Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following yesterday:
Senator Murray on Administration’s decision
to close Job Corps centers: Students and staff “deserve to know why the
Trump Administration is choosing to abdicate its responsibility to run
this important program”
Senator Murray urged Secretary of Labor Acosta to reverse the decision to close centers, and pushed for answers as to how and why the decision was made
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator
Patty Murray (D-WA) released the statement below following the
announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reverse its
decision to transfer operations of all USDA Forest Service Job Corps
Civilian Conservation Centers (Job Corps CCC) to the Department of Labor
(DOL), which would have resulted in the permanent closure of one center
in Washington state and uncertainty for the students, faculty and staff
at all three Washington state Job Corps CCC sites.
“As I made clear, the Trump
Administration’s proposal to abandon Job Corps Civilian Conservations
Centers was a bad idea from the start, and I’m pleased the Department of
Agriculture listened and walked back its decision. The centers in
Washington state and across the country provide at-risk youth in rural
areas with skills and training they need and help protect and conserve
our environment, and I’m going to keep working to ensure they have the
resources they need to continue to thrive.”
Job Corps CCCs provide job
training and economic opportunities to thousands of at-risk youth in
rural areas, including nearly 450 students at three centers in
Washington state. The program also helps the U.S. Forest Service
conserve, develop, and manage public lands and parks, and respond to
natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes. Senator Murray first criticized
the decision when it was announced and vowed to fight against this
decision, and followed up with a letter to Secretary of Labor Acosta seeking answers as to how and why the decision to close and restructure the centers was made.
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