WASHINGTON, July 10 — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Rep. Becca Balint (Vt.-AL) today sent a letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to release more than $300 million in congressionally-appropriated funding for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) currently held up by the Trump administration. 

“Since 1965, SCSEP has provided low-income, older adults with job-training and essential skills so they can continue contributing to their communities. As a result, seniors not only engage in community service, but also strengthen their own financial stability and improve their quality of life,” wrote Sanders, Welch and Balint. 

Congress appropriated $405 million in SCSEP funding for 75 state and national grantees, including for Associates for Training and Development based in Vermont. Together, these organizations help tens of thousands of low-income seniors put food on the table, heat and cool their homes and pay for their medications. However, the Labor Department has yet to release the vast majority of this year’s funding as required by law, threatening the ability of many of these organizations to keep seniors employed and already leading to job cuts. 

“In our state of Vermont, over 50 seniors have been furloughed as a result of your decision to withhold funds. Not only are these seniors losing wages needed to pay their bills, but losing valuable training time that is impeding their ability to re-enter the workforce,” concluded the Vermont delegation. “Your department has a legal and moral obligation to release this funding and ensure no further harm is done to SCSEP grantees and the seniors they serve. We urge you to immediately release SCSEP funds to the national grantees across the country.”

Read the letter here.