After a busy week in Washington, here is an update from The Weekly Wrap, a recap of the legislative week in Congress and highlights of my work.
Last week, I joined Senator Chris Murphy for a tele-town hall on the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act. Also, the House passed the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Businesses Act, legislation to provide additional funding to businesses hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. I introduced a bill to help young, dislocated workers, called the YouthBuild for the Future Act. Additionally, the House Committee on Education and Labor, held a markup of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), legislation to improve the American workforce system. I had the privilege of attending the Senate confirmation vote of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, I joined Senator Chris Murphy for a tele-town hall on the bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a historic investment in Connecticut infrastructure. The funding coming to our state will improve roads, highways, bridges, and protect the environment.
Recently, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) announced $11.4 million for the replacement of diesel buses with electric alternatives. Additionally, because of the $5 billion-dollar investment that I fought for in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – including $250 million for mass transit and highways – Connecticut has an updated 5-year infrastructure plan.
This legislation will bring high paying jobs, protect the environment, and improve the lives of Connecticut families.
Relief for Restaurants and Businesses
Small businesses are still dealing with the impacts of the concurrent health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are in dire need of additional relief.
On Thursday, the House passed the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Businesses Act. This legislation provides an additional $60 billion for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), established by the American Rescue Plan. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund provided $28.6 billion to nearly 101,000 restaurants in communities across the country. However, in Connecticut, only 38% of restaurants who applied for Restaurant Revitalization Funds actually received funding. No less concerning, 90,000 restaurants have been forced to close their doors due to the challenges presented by the pandemic.
The Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Businesses Act will ensure restaurants, other small businesses, and their workers have the resources they need to remain open.
Additional information on this legislation is available here.
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and Labor marked up the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), legislation to bolster our nation’s workforce development system and put Americans back to work. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is the bedrock of support for national workforce development efforts – especially for students, dislocated workers, and underserved communities.
I am thrilled that my bill, the YouthBuild for the Future Act, is included in this package. This bill makes a variety of crucial improvements to YouthBuild, a community-based pre-apprenticeship program which provides job training and educational opportunities for at-risk youth who are neither in school or employed. Specifically, the legislation authorizes $1 billion in funding for YouthBuild over 6 years to ensure young people can reach their full potential and strengthen the economy.
The WIOA reauthorization will allow the workforce system to serve one million workers per year by 2028.
To learn more about the reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, please click here.
Confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Last week we witnessed history as the United States Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court.
Judge Jackson will bring experience as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and Supreme Court Clerk. Associate Justice Brown Jackson will be the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.
This is a moment of great pride and patriotism for our nation.