Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act (H.R. 2842)
H.R. 2842, the Accelerating Individuals Into the Workforce Act of 2017. This legislation connects low-income Americans looking for work with employers looking to fill job openings, including through apprenticeships and other forms of on-the-job training.
“According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 6 million job openings in America right now,” said Congressman Taylor. "We know there are over 30 thousand open jobs in Virginia alone. A solution is to provide resources to connect them with businesses looking to hire, train, and develop new employees. Let's get this legislation to the President's desk and get people to work." -- Congressman Scott Taylor
Summary
H.R. 2842 connects low-income Americans looking for work with employers looking to fill job openings, including through apprenticeships and other forms of on-the-job training. Specifically, the legislation provides funding for states to subsidize employment for a limited time for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients to provide work experience in exchange for benefits. The bill reserves $100 million from the FY18 TANF Contingency Fund to test whether states subsidizing the wage of TANF recipients can be an effective means of helping them enter and remain in the workforce. States may subsidize up to 50 percent of the recipients wage, with the remainder covered by the employer.
Each state must describe how wage subsidies will be provided and how they expect each individual to maintain employment when the subsidies end. A state shall ensure that no one is laid off from the same or a substantially similar job to create positions for such participants.
Finally, a state has to submit a report that specifies the number of individuals whose employment is subsidized, the structure of state activities, the percentage of recipients who received a subsidy who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after the subsidies ended, and the median earning of recipients after the subsidies end.
Background
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 6 million job openings, the highest levels since the government started tracking this data in 2000.[1]
The TANF program is designed to help needy families achieve self-sufficiency. States receive block grants to design and operate programs that accomplish one of the purposes of the TANF program.
The four purposes of the TANF program are to (1) provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes; (2) reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage; (3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.[2]
According to the bill’s sponsor, “While the economy has improved, many Americans are still struggling to find work, and we should be doing everything we can to help these individuals get ahead. The Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act will help job seekers succeed and provide for their families in an increasingly dynamic job market.”
Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD):
This bill authorizes $100 million in existing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Contingency Funds for FY 2018 to help subsidize a demonstration program for TANF recipients to transition into employment and career programs. President Obama included similar proposals in his budgets in order to ensure that low income parents find and maintain quality jobs that will help them to transition out of poverty.
While H.R. 2842 is good, sensible legislation aimed at helping our country’s most economically vulnerable families, it is important that Members of Congress recognize other issues that the TANF program faces. TANF faces issues of state diversion of the block grants and budget proposals that either flat fund the program or cut funding completely. Most recently, President Trump’s budget proposal zeros out the TANF Contingency Fund which would have devastating impacts on some of our nation’s must vulnerable.
TANF helps families achieve self-sufficiency and stability, both financially and emotionally through the promotion of job and relationship preparation and formation and maintenance of two-parent families. These essential services should be supported by our government as they help people to cultivate skills and create a culture of self-sufficiency, not constantly face the chopping block when it comes to budgeting.
