[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[1. Investing in Education and Training]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
V. PREPARING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
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1. INVESTING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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Americans want the best for our children. We want them to live out their
dreams, empowered with the tools they need to make the most of their lives
and to build a future where America remains the world's beacon of hope and
freedom and opportunity. To do this, we must all make improving the quality
of education in America one of our highest priorities.
President Clinton September 1997
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In today's fast-paced, increasingly competitive world economy, the
most successful Americans are those with the skills to compete, making
education more and more vital for all Americans. Tomorrow's workers face
an even greater challenge. As technological innovations change the very
nature of work, employers will demand even more highly skilled and
flexible workers. The best-paying jobs increasingly will go only to
those with education and training beyond high school.
For the most part, our Nation places responsibility for education and
training on State and local governments, families and individuals, and
the private sector. Nevertheless, the Federal Government plays a crucial
role in supporting education and training, from pre-school through
adulthood.
Over the last five years, the President has worked hard to expand
Federal support in ways that help families, communities, and States
ensure that every boy and girl is prepared to make the best use of
education; that the education system enables every child to learn to his
or her potential; that those who need resources to pay for postsecondary
education and training can get them; that those who need a second chance
at education and training, or a chance to improve or learn skills
throughout their working lives, can get those opportunities; and that
States and communities that receive Federal funds can use them more
flexibly, with fewer regulations and less paperwork.
The budget proposes to significantly increase funding to help
children, especially children in the poorest communities, reach
challenging academic standards, and it proposes to make further progress
in implementing voluntary national tests. At the same time, the budget
proposes major new initiatives to help families and caregivers more
effectively begin children's education; to help high-poverty, low-
achieving school districts carry out reforms and hold schools
accountable for improving student achievement; to raise the rate of
school construction and renovation; to fund 4,000 school- and community-
based sites for before- and after-school programs for children; to
reduce class size by paying for 100,000 new teachers over the next seven
years; to expand public school choice; to improve reading and
mathematics achievement; and to improve the quality of teaching and the
use of technology.
To ensure that Americans get the post-secondary education and training
they need to succeed at work, the budget proposes to increase Pell
Grants and other college scholarship awards; to expand College Work-
Study to a record one million students; to streamline student loan
programs and cut student fees; to continue implementing the Welfare-To-
Work program; and to expand access to job placement services, training,
and related services for dislocated workers and others. In addition, the
budget proposes new initiatives to help colleges, high schools, and
middle schools provide continuous mentoring and other services to
encourage students
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in high-poverty areas to stay in school and prepare for college; to
explain the benefits of college and the availability of Federal student
aid to students and their families; and to provide intensive help to
jobless youth in high-poverty areas (see Table 1-1).
Elementary and Secondary Education
Federal programs help all children, especially those in high-poverty
areas, achieve all they can. The budget increases support for most
ongoing programs, and proposes new programs with substantial resources
to supplement them. (For information on Head Start and other important
education-related programs for young children, see Chapter 2,
``Supporting Working Families.'')
Voluntary National Tests: The President has proposed tests--in fourth
grade reading and eighth grade mathematics--with which parents and
schools can evaluate their students' achievement against challenging
standards of performance, and against the achievements of children
across the country and the world. The budget proposes $16 million to
further develop the tests, which the States would administer.
New Teachers and Smaller Class Sizes: Soaring school enrollments have
caused severe teacher shortages and classroom overcrowding. The budget
provides $7.3 billion over five years to help States reduce class size
in the early grades by recruiting and training teachers to teach
effectively in small-class settings. Research in Tennessee and Indiana
shows that reducing class size to 15-18 students in the early grades
improves student achievement, particularly among low-income and minority
students in inner cities.
Teacher Recruitment and Preparation: The budget provides $67 million,
and $350 million over five years, to help improve the quality of teacher
preparation programs at colleges and universities and address shortages
of well-prepared teachers, particularly in urban and rural schools. In
1999, the proposal would fund 12 partnerships of exemplary teaching
colleges and universities, urban and rural schools, and subsidiary
colleges and universities with teaching programs. It also would fund at
least 7,000 scholarships in 1999, and 35,000 over five years, to help
recruit and retain teachers for urban and rural schools.
Education Opportunity Zones: Most school districts with children who
are the furthest away from reaching challenging academic standards serve
the poorest communities. The budget proposes new resources to help these
districts if they adopt tough reforms to hold schools accountable for
improving quality, expanding public school choice, ending social
promotion, and showing real improvements in student achievement. About
50 high-poverty, low-achieving, urban and rural school districts would
receive funds for at least three years, and schools that show
significant learning gains could get funds for two more. The budget
proposes $200 million for the initiative, and $1.5 billion over five
years.
School Construction: A third of all schools across the country, with
14 million students, have one or more buildings that need extensive
repair, according to the General Accounting Office. School districts
also face the cost of upgrading schools to accommodate computers and
modern technology, and of constructing new classrooms and schools to
meet expected record enrollment levels over the next decade. The
President proposes $5 billion in tax incentives over five years, and
more than $10 billion over 10 years, to help States and school districts
accelerate the pace of new construction or renovation projects. States
and school districts will be able to leverage the Federal investment by
amounts that are even greater.
Education Technology: In February 1996, the President challenged the
public and private sectors to work together to ensure that all children
are technologically literate by the dawn of the 21st Century, and that
schools take full advantage of the benefits of technology in raising
student achievement. Achieving this goal will require progress in four
areas: connecting every classroom to the Internet; expanding access to
multimedia computers; increasing the availability of high-quality
educational software and content; and ensuring that teachers can teach
effectively using technology.
The budget supports the following major programs that help achieve
these goals, with a new focus on technology training for teachers, so
that all new teachers entering the
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Table 1-1. THE BUDGET INCREASES RESOURCES FOR MAJOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS BY $11.6 BILLION, OR 32 PERCENT OVER 1998, AND BY A TOTAL INCREASE
OVER 1993 OF 81 PERCENT
(Dollar amounts in millions)
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Dollar Percent
1993 1998 1999 Change: Change:
Actual Estimate Proposed 1998 to 1993 to
1999 1999
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TAX EXPENDITURES:
Hope Scholarships Credit............................................................................... ....... 205 4,160 +3,955 NA
Lifetime Learning Credit............................................................................... ....... 115 2,550 +2,435 NA
School Construction.................................................................................... ....... ........ 215 +215 NA
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (Targeted Jobs Tax Credit in 1993)......................................... 160 280 406 +126 +154%
Welfare/Jobs Tax Credit................................................................................ ....... 10 41 +31 NA
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Total, tax expenditures.............................................................................. 160 610 7,372 +6,762 +4,508%
MANDATORY OUTLAYS:
Welfare-to-Work Grants................................................................................. ....... 466 1,299 +833 NA
Early Learning Fund (see Chapter 2).................................................................... ....... ........ 372 +372 NA
RECEIPTS FROM TOBACCO LEGISLATION:
Class Size Reduction................................................................................... ....... ........ 1,100 +1,100 NA
DISCRETIONARY BUDGET AUTHORITY:
Pre-School (see Chapter 2):
Head Start........................................................................................... 2,776 4,355 4,660 +305 +68%
Elementary and Secondary Education:
America Reads Challenge:
Department of Education............................................................................ ....... ........ 260 +260 NA
Corporation for National and Community Service..................................................... ....... 64 153 +89 NA
Goals 2000........................................................................................... ....... 491 501 +10 NA
Education Opportunity Zones.......................................................................... ....... ........ 200 +200 NA
Education Technology................................................................................. 23 584 721 +137 +3,035%
Title I--Education for the Disadvantaged............................................................. 6,709 8,022 8,496 +474 +27%
Eisenhower Professional Development.................................................................. 289 335 335 ....... +16%
Teacher Recruitment and Preparation.................................................................. ....... ........ 65 +65 NA
Special Education.................................................................................... 2,966 4,811 4,846 +35 +63%
Bilingual and Immigrant Education.................................................................... 213 354 387 +33 +82%
Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities........................................................... 582 556 606 +50 +4%
Charter Schools...................................................................................... ....... 80 100 +20 NA
After-School Learning Centers........................................................................ ....... 40 200 +160 NA
Postsecondary Aid:
Pell Grants.......................................................................................... 6,372 7,345 7,594 +249 +19%
College Work-Study................................................................................... 617 830 900 +70 +46%
Other Campus-based Aid............................................................................... 764 779 709 -70 -7%
Early Awareness Information Campaign................................................................. ....... ........ 15 +15 NA
Work Force Development:
Learning Anytime, Anywhere Partnerships (Education and Labor Departments)............................ ....... ........ 40 +40 NA
Opportunity Areas for Out-of-School Youth............................................................ ....... ........ 250 +250 NA
Vocational Education................................................................................. 1,170 1,147 1,150 +3 -2%
Adult Education...................................................................................... 305 361 394 +33 +29%
Veterans Employment Services and Training............................................................ 167 164 264 +100 +58%
School-to-Work (Education and Labor Departments)..................................................... ....... 400 250 -150 NA
Job Corps............................................................................................ 966 1,246 1,308 +62 +35%
JTPA Low-income Adult Training....................................................................... 1,015 955 1,000 +45 -1%
JTPA Dislocated Worker Assistance.................................................................... 517 1,351 1,451 +100 +181%
Employment Service and One-Stop Centers.............................................................. 895 974 964 -10 +8%
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Total, budget authority............................................................................ 26,346 35,244 37,819 +2,575 +44%
TOTAL RESOURCES (tax expenditures; receipts; mandatory outlays; and budget authority).................. 25,506 36,320 47,962 +11,642 +81%
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STUDENT LOANS (face value of loans issued):
Direct loans........................................................................................... ....... 11,204 12,002 +798 +100%
Guaranteed loans....................................................................................... 16,089 20,461 21,932 +1,471 +36%
Consolidation loans.................................................................................... 1,540 6,574 6,116 -458 +297%
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Total, student loans................................................................................. 17,629 38,239 40,050 +1,811 +127%
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
Discretionary Budget Authority......................................................................... 23,694 29,559 31,156 +1,597 +31%
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NA = Not applicable.
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work force can use technology effectively in the classroom, and that
there is at least one teacher who can serve as a technology expert in
every school to help other teachers use technology.
Technology Literacy Challenge Fund: In 1996, the President
committed to securing $2 billion over five years to support
education technology goals. Through this Fund, States receive
formula grants for buying hardware, connecting to the
Internet, training teachers, and developing and buying high-
quality software. Through 1998, the Fund has received $625
million and, for 1999, the budget proposes another $475
million. In 1999, the Administration will encourage States to
spend at least 30 percent of the Fund on teacher training in
technology use.
Technology Innovation Challenge Grants: The budget proposes
$106 million for this program, which awards competitive
matching funds to partnerships between schools and the private
sector to implement innovative applications of educational
technology.
Technology Training for Teachers: The budget provides $75
million for new grants to States, teacher colleges, and others
to help ensure that all new teachers can use technology
effectively.
Community Computer Centers: The budget proposes $10 million
to help establish computer centers in low-income communities
so that families that cannot afford to buy computers at home
still have access to the technology, and their children will
not fall behind classmates with home computers. These centers
can help low-income families gain access to on-line job
databases and distance learning opportunities.
America Reads: Last year, the President launched the America Reads
Challenge, a multi-faceted effort to help States and communities ensure
that all children can read well and independently by the end of third
grade. The budget provides $260 million for the Education Department to
help train reading tutors and coordinate after-school, weekend, and
summer reading programs that are linked to in-school instruction; help
train teachers to teach reading; and help parents help children prepare
to learn to read. The budget also proposes a $89 million increase, to
$153 million, for the Corporation for National and Community Service to
recruit America Reads tutors through its AmeriCorps and related
programs. Responding to the President's challenge, 838 colleges have
pledged to use tens of thousands of federally-financed work-study
positions for tutoring programs.
Mathematics Initiative: The Third International Mathematics and
Science Study revealed that while the Nation's fourth grade students are
performing above average in mathematics, eighth graders are performing
below average. In response, the President asked the Education Department
and the National Science Foundation to develop an initiative to help
students meet challenging mathematics standards in the eighth grade. The
budget proposes $37 million for this initiative, which will improve
mathematics teaching through better teacher preparation and the use of
effective instructional materials and technology.
Goals 2000: Enacted in 1994, Goals 2000 helps States set high
standards for all children, and plan and implement steps to raise
educational achievement. It builds on the National Education Goals,
first articulated by the Nation's governors (led by then-Governor
Clinton) and President Bush in 1989, which provide national targets but
encourage States to develop their own means to achieve them. The budget
provides $501 million for Goals 2000 (in which every State
participates), $10 million more than the 1998 level.
Charter Schools: Charter schools introduce variety and choice into the
public school system. Parents, teachers, and communities create the
schools, and States free them from most rules and regulations. Charter
schools now number over 700, and some are already producing higher
student test scores and lower drop-out rates. The budget proposes $100
million for public charter schools, a $20 million increase over the 1998
level, to fund start-up costs for 1,300 to 1,500 schools and continue
progress toward the President's goal of 3,000 charter schools by 2001.
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Title I--Education for the Disadvantaged: Title I provides funds to
raise the educational achievement of disadvantaged children. In 1994,
the President proposed, and Congress adopted, legislation to focus Title
I resources more on low-income children, to set the same high standards
for those children as for all others, to hold schools accountable for
progress toward achieving those standards, and to give States and
schools greater flexibility in using Title I funds. The budget provides
$8.5 billion, six percent more than in 1998, including $7.8 billion for
grants with which school districts can provide educational services to
over 10 million children in poor communities.
Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration: This program, which
Congress enacted last year, will help nearly 3,500 schools Nation-wide
implement effective, research-based school improvement models. The
budget proposes $150 million for these demonstrations in high-poverty
schools, a $30 million increase, and $25 million for similar
demonstrations in other schools.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities: Since 1993, this program
has provided a total of $3.1 billion to help 97 percent of all school
districts implement anti-drug and anti-violence programs. The budget
proposes $556 million, including $125 million in competitive grants for
projects that use proven program designs in high-need areas. The budget
also proposes $50 million for a new School Drug Prevention Coordinators
program to ensure that half of all middle schools have a director of
drug and violence prevention programs to monitor local programs and link
school-based programs to community-based programs.
Special Education: Last year, the President signed into law amendments
to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to help States
improve educational results for children with disabilities by holding
States accountable for performance and focusing resources on teaching
and learning. The budget provides $4.8 billion for IDEA, including an
increase of $20 million for the Infants and Families program and an
increase of $10 million to expand State Improvement Grants to reach 35
to 40 States.
Postsecondary Education and Training
High school is the first key step to a good job. But it is only a
first step. Those with more years of schooling consistently earn more
over their working careers than those with only a high school degree.
The cost of higher education can be imposing to many families, but
Federal support through Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, Hope
Scholarship credits, Lifetime Learning Credits, other tax benefits, and
other programs now make college affordable for every American. The
budget proposes to help even more young people go to college and to
teach all families about the full range of Federal aid.
College Preparation and Attendance: The budget proposes a new $140
million initiative to help increase college participation among low-
income students. It also proposes a $15 million College and Financial
Aid Information program--a Nation-wide information campaign on the
benefits of higher education and the availability of Federal resources.
Hope Scholarship Credits and Lifetime Learning Credits: Last year, the
President proposed, and Congress enacted, new tax benefits for
postsecondary education for low- and middle-income families. With Hope
Scholarships, students in the first two years of college or other
eligible postsecondary training can get a tax credit of up to $1,500 for
tuition and fees. In 1999, an estimated 5.5 million students will
receive $4.2 billion in tax credits. Under the Lifetime Learning Credit,
students beyond the first two years of college, or those taking classes
part-time to improve or upgrade their job skills, will receive a 20-
percent tax credit for the first $5,000 of tuition and fees each year
through 2002, and a 20-percent credit for the first $10,000 thereafter.
In 1999, an estimated 7.2 million students will receive $2.5 billion in
tax credits.
Pell Grants: The President proposes to raise the maximum Pell Grant
award by $100, to $3,100--the highest ever--to reach 3.9 million low-
and middle-income undergraduates. The budget provides $7.6 billion for
Pell Grants, a $249 million increase over the 1998 level. In addition,
in its reauthorization proposals for 2000, the Administration will
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Investing in the Special Needs of Hispanic Americans
The education of Hispanic Americans requires special attention. Their high school drop-out rate, for example, is
unacceptably high. Due in part to 1994 improvements in the way that children with limited English proficiency
are served, Latinos now receive 32 percent of services under Title I (the largest elementary and secondary
program), more than any other minority group. On top of other efforts to boost funding for programs that serve
disadvantaged students, the budget targets funding to programs that show particular promise in addressing these
needs. The funding increases include:
$30 million, to a total of $150 million, for Comprehensive School
Reform in high-poverty schools, providing grants for research-proven reform
efforts to schools that have low achievement and high drop-out rates;
$25 million, to $50 million, for Bilingual Education Professional
Development, giving teachers the skills they need to help their students learn
English and meet challenging academic standards;
$53 million, to $583 million, for the TRIO programs that work with low-
income high school and college students to encourage them to complete high
school and attend, and graduate from, college;
$16 million, to $28 million, for assistance for colleges and
universities that serve large numbers of Hispanic students;
$5 million, to $15 million, for the High School Equivalency Program
for migrants and the College Assistance Migrant Program;
$33 million, to $394 million, for Adult Education to expand services
and improve English as a Second Language programs by identifying and
disseminating proven and promising practices;
$50 million, to $355 million, for Title I-Migrant Education, which
provides additional educational assistance to migrant children; and
$5 million for a Labor Department demonstration program to develop new
training, and work and learning opportunities to help young migrant farm
workers qualify for other job opportunities with career potential.
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propose to expand Pell Grants to reach more low-income independent
students and others.
Work-Study: In 1996, the President committed to expanding the Work-
Study program to one million students by the year 2000. The budget
reaches the goal one year early. In 1999, one million needy students
would earn their work-study awards by helping their schools or
surrounding communities. The budget provides $900 million--the highest
level ever--a $70 million increase over the 1998 level.
Student Loans: An estimated 6.2 million people will borrow $40 billion
through the Federal student loan programs in 1999. The Administration
proposes to improve financial incentives in the Federal Family Education
Loan program, which guarantees commercial loans through intermediaries
known as guaranty agencies, and ensure continued innovation in the
Direct Loan program, which provides capital directly to schools and
students. The budget proposes to streamline the Government-guaranty
system, to save money for students and families, and to improve services
to both schools and borrowers.
A new interest rate structure for student loans, scheduled to take
effect on July 1, 1998, may prompt some lenders in the Government-
guaranteed loan system to withdraw rather than accept lower revenues.
The Administration plans to work with Congress on a rate structure that
ensures that students continue to enjoy access to loans but that still
limits student costs.
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Improving Student Loan Programs
The budget proposes reforms in both the direct and guaranteed student loan programs that will benefit students,
taxpayers, and schools, as outlined below.
Providing More Benefits to Students
Cut origination fees on new loans to students and parents to three
percent, from four percent.
Phase out origination fees for needy students.
Require lenders to offer flexible repayment terms to borrowers.
Streamlining the Government-Guaranteed Loan System
Establish performance agreements with guaranty agencies, with
compensation tied to the amount and quality of work they perform.
Recapture unneeded Federal funds held by guaranty agencies.
Improving Loan Management
Ensure that both loan programs use private industry best practices,
such as electronic loan origination and access on the Internet to loan balance
information, to improve customer service, minimize defaults, and improve loan
servicing.
Standardize processes and data formats as much as possible in both
Federal loan programs to increase efficiency and lower costs.
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Innovations for Access and Retention among Low-Income Students,
Especially Minorities: Although the Federal Government provides
significant resources to finance higher education for everyone who needs
the help, some groups of Americans, especially some minorities, still
attend college at lower rates than others and drop out at higher rates.
The budget provides $20 million for rigorously designed experiments to
determine how to promote greater college attendance and completion among
these groups.
Learning Anytime, Anywhere Partnerships: The budget proposes $40
million ($30 million in the Education Department, $10 million in the
Labor Department) to enhance and promote distance learning opportunities
(i.e., learning outside the usual classroom settings, via computers and
other technology) for all adult learners. In Education, the program
would fund partnerships among educational institutions, software
developers, subject matter specialists, and private employers to develop
new means of delivering distance learning, and of assessing competencies
of distance learners. In Labor, the program would support information
for job seekers, employers, and workers on the skills required for
various occupations, and the training needed and available to acquire
them.
Work Force Development
With college now affordable to every American through the broad array
of Federal assistance, the Administration seeks to ensure that every
adult has access to employment and training services. Adults who lose
jobs and need new jobs or new skills to get those jobs, adults who are
seeking jobs for the first time, or adults who want new skills to
advance or change their careers need a broad array of financial and
program supports--especially as workers strive to succeed in the fast-
changing new economy.
To the extent that adults need resources for traditional education and
certain job training, the major postsecondary programs (described
earlier in this chapter) cover most of their need. All adults can get
loan assistance to finance postsecondary degrees or certificates; all
low-income adults seeking undergraduate degrees can get Pell Grants; and
all low- and middle-income adults can get tax credits for job training
and post-secondary education expenses under the Hope Scholarship and
Lifetime Learning Credits.
In addition, all adults working in jobs covered by the Unemployment
Insurance system are eligible, in accord with State laws, for income
support when they lose jobs.
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Many of them are also eligible for other income support if they lose
jobs for specific reasons, such as the impact of certain trade policy.
All adults can get job search assistance through One-Stop Career
Centers, an Administration initiative of the last five years that has
greatly improved the core Employment Service system and greatly improved
employment services and job and labor market information. Adults also
have increasingly greater access to job information through the Internet
and will have still greater opportunities through the Learning Anytime,
Anywhere Partnerships described earlier in this chapter. Nevertheless,
the system for adults is not yet complete.
The budget proposes to build on the initiatives, enacted in 1997, that
began the process of ensuring that State unemployment insurance funds
will be sufficiently solvent in case of an economic downturn. The budget
also proposes to improve the mechanisms to supplement regular
unemployment insurance with Extended Benefits when individual States
experience economic downturns.
Since 1993, the President has worked with Congress to more than double
funding for dislocated worker training and employment assistance and is
proposing major new investments in the employment and training needs of
veterans. But, many adults need more than financial help for training or
income support when they are between jobs. The system of programmatic
support for these adults is primarily represented by the Job Training
Partnership Act (JTPA), including its Dislocated Worker and Adult
training programs. The Administration continues to believe that it is
critical to restructure and streamline Federal work force programs so
they can better serve workers and those who want to work. The
Administration first proposed comprehensive reform in its 1995 GI Bill
for America's Workers, and it is working closely with Congress to
fashion major reform and streamlining of job training programs,
vocational education, and adult education programs.
The Administration is committed to improve the system for adults so
that, in time, all adults will be able to afford, and have access to,
the training and job placement and related services they need. The
budget proposes to make further progress toward this goal through the
work force development proposals described below.
Dislocated Worker Training: The budget proposes $1.5 billion,
an increase of $100 million and nearly three times the amount
available when the President took office, to provide
readjustment services, job search assistance, training, and
related services to help dislocated workers find new jobs as
quickly as possible. Among the workers assisted by the
program, and the proposed increase, are those displaced by
trade and related causes.
Low-Income Adult Training: The budget proposes $1 billion, an
increase of $45 million, for the JTPA program that provides
training for disadvantaged and low-income unemployed adults,
including welfare recipients.
Welfare-To-Work: To help reach the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families program's employment goal for welfare
recipients, the Administration sought, and Congress provided,
additional targeted funds for a new Labor Department welfare-
to-work grants program. It will provide a total of $3 billion
in 1998 and 1999 for formula and competitive grants to States
and local communities to give long-term welfare recipients the
job placement services, transitional employment, and job
retention and support services they need to achieve economic
self-sufficiency.
Adult Education: This program helps almost four million
educationally disadvantaged adults, including welfare
recipients and immigrants, develop basic skills (including
literacy), achieve their certification of high school
equivalency, and learn English. The budget proposes $394
million, an increase of $33 million over the 1998 level.
One-Stop Employment Service: The budget proposes $817 million
for grants to the State Employment Service system, and $147
million to complete the initial development of the One-Stop
Career Center system and to continue building America's Labor
Market Information System. By the
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end of 1999, all States will have received grants to implement
One-Stop systems that streamline re-employment and career
development activities by improving access to services for job
seekers and employers.
Unemployment Insurance: Experienced workers who lose their
jobs generally are eligible for up to 26 weeks of unemployment
benefits. Although benefits vary by State, the average benefit
Nation-wide is nearly $200 a week. An estimated 8.3 million
people will draw benefits in 1999. To make the system even
more secure, the Administration will propose legislation in
1999 that will strengthen the unemployment insurance safety
net so that benefits are available in the event of a
recession, improve State administrative operations, and make
the standby Extended Benefits program more responsive to State
unemployment.
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA): The budget includes
several proposals to carry out the President's commitment to
help trade-impacted workers by providing better access to
training and income support: extending the TAA and NAFTA-
Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) programs for
five years; expanding eligibility for TAA benefits to cover
workers who lose jobs when plants or production shifts abroad;
raising the statutory cap on training expenses; making
training and income support more consistent across the TAA and
NAFTA-TAA programs; and adding a contingency provision to
ensure that the Federal Government has sufficient funds to
finance any unexpected increase in benefit costs for eligible
workers. The budget proposes to increase TAA programs by $737
million over five years.
Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) and Veterans Training and
Employment: Over 400,000 veterans and reservists will receive
education benefits under the MGIB Active-Duty program, which
helps service members readjust to civilian life after military
service, and the MGIB Reservist program. The budget proposes a
20-percent benefit rate increase for MGIB trainees--the most
significant increase since the program's inception--raising
the Active-Duty MGIB benefit to over $500 a month in 1999 for
full-time enrollment, most of which is in colleges. Along with
the MGIB benefit increase, for which the budget provides $1
billion over five years, the budget also proposes an increase
of $100 million, and $500 million over five years, to expand
the Labor Department's veterans employment and training
programs.
Youth Programs: While continuing to improve the education of young
people and eliminate financial barriers to postsecondary education and
training for all, the budget continues support for State development of
school-to-work systems and for Labor Department programs to help
disadvantaged youth prepare for careers.
School-to-Work: Funded and administered by the Education and
Labor Departments, this initiative makes competitive awards to
States and communities to build comprehensive systems that
help young people move from high school to careers or
postsecondary training and education. School-to-Work supports
school reforms and ties between schools and employers,
enabling young people to prepare for high-skill, high-wage
careers; receive top-quality academic and occupational
training; and pursue more postsecondary education or training.
The budget proposes $250 million, $150 million less than the
1998 level, reflecting the gradual sunsetting of the program
as States implement and sustain their own systems.
Youth Opportunity Areas: Recognizing the special problems of
out-of-school youth, especially in inner-cities and other
areas where jobless rates can top 50 percent, the budget
includes $250 million for competitive grants to selected high-
poverty urban and rural areas with major youth unemployment
problems. The Labor Department will award funds to those high-
poverty areas, including federally-designated Empowerment
Zones and Enterprise Communities, that submit applications
showing that they have the best chance of substantially
increasing employment among out-of-school youth. These
``seed'' funds will leverage State, local, and pri
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vate resources to employ youth in private sector jobs with
good career opportunities. (For more information on
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities, see Chapter 8,
``Strengthening the American Community.'')
Summer and Year-Round Youth Employment and Training: The
summer jobs program gives hundreds of thousands of urban and
rural disadvantaged youth their first work experience. The
budget provides $871 million to finance 530,000 job
opportunities for the summer of 1999, assuming that localities
spend this flexible funding entirely on summer jobs. The
budget also includes $130 million for the year-round program
to help low-income youth--many of them in families on public
assistance--who have dropped out of school, or are at risk of
doing so, return to school or alternative learning programs.
The budget would continue to permit local service delivery
areas that receive both types of these funds to shift
resources between the summer and year-round programs, as local
needs dictate.
Job Corps: The Job Corps provides intensive, work-related
vocational skills training, integrated with academic and
social education, and support services to severely
disadvantaged young people in a structured residential
setting. The budget proposes $1.3 billion, an increase of $62
million over the 1998 level, to open three to five new
centers, fund opportunities for 70,000 young people, and
maintain progress on quality improvements begun in 1998.
Child Labor Abuses
Responding to growing concern for the working conditions of children
all over the world, the budget proposes $89 million to address the
issue. Along with the proposed $50 million increase for Title I--Migrant
Education, described earlier in this chapter, the budget proposes $39
million for a two-pronged attack on domestic and international child
labor abuses.
International Child Labor Activities: The budget proposes a $27
million increase, to $30 million, for the Labor Department to enable the
International Labor Organization's International Programme to Eliminate
Child Labor to expand its work into more countries and industries. The
proposed five-year, $150 million investment will help ensure that goods
produced abroad for the U.S. market are not made with illegal child
labor. The budget also proposes $3 million to enable the Customs Service
to enforce the law banning the import of goods made with forced or
bonded child labor.
Domestic Child Labor Activities: The budget proposes $9 million for
the Labor Department, including $4 million to help eliminate domestic
violations of child labor laws, particularly in the agriculture sector,
and $5 million for demonstration programs to provide alternatives to
field work for migrant youth.
Education and Employment for People with Disabilities
The budget proposes to maintain or increase most programs for people
with disabilities, providing, for instance, a 16-percent increase for
certain activities that enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act. The
Administration will continue to press Congress to enact its proposal to
help more people leave the disability rolls to return to work. In
addition, the budget includes $2.4 million for an initiative to develop
new policies to reduce barriers to employment for people with
disabilities.