Senator Rosen Called On Her Colleagues On Both Sides Of The Aisle To Take Action To Push Back On Trump’s Decision To Close Job Training Centers
Watch Senator Rosen’s Full Remarks HERE.
WASHINGTON DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) took to the Senate floor to fiercely condemn the Trump Administration’s reckless decision to gut the Job Corps program and shut down Jobs Corps centers across the country, including the Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center in Reno, a skills training program that provides students an opportunity to learn new skills. Senator Rosen warned that the closure would hurt students who are currently enrolled and leave them without the skills they need to access good-paying jobs and achieve the American Dream. Senator Rosen called the decision short-sighted and cruel, and demanded an immediate reversal of the shutdown order.
Below are excerpts of Senator Rosen’s floor remarks:
I rise today to shine a light on Donald Trump’s dismantling of yet another critical program that Nevadans, and young people across our nation, rely on: the Job Corps program.
Job Corps was established by Congress to provide young people with the skills training that they need to access good-paying, in-demand jobs.
It is the largest residential career training program in the entire country – providing young people, many of whom were previously homeless or at-risk, with housing and skills training in fields like manufacturing, construction, and health care.
Once they graduate, they enter the workforce and contribute to our communities and our economy.
They learn the skills necessary to build their lives, to build their futures.
It’s truly a great program that has helped more than 3 million people have a chance at the American Dream since 1964.
Unfortunately, Job Corps centers across the country received a “stop work” order at the end of last week that instructed them to close their doors and send all of their students back home, including Nevada’s Job Corps campus, the Sierra Nevada Job Corps center in Reno, Nevada.
This is going to be devastating – devastating – for the tens of thousands of young people who are currently enrolled in all 50 states.
The Trump Administration, well, it claims it supports trade schools and job training.
But frankly, Mr. President, if this Administration really knew anything about the Job Corps program, they’d know that they are trade schools.
They are centers where students go, where they study, where they work hard, and where they earn their certifications that allow them to access good-paying jobs.
So, why is Donald Trump closing down this program and taking away the opportunity for these students to work? It just doesn’t make any sense.
Shutting down this program will also immediately evict more than three hundred students at the Nevada campus alone, many of whom have nowhere else to go.
###
