Senate Votes Down Funding for Summer Youth and TANF Emergency Fund

Over the past few days, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and John Kerry (D-MA) have been pushing an amendment that would provide critical funding for our workforce development system.  The amendment to the Senate jobs bill would have added approximately $1.3 billion for summer youth programs and about $1.3 billion for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund.

Because the Murray-Kerry amendment did not offer any funding offsets, Senators needed to take a procedural step to waive PAYGO (pay as you go) requirements.  PAYGO requires that there be an offset to any new funding provided.  Budget rules require 60 votes to waive PAYGO.  This morning - only 55 Senators voted to waive the PAYGO rule.

How did my Senator vote?

The vote was primarily along partisan lines.  No Republicans voted for the waiver and four Democrats joined in the objection.  You can find out how your member voted by clicking here.

If your member voted in favor of the amendment – please take a moment to thank him or her.  If your member voted against the amendment, this would be a good opportunity to provide that senator with information on the importance of these programs and the contributions that they make to our nation’s economic recovery.

What happens now? 

Given some time constraints, our options are getting limited.  However, NAWDP believes that this funding is critically important and we will be working to identify other options for securing funding for both programs.

You can find out more about the Jobs Bill, updates on efforts to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act and other workforce-related policy at the Washington Update at the upcoming NAWDP Conference.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.   Please share this information with your colleagues and urge them to contact their Senators.