce Transformation Program
  Department: Labor
  Account: Employment and Training Administration--Training and 
Employment Services
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan Works--Benton Harbor, Ml
  Address of Requesting Entity: Michigan Works, 499 W. Main St., Benton 
Harbor, MI 49022
  Description of Request: Michigan Works, a state-supported job 
recruitment and training organization, is starting a job-training 
program designed to work in tandem with the upcoming $500 million 
Harbor Shores mixed-use economic development project being undertaken 
by Benton Harbor. The basic workforce transformation program, which 
would be funded by the monies requested here, includes at least three 
core elements: basic skills training, including workforce literacy 
remediation; skills training for in-demand, high-growth occupations; 
and transitional job services. All activities will be based on proven 
programs administered by workforce training professionals as part of 
the region's existing and ongoing workforce development activities. All 
programs will be designed to reduce the unemployment rate, increase the 
local labor participation rate, increase job readiness, place people 
into jobs, and increase per capita income. These funds are consistent 
with the mission of the Employment and Training Administration. Benton 
Harbor, Michigan is the poorest city in one of the most economically 
challenged states in America. The magnitude of Benton Harbor's problems 
is stunning--a workforce with an average 6th grade literacy level and 
an 80 percent high school dropout rate by young males. In Benton Harbor 
42 percent of the available workers are out of the workforce, a fact 
exacerbated by the lack of basic skills needed to maintain employment 
which has only served as a barrier to attract new employers into the 
area
  Amount: $381,000
  Financial Breakdown: The majority of this funding (around 70 percent) 
will go to staffing services, stipends for program participants, as 
well as literacy remediation services. The remainder of the funding 
will be provided for training scholarships, community outreach, 
participant assessments and support services. Michigan Works will 
provide supplemental funds.
  Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services Nursing 
Distance Learning Initiative
  Department: Health
  Account: Health Resources and Services Administration--Health 
Facilities and Services
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & 
Substance Abuse Services
  Address of Requesting Entity: 3299 Gull Rd., Kalamazoo, MI 49048
  Description of Request: The Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and 
Substance Abuse Services agency will partner with Wayne State 
University's School of Nursing, the only nursing school in Michigan 
offering an Advanced Psychiatric and Community Public Health Nurse 
Practitioner degree program, to bring the opportunity through the use 
of distance learning technology for nurses in Kalamazoo and surrounding 
communities to participate in this three-year program right in their 
home communities, rather than have to travel all the way across the 
State to Detroit. The plan would provide scholarships to local nurses 
who wish to participate in exchange for a commitment to remain in and 
serve their Southwest Michigan communities. Southwest Michigan is a 
medically underserved area, with a shortage of nurses, and a 
particularly acute shortage of nurses with advanced training to meet 
community mental health needs. The Kalamazoo Community Mental Health 
and Substance Abuse Services Nursing Distance Learning proposal 
promises to be an innovative and successful way to address this 
pressing need.
  Amount: $100,000
  Financial Breakdown: The majority of funding for this project (around 
60%) will go to nursing faculty, with supplemental funding going to 
polycom and video conferencing equipment, as well as scholarships for 
nursing students.
  Kalamazoo Valley Community College Wind Technician Academy
  Department: Education
  Account: Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kalamazoo Valley Community College
  Address of Requesting Entity: 6767 West 0 Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49003
  KVCC Wind Energy Center will launch a Wind Turbine Technician Academy 
in the fall of 2009. The competency based program will provide 
graduates with multi craft credentials which are highly sought after by 
the wind power industry for the construction, operation

[[Page E2205]]

and maintenance of utility size wind turbines. The training uses 
established curriculum based on globally recognized BZEE utility grade 
turbine technician standards. The KVCC program will be the first BZEE 
certification program in the US, and will include training on a 
decommissioned utility grade turbine in a lab at KVCC. The Wind Turbine 
Technician Academy can be completed in less than 6 months, making the 
program viable for retraining of workers and for the training of the 
next generation workforce. The Wind Turbine Technician Academy will 
consist of three integrated segments: Pre-Employment Electrical 
Apprenticeship, Wind Turbine Technology Education, and Field 
Experience. Michigan ranks 14th in terms of wind energy potential, but 
is currently well behind other states in terms of installed wind 
generating capacity. The Academy will promote Michigan's potential 
through their ability to produce highly qualified workers in 6 months 
and through their plan to create an advisory panel made up of national 
wind energy employers.
  Amount: $350,000
  Financial Breakdown: Approximately 75% of this funding will go toward 
the purchase of wind turbine components, tools and training equipment. 
The remaining 25% will be split between purchasing lab equipment and 
curriculum development. KVCC has been, and will continue to provide, 
supplemental funding for the program.
  Lake Michigan College Energy Job Training Program
  Department: Education
  Account: Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Lake Michigan College
  Address of Requesting Entity: 2755 E. Napier Avenue, Benton Harbor, 
MI 49022
  This funding will go toward equipment purchases and curriculum 
development for an energy production job training program at Lake 
Michigan College. According to Nuclear Energy Institute research, the 
nuclear power production industry and their community college partners 
need to establish forty-four new programs for training non-licensed 
operators, twelve for radiation protection technicians, and sixty-five 
to train maintenance workers. To address the projected shortage of 
energy industry professionals for the region it serves, Lake Michigan 
College, in collaboration with D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman and 
Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, has developed the Energy 
Production Technology degree to give local residents the opportunity to 
prepare for one of these high-skill, high-wage jobs. According to the 
Nuclear Energy Institute, about thirty percent of the nuclear energy 
workforce will retire within the next five years. Locally, that 
percentage is as high as 35%. Consumers Energy, over the next five 
years, expects 120-130 retirements among generating plant operations 
and maintenance personnel. That translates into over four hundred 
anticipated job openings in this region in just the next few years. 
This project will help train a local workforce to fill those openings.
  Amount: $150,000

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