Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, nearly 5 million young people ages 16 to 24, or 1 in 9 youth, are disconnected from both school and work. These disconnected youth often face significant barriers; they are three times more likely than other youth to have a disability, twice as likely to live below the federal poverty threshold, and significantly more likely to live in racially segregated neighborhoods. Disconnection can leave young people without the entry-level work experience and post-secondary credentials they need to succeed in the workforce and with significantly less lifetime earnings than the typical worker.

Disconnection also imposes significant costs on affected young people, their communities, and the overall economy. According to Measure of America, in 2013, youth disconnection resulted in $26.8 billion in public expenditures, including spending on health care, public assistance, and incarceration.

Dedicated Federal funding to support summer and year-long employment for youth can help to mitigate and prevent disconnection, as well as help young people, their communities, and the economy to flourish and develop our future workforce. Twenty years ago, dedicated Federal funding supported an estimated 500,000 summer jobs for youth. However, when the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) eliminated Federal stand-alone funding, participation in summer youth employment programs dropped by 50 to 90 percent in most local areas. Through targeted resources and supports, including funding for summer and year-long employment and comprehensive supports for youth, we can move closer as a country toward reconnecting the millions of young people who have slipped through the cracks and prevent disconnection from occurring in the first place.

This is why I am pleased to introduce today The Opening Doors for Youth Act. The Opening Doors for Youth Act aims to assist the 5 million at-risk young people who are disconnected from both school and work find summer or year-long jobs that help them to succeed in future careers. The bill provides, Federal funding so local communities can create partnerships with businesses, mentoring, financial literacy planning, and other supportive services. Through the partnerships, workforce boards can use funds to cover up to 75 percent of wages for each eligible young person participating in the program.

Young people play a critical role in our economy and communities and we must ensure that they have the resources and skills to find and maintain jobs that set them up for future success. With the right resources, city governments, local workforce boards, school districts, and employers can work together to help us close the employment gap we're seeing for at-risk young people. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle consider The Opening Doors for Youth Act commonsense legislation that moves the needle forward on promoting access for all youth to meaningful employment.

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