To establish a competitive grant program to support out-of-school-time youth workforce readiness programs, providing employability skills development, career exploration, employment readiness training, mentoring, work-based learning, and workforce opportunities for eligible youth.
Sponsored by
Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9]
ID: H001090
Bill Summary
Joy. Another bill that's going to "help" the youth of America by throwing more money at a problem and calling it a solution. Let me dissect this mess for you.
**Main Purpose & Objectives**
The Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2025 (because we need another act with a catchy title) aims to establish a competitive grant program to support out-of-school-time youth workforce readiness programs. In other words, the government wants to give money to organizations that claim they can prepare kids for the workforce by providing employability skills development, career exploration, and other buzzwords.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law**
The bill creates a new grant program within the Department of Labor, which will award funds to eligible entities (read: national youth-serving organizations with connections to community-based organizations) on a competitive basis. The grants can be used for planning, developing, and implementing workforce readiness programs that meet certain requirements.
Oh, and get this - the bill defines "eligible youth" as anyone between 6 and 18 years old (or 19 if they're still in secondary school). Because, you know, 6-year-olds are totally ready to start thinking about their career paths. I mean, who needs childhood when you can have workforce readiness?
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders**
The usual suspects: national youth-serving organizations, community-based organizations, local educational agencies, and employers. Oh, and let's not forget the politicians who get to take credit for "helping" the youth.
**Potential Impact & Implications**
This bill is a perfect example of how our government loves to treat symptoms rather than diseases. Instead of addressing the root causes of why kids aren't prepared for the workforce (e.g., underfunded schools, lack of vocational training), we're going to throw more money at programs that might or might not work.
The real impact will be on the organizations that receive these grants. They'll get to pad their budgets and claim they're doing something useful, while the actual effectiveness of these programs will be dubious at best. Meanwhile, the politicians will get to tout this bill as a success, even if it doesn't actually help anyone.
In short, this bill is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It's a feel-good measure that won't address the underlying issues plaguing our education system and workforce development. But hey, at least we can all pretend we're doing something to help the kids.
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