Title
Condemning the Trump Administration for cutting federal funding to Job Corps programs and shuttering Job Corps facilities and centers across the U.S.
Body
WHEREAS, Founded in 1964 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, Job Corps is a program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young people ages 16 to 24; and
WHEREAS, Job Corps was created to combat youth unemployment by providing opportunities for participants to learn basic skills and conduct service projects across the country. Job Corps applicants are screened for eligibility, and progress through three stages of the program: career preparation, career development, and career transition; and
WHEREAS, While other Johnson Administration proposals were still in incubation, the work of the Job Corps Task Force under President John F. Kennedy allowed for a blueprint for the program that allowed Johnson to roll it out quickly, allowing Job Corps to become a centerpiece of the War on Poverty. Despite drawing the ire of conservative Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, the program has enjoyed bipartisan Congressional support for decades; and
WHEREAS, There are a total of 99 Job Corps centers spread across six regional offices, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. There are three Job Corps centers in Pennsylvania. The program has trained and education over 2 million Americans since its inception, including iconic heavyweight boxing champion “Big” George Foreman; and
WHEREAS, In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a phased pause in operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide following an internal review of the program by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This decision has been met with bipartisan pushback, as Job Corps has been a critical program for educating low-income youth; and
WHEREAS, Job Corps has helped thousands of young people in Philadelphia, and tens of thousands across Pennsylvania, including homeless youth, This decision by the Trump Administration will be devastating to thousands of young Philadelphians for no reason. The Trump Administration should immediately reverse its decision and support the efforts of the Department of Labor to provide opportunities to young Americans who want to acquire skills that make them productive American citizens and workers; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby condemns the Trump Administration for cutting federal funding to Job Corps programs and shuttering Job Corps facilities and centers across the U.S.
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