Rep. Bresnahan, colleagues introduce legislation to incentivize workforce training
Apr. 22—WILKES-BARRE — U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr., on Tuesday said Northeastern Pennsylvania and the country are facing a skilled-workforce shortage, and businesses are in desperate need of those ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
"Work is not a dirty word," said Bresnahan, R-Dallas Township. "This is exactly why we should not punish taking advantage of learn-as-you-earn programs and forcing workers to choose between participation in proven SNAP E&T programs and being able to receive their nutrition benefits."
Bresnahan, along with U.S. Representatives Adriano Espaillat, D-New York; Max Miller, R-Ohio; and Alma Adams, D-North Carolina; have introduced the Training and Nutrition Stability Act.
Bresnahan said this bipartisan legislation will close a loophole stemming from the 2018 Farm Bill — which disincentivized participation in learn-as-you-earn job training programs, like apprenticeships, through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) program.
Through the 2018 Farm Bill, Bresnahan said Congress strengthened SNAP E&T by including paid on-the-job training as an allowable activity under the program. This included the addition of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships as eligible programs.
However, Bresnahan said the income earned through these programs is still counted for the purposes of calculating their SNAP eligibility. He said this increase in income can threaten their SNAP eligibility, and SNAP E&T in turn, forcing recipients to choose between pursuing this workforce training or keeping their food benefits in the short-term under SNAP.
As a former chairman of a IBEW JATC, Bresnahan said he is a strong supporter of expanding access to learn-as-you-earn apprenticeship programs to help build the 21st and 22nd century workforce. He recently spoke about the need for this legislation during a House Agriculture Committee hearing regarding SNAP and work.
Specifically, Bresnahan said the Training and Nutrition Stability Act would exclude income earned from SNAP E&T programs from the income considered for purposes of determining SNAP eligibility.
"Last year, after release, more than 8,000 motivated people chose to walk through CEO's front door," said Sam Schaeffer, CEO of the Center for Employment Opportunities. "It is a time of hope and renewal. SNAP is a key part of reentry, but many people's benefits are reduced once they begin a paid job training program."
Schaeffer said the Training and Nutrition Stability Act will help bridge the gap between workforce development and food security, allowing people to provide for their families and build a foundation for lasting independence. He said the bipartisan bill is primed to change many lives.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Emissions rollback: Bonta files 23rd lawsuit against Trump Administration
The Brief AG Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit on Thursday in response to the Trump Administration rolling back California's vehicle emission standards. This marks the 23rd lawsuit Bonta has filed against the administration since Trump began his second term. Trump's order is another move to ease emission standards and revive the auto and oil industries. OAKLAND, Calif. - California has 48% more electric vehicle chargers than it does gas nozzles, and a new lawsuit from the state Attorney General is fighting to keep it that way. Rob Bonta on Thursday filed his 23rd lawsuit against the Trump Administration, in response to a bill blocking a state law banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. It also offers less stringent regulations on tailpipe emissions. "We made a promise that if the president attempted to illegally interfere with our clean air standards, we'd hold him accountable in court," Bonta said in an interview announcing the lawsuit. "Today we are making good on that promise." What we know Trump was signing a bill passed under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to pass legislation overturning a rule issued by a federal agency. In this case, it allows for the undoing of tougher environmental protections granted to California under the 1970 Clean Air Act — protections put in place to help the state reduce severe air pollution. Renewable energy and lower or zero-emission vehicles have become part of that effort. Trump, in signing the bill, said he was "rescuing the U.S. auto industry from destruction by terminating the California electric vehicle mandate once and for all." The president called the state regulations "crazy," and said it's "been a disaster for this country." Bonta said Trump doesn't have the legal authority to "weaponize" the CRA against California, The U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, found that California's standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian agreed with that finding. It may not be so cut-and-dry, though. "What has gone through Congress is essentially the equivalent of legislation. And that, of course, can ordinarily supersede any sort of inconsistent prior legislation," Tseming Yang, a professor of environmental law at Santa Clara University, said in an interview with KTVU. Bonta filed his lawsuit in the Northern District Court of California. If his suit is unsuccessful, he can appeal to the federal appellate level. Legal experts say the case will likely work its way all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Big picture view California, which makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. auto market, has significant power to sway trends in the auto industry. About a dozen states signed on to adopt California's rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars. Trump has pledged to revive American auto manufacturing and boost oil and gas drilling. The CRA bill follows other steps his administration has taken to roll back rules that aim to protect air and water and reduce emissions that cause climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Dan Becker with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the signing of the resolution was "Trump's latest betrayal of democracy." "Signing this bill is a flagrant abuse of the law to reward Big Oil and Big Auto corporations at the expense of everyday people's health and their wallets," Becker said in a statement. California, which has some of the nation's worst air pollution, has for decades been able to seek waivers from the EPA, allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than those of the federal government. In his first term, Trump revoked California's ability to enforce its standards, but Democratic President Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again.
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. Announces Continued Enhancement of Intellectual Property Portfolio with Two Granted U.S. Patents and European Patent Application Allowance Regarding Company's...
Results in 18 Issued Patents and Allowed Patent Applications Internationally with Nine Total Patent Families SOUTH SAN FRANSCISCO, Calif., June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., (Nasdaq: CERO) ('CERo' or the 'Company') an innovative immunotherapy company seeking to advance the next generation of engineered T cell therapeutics that deploy phagocytic (i.e., target-cell eating) mechanisms alongside the array of built-in target cell destroying mechanisms used by T cells, announces two previously announced U.S. patent applications have been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and one European patent application has been allowed by the European Patent Office, all of which significantly expand the Company's intellectual property portfolio. The USPTO granted U.S. Patent No. 12,291,557, titled, 'CHIMERIC TIM4 RECEPTORS AND USES THEREOF' on May 6, 2025. The granted claims cover certain design aspects of CER-1236, the Company's lead compound. This patent provides composition of matter protection for a chimeric TIM4 receptor comprising a TIM4 binding domain and canonical T cell signaling domains. Additionally, the European Patent Office has allowed European Patent Application No. 1882166.7 titled, 'CHIMERIC ENGULFMENT RECEPTOR MOLECULES AND METHODS OF USE' on May 16, 2025. The allowed claims encompass a chimeric engulfment receptor comprising a TIM4 binding domain and TLR2 signaling domain. The allowance of this European patent application expands protection of additional design aspects of CER-1236, which have already been granted in the U.S., Japan, and China. Finally, the USPTO granted U.S. Patent No. 12,303,551, titled, 'CELLULAR IMMUNOTHERAPY COMPOSITIONS AND USES THEREOF,' on May 20, 2025. This patent provides coverage for combination cellular immunotherapy compositions and methods of use for CER-1236. The patent covers combination of a chimeric engulfment receptor CD4 + T cell (CD4 + CER-T cell) with a chimeric antigen receptor CD8 + T cell (CD8 + CAR-T cell) or T cell receptor CD8 + T cell (CD8 + TCR-T cell), and their use to treat cancer. This type of combination therapy could be an exciting avenue to complement the CER-T cell technology with other powerful anti-cancer therapies. CERo's intellectual property portfolio now includes 9 total patent families with protection out to 2042 in the United States. With these additional granted patents and allowed application, CER-1236 and its platform technology is supported by 18 total issued patents and allowed patent application internationally. Chris Ehrlich, CERo Therapeutics CEO, commented, 'We continue to aggressively expand our intellectual property portfolio, as it ensures CERo's success in the market. These patents protect the core innovations of the CER-T technology that differentiate it from other cell therapies and demonstrate the true novelty of our design . We continue to seek a robust range of patents across multiple geographies that cover this technology in general, and CER-1236 in particular. The appreciation of the novelty of the CER-T technology by the patent offices validates the innovation and therapeutic potential of this approach, and we believe that we will continue to grow the portfolio. In the near term, we anticipate updates on our clinical trial progress in AML, and the announcement of initiating human trials to treat ovarian and non-small cell lung cancers.' About CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. CERo is an innovative immunotherapy company advancing the development of next generation engineered T cell therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Its proprietary approach to T cell engineering, which enables it to integrate certain desirable characteristics of both innate and adaptive immunity into a single therapeutic construct, is designed to engage the body's full immune repertoire to achieve optimized cancer therapy. This novel cellular immunotherapy platform is expected to redirect patient-derived T cells to eliminate tumors by building in engulfment pathways that employ phagocytic mechanisms to destroy cancer cells, creating what CERo refers to as Chimeric Engulfment Receptor T cells ('CER-T'). CERo believes the differentiated activity of CER-T cells will afford them greater therapeutic application than currently approved chimeric antigen receptor ('CAR-T') cell therapy, as the use of CER-T may potentially span both hematological malignancies and solid tumors. CERo has commenced clinical trials for its lead product candidate CER-1236 for hematological malignancies. This communication contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements regarding the financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations of CERo. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements, and are not guarantees of performance. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this communication, words such as 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'might,' 'plan,' 'possible,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'project,' 'should,' 'strive,' 'would' and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. When CERo discusses its strategies or plans, it is making projections, forecasts or forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to, CERo's management. Actual results could differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements in this communication. Certain risks that could cause actual results to differ are set forth in CERo's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and the documents incorporated by reference therein. The risks described in CERo's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are not exhaustive. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all such risk factors, nor can CERo assess the impact of all such risk factors on its business, or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. You should not put undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements made by CERo or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. CERo undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why UK can leapfrog EU and US on crypto, according to Coinbase exec
More than two years after then-chancellor, and later UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak pledged to make the UK a "global crypto hub," the digital asset landscape has evolved rapidly. In an industry where two years can feel like a decade, has the UK managed to keep pace with global developments, or is it slipping behind? On the latest episode of Yahoo Finance Future Focus, Coinbase (COIN) UK's senior country director Keith Grose weighed in on the UK's crypto trajectory, and what the shift to a new Labour government could mean for the sector's future. 'Two years might be a long time in crypto,' Grose said, 'but that's not a long time in regulation world.' Despite the crypto industry's blistering pace, Grose said the UK is making meaningful progress. Just last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released long-awaited draft rules on stablecoins, cryptoasset custody, and exchange operations, steps Grose sees as significant milestones toward making the UK crypto-friendly. 'The whole crypto regime is being put into force this year,' he explained. 'The FCA is really moving quickly to make this a friendly place for crypto. They're very growth-focused.' Read more: Crypto live prices This comes at a time when other major markets, particularly the US, are dramatically stepping up their crypto efforts. The US Congress is debating multiple bipartisan bills, including the Stablecoin Act and the FIT21 crypto framework, while president Donald Trump has floated the idea of a national digital asset reserve. Still, Grose believes the UK has a unique advantage. With the EU's MiCA regulation taking effect and the US experimenting with various policy directions, Britain has a "third-mover advantage." 'We get to look at what's happening in Europe and the US,' he said. 'If the FCA is smart about how they're regulating, we can leapfrog some of the challenges others are facing.' One of the most exciting developments, Grose said, is the UK's move to regulate stablecoins, which are increasingly seen as a foundational piece of future payment infrastructure. 'We haven't seen a pound-backed stablecoin at scale yet in the UK, but it's coming,' Grose said. 'And when it does, it's going to be very exciting.' According to Grose, both the FCA and the Bank of England are working on a regulatory framework to support stablecoins as legitimate payment rails, signalling a broader shift toward crypto being embedded into the mainstream financial system. This could also be a strategic response to developments across the Atlantic, where US states are beginning to adopt strategic reserves of bitcoin, and where the idea of a federal crypto strategy is now on the table. 'You have Trump releasing executive orders, Congress working on regulation, and both the SEC and CFTC taking action. That's the full force of government,' Grose said. 'I'd love to see something like that here in the UK.' With the Labour government now in power, there's hope that regulatory momentum will continue, or even accelerate. While Labour hasn't yet laid out a comprehensive crypto strategy, Grose is optimistic that the UK's institutional machinery is aligned for progress. The key, he suggested, will be ensuring that crypto is not siloed within just one regulatory body, but instead becomes a whole-of-government priority, as is increasingly the case in the US. 'I think there's a lot happening behind the scenes, at the policy level, industry level, to make Rishi's original vision a reality. We're not there yet, but we're well on the way.' Read more: 6 crypto developments in 2025 that will keep fuelling bitcoin's rally Grose revealed that Coinbase has ramped up its operations, receiving its VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) registration, a license that makes Coinbase the largest authorised crypto firm in the UK. 'We've brought all of our UK users back in-house,' Grose said. 'We're now servicing them directly from our UK entity and can run our own financial promotions.' And that means more visibility for Coinbase in the UK market. While Grose didn't give away all the details, he hinted that something big is coming in early July, and that Londoners should keep an eye out for Coinbase's next move. 'You'll see the Coinbase brand more,' he said. 'And you'll see a lot of new products coming out of the UK.' Read more: Why pension funds are buying bitcoin What we know about Elon Musk's controversial blockchain vision for US How AI could change the internetError while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
