Opportunity Youth Inquiry in Senate Budget Hearing

On June 15th, the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget request for the Department of Labor.

In the hearing, Senator Murray raised important questions about how to re-engage Opportunity Youth with the Honorable Martin J. Walsh, Secretary of the Department of Labor. His response emphasized that we not only need to look at ways to connect young people to jobs, but actively identify young people who can benefit from these programs.

As the Reconnecting Youth Campaign, we agree that these are both important elements of any effort to re-engage the more than 9 million Opportunity Youth in the United States, and appreciate Senator Murray raising this critical issue in the hearing.

Watch the exchange below from 1:32:20-1:35:05