[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H4922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENIOR COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM AND CONSTITUENT GERALDINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Kendra S. Horn of Oklahoma). The Chair 
recognizes the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to share with my 
colleagues the story of one of my constituents, Geraldine, as a 
reminder that the work that we do here on the floor impacts people's 
lives.
  Geraldine received assistance from the Senior Community Service 
Employment Program, which is also known as SCSEP.
  We provided $464 million to SCSEP in the minibus package that we 
passed yesterday, H.R. 2740. The bill included fiscal year 2020 funding 
for critical programs at the Department of Labor that help Americans 
like Geraldine find jobs and gain new skills in their journey to become 
reemployed, programs like Job Corps, Registered Apprenticeship, 
YouthBuild, and, of course, SCSEP.
  Geraldine is a perfect example of why this funding is so important. 
She is a mother and a grandmother and the main provider for her 
granddaughter and two grandchildren.
  When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, she lost her job, a 
devastating moment for her family's only source of income. She quietly 
retired, but like far too many Americans, she did not have enough 
savings to stop working.
  Her family needed her, and she needed to find work, a task made 
difficult with her age, existing skill set, and, now, gap in 
employment. Fortunately, Geraldine was able to take advantage of SCSEP 
through Easterseals in New Jersey.
  Created by the Older Americans Act of 1965, the Senior Community 
Service Employment Program has helped low income, unemployed seniors 
learn new, in-demand skills and reenter the workforce for more than 50 
years. Participants enrolled in SCSEP receive a subsidized minimum wage 
for work at a nonprofit agency while learning skills to help them 
reenter the workforce.
  But SCSEP does more than just skills training. Its greatest success 
is helping seniors regain their sense of confidence and self-
fulfillment. Some programs have services that help seniors get glasses 
or even pay rent and utility bills.
  Geraldine shared this with me, that SCSEP was instrumental in helping 
her regain her sense of purpose. She was so successful in her program, 
that she was offered a position at Easterseals to support new 
participants in the program through their own journeys to reemployment, 
people who were previously in the same position as she.
  Increasingly, seniors like Geraldine have become the primary 
caretakers for their grandchildren. This is especially true for places 
that have been ravaged by the opioid crisis.
  That is why it is so important that we support more programs at SCSEP 
at the Department of Labor. There are countless seniors out there with 
nowhere to turn. SCSEP is one of the answers that gets them back to 
work.
  Madam Speaker, before I close, I want to share with you one last 
anecdote from Geraldine.
  She shared with me her story about a boy in her community who didn't 
want to throw away broken crayons. In defiance of his dad, this little 
boy said even broken crayons still color just as brightly as ever. 
Geraldine says that she sees herself in broken crayons and knows that 
her colors shine just as brightly as any others.
  We must ensure that critical programs like SCSEP are fully funded as 
grandparents across America are increasingly becoming the primary 
breadwinners in their families.
  I am proud that my colleagues and I voted to pass H.R. 2740 
yesterday, and as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, I am 
committed to advocating for more programs that support our seniors.

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