Rep. Schakowsky Reintroduces the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act

Washington, DC (April 18, 2013) — Rep. Jan Schakowsky reintroduced H.R. 1617 the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act today:

"Today, I reintroduced my jobs plan, the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act, which would make needed investment in good-paying jobs that will strengthen American communities all over the country.

"Our unemployment rate remains unacceptably high, and job growth took a major hit last month as our economy began to feel the impacts of the automatic spending cuts, known as the sequester. We need to increase hiring by investing in American communities, public lands, and infrastructure. With more Americans employed, more spending will occur in the private sector, helping to bring more prosperity to our country. My bill would fund more than 2 million jobs over the next two years, providing the kick start our economy — and the middle class and those striving to reach it — so desperately need.

"This investment in job creation can be fully paid for by asking the wealthiest Americans, who have maintained record incomes as our economy crumbled and then slowly recovered, to contribute just a bit more."

Background on the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act:

• Creates over 2.2 million jobs to address the real crisis facing America: the jobs crisis.
• Emergency jobs are created for two years, to provide time to get the economy back up and running.
• Emergency jobs will meet critical needs to make American communities stronger.
• Costs $227 billion, divided between fiscal years 2012 and 2013.
• Can be fully paid for through separate legislation such as Rep. Schakowsky's Fairness in Taxation Act, which creates higher tax brackets for millionaires and billionaires, eliminating subsidies for Big Oil, and eliminating tax loopholes for corporations that ship American jobs overseas.
• In appropriate programs, includes preferences for hiring unemployed workers (including "99ers" and veterans), distribution formulas that target need, and protections for new and existing workers.

School Improvement Corps — Creates 400,000 construction and 250,000 maintenance jobs by funding positions created by public school districts to do needed school rehabilitation improvements. ($100 billion)

Park Improvement Corps — Creates 100,000 jobs for youth between the ages of 16 and 25 through new funding for the Public Lands Corps Act. Conservation projects on public lands include restoration and rehabilitation of natural, cultural, historic, archaeological, recreational and scenic resources. ($500 million)

Student Jobs Corps — Creates 250,000 more part-time, work study jobs for eligible college students through new funding for the Federal Work Study Program. ($850 million)

Neighborhood Heroes Corps —

• Teachers: Funding for states to hire, re-hire, and prevent lay-offs of 300,000 teachers. ($40 billion)
• Cops: New funding to hire 40,000 police officers. ($10 billion)
• Firefighters: New funding to hire 12,000 firefighters. ($2.4 billion)

Health Corps - Grants to hire at least 40,000 health care providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and health care workers to expand access in underserved rural and urban areas. ($8 billion)

Community Corps — Creation of a new Community Corps that will create 750,000 jobs to do needed work in our communities, including energy efficiency upgrades, recycling and reclamation of reusable materials, addressing blight, including foreclosure and disaster-affected areas, rural conservation work, public property maintenance, housing rehabilitation, and new affordable housing construction. ($60 billion)

Child Development Corps — Creates 100,000 jobs in early childhood development through additional funding for Early Head Start. ($6 billion)

###