Retirements from Congress coupled with November’s elections have resulted in several changes to the congressional committees that have jurisdiction over the Job Corps program. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), a longtime Job Corps champion, will be the House Appropriations Committee Chair for the 117th Congress. Rep. David Scott (D-GA), another Job Corps champion, will lead the House Agriculture Committee with Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) as the new Ranking Member.
With the two Georgia Senate runoff races now complete, Democrats will be in the majority in the Senate and will chair the Senate committees. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) will lead the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, while Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will become the Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. It is anticipated that Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) will be the lead Republican on the Senate HELP Committee and Senator John Boozman (R-AR) will be the lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Further announcements about new committee leadership and assignments for the 117th Congress are expected in the coming days and later next month. NJCA will continue its work with the authorization and appropriations committees in the 117th Congress to ensure the Job Corps program remains a critical access point for opportunity youth.
President-elect Joe Biden has recently announced many of his decisions regarding cabinet and senior Administration appointments. As it relates to the Job Corps program, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has been selected to serve as Secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor. Tom Vilsack was named as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Neera Tanden has been tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and Susan Rice was named as Director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council. Nominations hearings for the cabinet positions will begin later this month and remain a focus of the Administration and the Senate throughout February.
NJCA looks forward to developing and maintaining relationships with new committee leadership on Capitol Hill and working with the new Biden Administration in 2021 and beyond.
