Daines cosponsors bipartisan bill to keep forest service job training centers operating

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce legislation that would block the Trump administration from removing funds for Job Corps training programsfor eligible participants aged 16-24 years.

Sen. Daines on June 5 cosponsoredthe Job Corps Protection Act, S. 1736, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to prohibit the transfer of operations and closure of Forest Service Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs), according to the congressional record.

“Montana’s CCC programs help create jobs and support our rural communities,” Sen. Daines said on Wednesday. “Not only do they help drive our local economy, they support young Montanans with invaluable training in important fields including wildland firefighting and the trades.”

The Trump administration in May announced that it would close nine Job Corps CCCs and also unveiled a plan to privatize the program by transferring 16 CCCs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the U.S. Department of Labor.

If enacted, S. 1736 would prevent the administration from using federal funds in 2019 or 2020 to close any Job Corps CCCs in the United States and would prohibit any federal agency from altering agreements that operate the facilities to prevent them from being privatized, according to a summary provided by the lawmakers.

Sen. Daines also recently convinced President Donald Trump to maintain 250 jobs in Montana by retaining operations at the Anaconda Job Corps CCC.

According to the senator’s staff, Trump decided to keep the training center open after speaking directly with Sen. Daines on June 1 when he stressed that the Anaconda, Mont., center is one of the nation’s top-ranked, tuition-free training and education programs connecting eligible individuals with career skills and educational opportunities.