- Middle Class Working Families Task Force
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The Middle Class Working Families Task Force (MCWFTF) is a United States Federal Government initiative, established in 2009 via presidential memorandum. It was one of the earliest innovations of the Obama-Biden administration. Jared Bernstein was appointed the Executive Director, responsible for direct management of the project; while Vice-President Joseph Biden was appointed Chairman, with final oversight and responsibility for the work. The purpose of the task force is to empower the American middle class and to explore the vision and possibilities of green jobs. The Middle Class Working Families Task Force will be studying and recommending the most far-reaching and imaginative solutions to problems working families face; from the need for good jobs and the ability to keep their homes, to the availability of affordable health care and a quality education. [1]
Contents
Goals and Objectives
The specific goals of the Task Force are: the expansion of education and life-long training opportunities, the improvement of work-family balance, the restoration of labor standards, the protection of middle-class and working-class family incomes, and the protection of retirement security. The major early initiatives of the task force are the expansion of education and training opportunities and raising the living standards of middle-class working families in America. One other early focus of the task force is the expansion of "green job" opportunities as a vehicle to rebuild and strengthen the middle class and, at the same time, saving billions of dollars in energy costs. The reduction of the providing load on coal-fired power plants (reducing air pollution) and retro-fitting American homes and buildings to be fuel efficient should extend substantial energy savings to the entire middle class.
Transparent
The Task Force will operate in a transparent fashion, in an open, two-way dialogue directly with the American people or any interested party. Any materials from meetings or reports produced will be made available to the public. Chairman Biden announced the MCTF on January 30th, 2009 from the White House.
This Task Force will be an important vehicle to assess new and existing policies across the board and determine if they are helping or hurting the middle class. It is our charge to get the middle class – the backbone of this country – up and running again.[2]
Initial meetings
While the task force has been working since January, 2009 to highlight policies and practices to help improve the standard of living of the US middle-class, its first official meeting was on February 27th, 2009 in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania. The fourth was on May 26th, 2009 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, CO.
Roster
- Joseph Biden.................Chairman
- Jared Bernstein.........Executive Director
- Hilda Solis................Department of Labor
- Shaun Donovan.........Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Thomas Vilsack........Department of Agriculture
- Steven Chu...............Department of Energy
- Ron Kirk...................US Trade Representatives
- Arne Duncan.............Department of Education
Main participating departments & agencies
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) will play the convening and coordinating role to get agencies the help they need to identify and advance policies that will facilitate the continued growth of the energy efficiency sector, powered by private dollars.[3] Also participating are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, the Treasury, the General Services Administration, as well as the Directors of the National Economic Council. From the White House, the participants are the Office of Energy, Climate and Change, the Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality.
The planned benefit of these partnerships are: the leveraging of resources to connect workers to green career pathways and sustainable employment; advancing existing and future training and education programs; and helping to ensure employers have access to a qualified workforce for the projected green economy of the 21st century.[4]
green jobs
Green jobs, broadly defined as related to improving the environment, pay up to 20 percent more than other jobs, are more likely to be union jobs and are likelier to be held by men rather than women. The participation in the green job marketplace by minorities and city dwellers is considerably lower than in the standard marketplace.. Green jobs also are largely domestic jobs that cannot be shipped overseas. [5]
October, 2009
Vice President Biden unveiled Recovery Through Retrofit, a report that builds on the foundation laid in the Recovery Act to expand green job opportunities and boost energy savings by making homes more energy efficient.[6]
June 2009 meeting
June 23-Perrysburg, Ohio. Topic: Promoting Manufacturing in America.[7]
January 2010
The White House Task Force on the Middle Class announced several initiatives developed after a series of meetings during the past year with working families around the country and at the White House. The initiatives include:
- increasing the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for families making under $85,000 a year and a $1.6 billion increase in child care funding for families not yet a part of the middle class,
- limiting a graduate’s federal loan repayments to 10 percent of his or her income above a basic living allowance,
- initiating a system of workplace IRAs, requiring all employers to give the option for employees to enroll in a direct-deposit IRA,
- expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and enacting additional safeguards to protect retirement savings.
- expanding support for families balancing work with caring for elderly relatives. [8]
April 2010
The MCWFTF held a meeting at the University of Milwuakee-Wisconsin's Luber School of Business on the topic on Wall Street reform.[9]
Announcements
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced a user friendly FAFSA form that will make it easier to apply for financial aid. The FAFSA application will be streamlined with the IRS. The new version will increase access for hundreds of thousands of students who are eligible, but do not apply for aid. Simplifying the financial aid application is a policy that members of the Middle Class Task Force believe will help families benefit from important resources to cover the cost of college.[10]
References
- ^ http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/8062/
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/strongmiddleclass/
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Middle_Class_Task_Force_Green_Jobs_Update.pdf
- ^ http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr09-074.cfm
- ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/25/politics/100days/energy/main4829207.shtml
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Vice-President-Biden-Unveils-Report-Focused-on-Expanding-Green-Jobs-And-Energy-Savings-For-Middle-Class-Families/
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Middle-Class-Task-Force-Meeting-Promoting-Manufacturing-in-America/
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/25/today-s-task-force-meeting-easing-burdens-middle-class
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/04/28/why-wall-street-reform-matters-middle-class
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Blogging-to-the-Middle-Simplifying-Financial-Aid-Applications/
Bibliography
- Kornblut, Anne E. and Anthony Faiola (2009). "Biden to Lead Task Force on Issues of the Middle Class". The Washington Post. January 31.
- Sweet, Lynn (2009). "Biden to lead White House task force on the middle class." Chicago Sun-Times. January 30.
- Staff writers (2009). "Obama Creates Working Families Task Force". Political Affairs Magazine. January 31.
- White House (2009). Press Release: Vice President Biden announces Middle Class Task Force. January 30th, 2009 at 10:00 am.
External links
Categories:- Government of the United States
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