Tester to Introduce Legislation Blocking Trump Administration from Closing Anaconda and Trapper Creek Job Corps

Senator urges Montana workers and employers to share their Job Corps stories, vows to continue fighting ‘reckless, gutless decision’

(Big Sandy, Mont.) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today doubled down on his efforts to save Montana’s Job Corps programs by introducing legislation that prevents the closure or transfer of the Anaconda and Trapper Creek Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers.

Tester’s bill comes less than a week after the Trump Administration announced a plan to close the Anaconda Job Corps and effectively privatize the Trapper Creek Job Corps by ending its partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“This reckless, gutless decision to close and undermine Montana’s Job Corps programs is dangerous to our state and our rural economy,” Tester said. “That is why we have to act, and I urge folks on both sides of the aisle to get behind my bill to save the Anaconda and Trapper Creek Job Corps from the chopping block.”

Tester today also launched a portal on his website to encourage employers and workers who have utilized these Job Corps programs to share their story, and join the fight to save these successful job training initiatives.

Many Montana businesses hire Job Corps graduates each year to fill the growing demand for skilled labor in the state, including Montana Precision Products in Butte.

“We can’t allow these critical programs to be shutdown, privatized, or repurposed,” said Mike Robbins, a Butte native and co-owner of Montana Precision Products. “Our young people, our businesses, and our country have too much to lose.”

“The Anaconda Job Corps changed my life,” said Zoe Hough, a 2018 Anaconda Job Corps graduate. “The Job Corps teaches young people more than how to get a job, but how to build a career.”

Tester’s bill will block the Trump Administration from using government funds in 2019 or 2020 to close any Job Corps in the United States. The bill will also prohibit any federal government agency from making changes to agreements that operate Job Corps facilities-preventing them from being privatized.

Last week, Tester sent a letter to Trump Administration officials urging them to reverse course on the decision to undermine Montana’s Job Corps programs.

Workers and employers can submit their Job Corps stories HERE.