2025 House Resolution 127

Whereas, The Job Corps is a federally funded residential career training program that has been around for more than 60 years, helping disadvantaged young people ages 16 to 24 to finish high school and obtain gainful employment. Established in 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Job Corps has been one of the most successful federal workforce development programs in our nation’s history. For over six decades, it has prepared millions of young Americans—particularly those from low-income or disconnected backgrounds—for careers that offer economic stability and upward mobility; and

Whereas, Nationwide, about 25,000 youths are currently enrolled across 99 contract-operated Job Corps centers. The most recent detailed analysis of Job Corps participation from 2023 showed that 760 students from Michigan were enrolled in the program, with 321 in Detroit, 231 in Flint, and 208 in Grand Rapids; and

Whereas, Throughout Job Corps’ history, disadvantaged youth in Michigan have been given a second chance at becoming productive citizens through training programs in healthcare, construction, and technology. The Detroit Job Corps Center, specifically, has also provided wraparound services, including mental health support and housing, ensuring that young Detroiters have the resources they need to succeed; and

Whereas, On May 29th, the United States Department of Labor announced that all operations at Job Corps locations would pause by June 30, 2025. Despite being labeled merely as a “phased pause in operations,” Job Corps participants across Michigan were reportedly instructed to leave centers immediately. For example, on May 30, just one day after the announced pause, all 217 program participants living at the Detroit Job Corps Center were reportedly told that it was their last day at the center and that they would have to make arrangements to leave immediately. The youth were given garbage bags to collect all of their belongings and were walked out of the building; and

Whereas, The sudden, rash decision to dismantle this lifeline to employment and empowerment for Detroit youth is tragic and miscalculated. At this time, the disruption and shutting down of the Detroit Job Corps Center have reportedly already thrust at least six of the 217 youth into homelessness, forcing them into various shelters around the city; and

Whereas, Defunding the Job Corps program unravels decades of investment in both our country’s future and in the futures of the people who are committed to building it. The consequences of this decision will be long-lasting; not only for the youth it serves, but for greater Detroit and the surrounding communities that rely on their skills and contributions; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the United States Department of Labor to reverse its decision to pause operations at Job Corps centers across the country and specifically in Detroit; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the United States Department of Labor.