Retirements from Congress coupled with November’s elections will result 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, won a competitive race to be the new House Appropriations Committee Chair for the 117th Congress. Rep. David Scott (D-GA), another Job Corps champion, has been selected to lead the House Agriculture Committee with Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) as the new Ranking Member. We also expect new Republican leadership at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, but these decisions will not be finalized until January 2021, after the two Georgia Senate runoff races. Further announcements about new committee leadership and assignments for the 117th Congress will continue into the new year. NJCA looks forward to continuing its work with the authorization and appropriations committees next Congress to ensure the Job Corps program remains a critical access point for opportunity youth.
Over the last few weeks, President-elect Joe Biden has announced many of his decisions regarding cabinet and senior Administration appointments. As it relates to Job Corps, 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. We continue to await a decision on the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor.
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.
