Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester said her jobs agenda has already secured a number of Republican supporters, giving her hope of passage. | DBT image by JACOB OWENS
NEWARK — Rochester Rep. Lisa Blunt has spent much of her public service career thinking about job and workforce development.
Prior to her election to Congress, she served as Minister of Labor under the then government. Tom Carper, then the state personnel director at the time. Ruth Ann Miner. It started even earlier though.
“When we thought about this agenda, I thought about my entire career, starting in my teens, wanting my independence, asking my dad if I could have a phone in my bedroom. He said, ‘Okay, go get a job,’” she said, recalling being hired at McDonald’s.
Plant Rochester was contemplating its journey on Wednesday when it unveiled the Jobs Agenda, a package of seven bills that combine workforce development, affordable housing and supply chain flexibility in the largest legislative proposal in its four terms.
Jobs allow people to buy a home and build wealth for generations. Careers allow you to contribute to society, make a difference, and live your purpose. Jobs give you dignity and respect. That’s what this agenda is about. “
Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester discusses the Jobs Agenda bill package during a news conference April 12 in Newark. | DBT image by JACOB OWENS
Some of the seven bills on her jobs agenda had previously been introduced in Congress but did not find enough support moving forward. Plant Rochester said she decided to bring it all together under one banner to help her colleagues and the public understand the interconnectedness the job brings.
“When we’re in an environment where the unemployment rate is record low, and we have a lot of job opportunities, we wanted to put together an agenda that could look at all of these together and really unlock the potential for our economy,” she said.
With several bills already garnering bipartisan support in the Republican-majority House, Plant-Rochester told the Delaware Business Times that she is optimistic they will vindicate Congress in the next two years.
These are bipartisan things that we’re seeing all over the country. So I had a very positive response from fellow Republicans,” she said, noting that she hopes to discuss the deal soon with her fellow Delawarean, President Joe Biden. President Biden’s office.”
The Blunt Rochester jobs calendar includes:
Jobs lawwhich would expand eligibility for federal Pell Grant programs to individuals interested in pursuing job training programs that are at least eight weeks in length and lead to industry-recognized credentials or certifications.
The Housing Access and Affordability Act, which will establish the Local Housing Policy Grant (LHPG) program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It is proposed to be funded at $300,000 annually for five years and be open to pilot project applicants seeking to increase housing stock and affordability, or remove barriers.
Clean slate lawwhich would remove major barriers for many Americans to finding work, Housing insuranceand access to education by automatically closing federal records for individuals convicted of low-level nonviolent drug offenses after they successfully complete their sentences.
The Resilient Supply Chain Building Actwhich would allow $41 billion over five years to support grants, loans, and loan guarantees that support the development, diversification, preservation, improvement, recovery, and expansion of supply chains and local manufacturing of critical commodities, industrial equipment, and manufacturing technology.
supply chain lawwhich would establish a dedicated office of supply chain led by an assistant secretary in the Department of Commerce that would plan and monitor supply chains to identify weaknesses, establish industry best practices, and commission an independent study to determine whether the authority to make grants and loans was guaranteed.
Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Actwhich would amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) by creating a five-year grant program at the Department of Labor to support community colleges and career and technical education centers in developing education and training programs for workforce development using immersive technology.
Law of the National Center for Nursing ManpowerAnd That will establish a three-year pilot program through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support nursing workforce centers in the state. The legislation would also expand HRSA’s authority to establish health workforce research centers in any program under the Public Health Service Act and give HRSA explicit authority to create a nursing-focused research and technical assistance center under the Health Workforce Research Center program.