Bonnie Watson Coleman Calls Trump 'Hell-Bent' On Ending Equity Opportunities Through Job Corps Program Cuts

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During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) spoke about the possible elimination of the Job Corps program.

Transcript

00:00Thank you. The chair recognizes representative Watson Coleman. Thank you

00:06madam chair and a welcome to you madam secretary. A question regarding a study

00:12that you all referred to as I think as related to the decisions that you made

00:17with Job Corps whose study was that? Yeah so that so that was a Job Corps

00:23transparency report and really it's the most comprehensive report that has been

00:28done out of the Department of Labor in order to discover what has actually been

00:33happening. So that's your your study? I'm very concerned about Job Corps because I

00:41know Job Corps deals with with individuals from 16 to 24. It provides

00:47them not only opportunity to get a an education in a college but also hooks

00:55them up with unions for apprenticeships were things that are very important

01:01and responsive to the market but also provides them residential removal from

01:08very dangerous areas. It gives them a new lease on life. They are a mixture of

01:15people predominantly minority all low income and I'm wondering what is it that

01:21we're proposing to do that is better than that because I don't I don't agree that

01:27Job Corps has done its job as best it can. What I do think is that we don't

01:33necessarily hold people up to the standards that we expect and so I would

01:38like to know as quickly as possible because I have one other area to question

01:42what is your proposal to deal with that population specifically to give them

01:48safety and security and where they're living opportunities to go to college

01:53opportunities to engage in apprenticeships. Sure so working with our

01:58respective state partners as well to understand it's very different in every

02:01state and very different in every congressional district as well and and so I

02:06did pull up these numbers because I knew this would be so important to many of you

02:09here and I know Congresswoman that you I don't believe you have a Job Corps in

02:14your actual district but next to it next to it I believe yeah very close but the

02:20cost per enrollee there is fifty six thousand dollars and the cost per

02:24graduate for yours is two hundred and sixty eight thousand per graduate and only

02:29one-third of those students are graduating across the board not yours but

02:32across the board and students go on to make about sixteen thousand dollars a year so

02:37just the discrepancy alone concerns me but that doesn't mean the

02:40population we should forget about. So that's why that's really important to

02:44follow through. That's right. Number one how they're employed is another function of

02:51how this country deals with minorities in particular. Yes and so through the

02:56apprenticeship program whatever I can do to work with you I know I'm gonna I'm gonna

03:00I'm gonna be working with you and I'm sorry I missed your call. No that's okay. It

03:05befuddles me why we don't understand the significance of affirmative action and

03:10contract compliance. They both came into existence because there was verified

03:16studies of the underutilization and the lack of opportunity for women and

03:23minorities and that they were treated discriminatorily in both the contract

03:28world as a an MBE or WBE or even just an employee as well as in the work world and

03:35it seems to me that the president is held bent on eliminating that opportunity

03:43just to create equity among people in this country who have been treated

03:49discriminatorily. Well absolutely not we won't discriminate against any of our

03:53Americans. Well we are we are and and I appreciate that obligation. I appreciate

03:58your rhetoric but I'm watching what he's saying and what he's doing. Well I think

04:03that it's really important that we collectively recognize we have an

04:09obligation to everybody. That's right. We'll lift all Americans. I've had one other

04:12question regarding these these a job course. They're a private partner private

04:20public partnerships. So in each state or wherever they exist is it a different

04:26private entity that's in relationship with the government or is it one big

04:34the operators are different. Pardon? Operators can be different. Are they

04:39primarily is there any one that's really owning the majority of them? Across the

04:46board there has been across the board and and in this report I think you'll get

04:52that information of exactly what's happening but I would like my team to be

04:55able to update you in more detail so that you do fully understand. I really

04:58appreciate it and and you know the last I would like to see the study I would like

05:03to have conversations with you and I would also like to understand what is the

05:08justification for eliminating the program that provided jobs of whatever nature to

05:16older people who were a low income and needed that additional income. Well I

05:21just feel like we're punishing older people who need to work. Well my goal is

05:27certainly not that but because those are subject again to litigation on the grant

05:30funding I won't be able to specifically talk about that right at this moment but I

05:33I would love to talk to me about how you're going to protect them even

05:36irrespective irrespective of any kind of lawsuit against your eliminating this

05:43particular program. What is your vision to protect those individuals of that ilk

05:49that age group who need to work? Sure. How do you plan to ensure that? We will fulfill the

05:55mission of the Department of Labor and as the Secretary of Labor I will focus on all

05:59the American workers wherever they are in their continuum of the workforce and that is

06:03the job of the Department of Labor and we'll continue on that road that I can

06:06guarantee. Thank you ma'am I yield back.

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