"Extenders" bill summary released.
“Extenders” Bill Summary Released; Bill Should Receive House Vote Next Week
Congress is slated to begin action as early as next week on a $220 billion “extenders” bill, The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (HR 4213), that would provide new funding for summer youth employment programs and subsidized jobs under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, extend authorization for benefits for unemployed workers, and expand participant eligibility for community college training activities funded through the recent health care and education reconciliation bill. Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus (D-MT) and House Ways and Means Committee chair Sander Levin (D-MI) released a summary of the bill, which also includes a range of tax credit extensions for individuals and businesses, investments in infrastructure through the Build America bond program and other programs, provisions to address the costs of the Gulf oil spill and other disaster relief, and an extension of the Federal Medicare Assistance Program (FMAP).
The House passed an earlier version of the legislation in December, and the Senate passed its own version in March. While tax credit extensions are not normally controversial, lawmakers have been working to include a broad range of priorities in this package, as part of an effort to complete a “jobs bill” in advance of the Memorial Day recess. These additions have added to the cost of the overall measure, and legislators from both parties have publicly expressed concerns about the impact on the federal deficit, making it difficult to determine whether there are sufficient votes in either chamber to pass the bill in its current form.
Provisions of interest to workforce development field include:
A one-year extension, through September 2011, of the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund, which was established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) and provides for partial federal reimbursement of certain state TANF expenditures, including subsidized jobs programs. The bill would also provide an additional $2.5 billion for the program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. Approximately 30 states are currently operating, or are implementing, subsidized jobs programs for 185,000 low-income workers under the emergency fund.
$1 billion for summer youth employment programs, which will help to place up to 300,000 individuals between the ages of 16-24 in summer jobs.
Expansion of participant eligibility under the Community College and Career Training Grant (CCCTG) Program to include individuals who are eligible (or are likely to be eligible) for UI, or who have exhausted their UI benefits. The CCCTG program was established as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program reauthorization under the Recovery Act and recently received $500 million per year in FY 2011-14 as part of the reconciliation bill.
Extensions through December 2010 of expanded Unemployment Insurance (UI) and COBRA health benefits originally authorized under the Recovery Act.
National Skills Coalition has sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in support of HR 4213. We will continue to monitor this legislation and provide updates as new information become available.
