{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hayes.house.gov/press-releases?ID=F8A6C843-020B-4C3E-A92E-D61EE88CF606", "Hayes, Markey Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Reauthorize Vital Educational and Workforce Development Program for Vulnerable Youth", "2023-12-06", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Jahana Hayes", "H001081", "hayes.house.gov", "hayes", "https://hayes.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the YouthBuild for the Future Act to reauthorize the YouthBuild program, a national program that equips opportunity youth \u2013 people ages 16 to 24 who are disconnected from school and work opportunities \u2013 to education, employment, and leadership skills.\n\nYouthBuild services more than 5,000 opportunity youth in more than 40 states, including Connecticut. Participants often left school without a diploma and are homeless, foster care youth, migrants, disabled, or an offender.\n\n\u201cEach year, YouthBuild helps thousands of youth earn their high school diploma while learning skills in trades like construction, healthcare, information technology, and logistics,\u201d said Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05). \u201cThe YouthBuild for the Future Act improves and invests in the job training program to allow more disadvantaged, rural, and low-income youth in the Fifth to confidently join the workforce and have successful futures.\u201d\n\n\u201cYoung people are left to carry the weight of generational and systemic failures,\u201d said Senator Markey (D-MA). \u201cYouthBuild helps lift those burdens by investing in young people\u2019s potential and offering them the resources, opportunities, and support to succeed. The investment works: YouthBuild has allowed thousands of young people in Massachusetts and around the country to access life-changing education and workforce development training while serving their communities. Just as YouthBuild champions young people\u2019s potential, Congress must champion YouthBuild.\u201d\n\nSpecifically, the YouthBuild for the Future Act will:\n\nReserve grants for programs serving rural and Tribal communities;\n\nExtend the allowed period of follow-up services to 24 months;\n\nExpedite the provision of services to out-of-school youth by reducing the waiting period to the minimum amount possible;\n\nAllow funding for participant meals;\n\nAllow grantees to count YouthBuild funds towards the matching requirement under the National Community Service Act; and\n\nRequire States to share Unemployment Insurance wage data with YouthBuild programs.\n\n\u201cIn YouthBuild programs across the country, young people create the next best versions of themselves through skills training, workforce development and education reconnection,\u201d said John Valverde, President and CEO of YouthBuild USA. \u201cLives are changed, careers are grown and America is strengthened when they gain access to these resources. It is our continued duty to unleash the leadership and untapped potential all around us.\u201d\n\n\u201cService Year Alliance is happy to support the YouthBuild for the Future Act to reauthorize YouthBuild and implement common-sense policy solutions to improve the YouthBuild experience for opportunity youth and local programs,\u201d said Kristen Bennett, CEO of Service Year Alliance. \u201cIn addition to changes that will provide increased services and benefits for YouthBuild participants, the Act will allow funding from the Department of Labor to be used as match for AmeriCorps grants - a desperately needed change that will strengthen YouthBuild programs across the country and increase opportunities for young people. Service years through YouthBuild transform young people\u2019s lives and strengthen communities; Service Year Alliance applauds Representative Hayes for sponsoring the YouthBuild for the Future Act.\u201d\n\n\u201cYouthBuild provides a much-needed opportunity for thousands of young people who are too often overlooked as valuable members of society. Securing YouthBuild funding is critical for our country\u2019s future,\u201d said Terry Moran, Executive Director of Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition.\n\n\u201cThe New North Citizen\u2019s Council\u2019s leadership team and our Connecticut River Valley YouthBuild Program is fully supportive of Senator Markey\u2019s YouthBuild for The Future Act. We believe that these much needed modifications to the pre-existing legislation will enhance our services in a way that will be extremely beneficial to the young people that we serve,\u201d said Isaiah Delmoral, Co-Director of NNCC Youth Services.\n\nRead the full text of the bill here.\n\nThis bill was included in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022, which passed the House during the 117th Congress. YouthBuild taps into the tremendous potential of young people in our country. These critical updates ensure more youth finishing their education, finding work, and leading happier, safer lives.\n\nEndorsements: YouthBuild USA, The Forum for Youth Investment, Service Year Alliance, The Corps Network, Voices for National Service, Jobs for the Future, National Youth Employment Coalition, Center for Law and Social Policy, Northwest Regional Investment Board, Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition, and New North Citizen's Council Youth Services\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hayes.house.gov/press-releases?ID=F8A6C843-020B-4C3E-A92E-D61EE88CF606"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2047278471291065, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}