[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 12 (Wednesday, February 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                THE EXPANDED TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES ACT

                                 ______


                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 9, 1994

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Expanded 
Training Opportunities Act of 1994. This legislation will allow workers 
to get services under the Job Training Partnership Act [JTPA] prior to 
being laid off.
  Today, health care and welfare reform are hot topics, and they should 
be. However, I firmly believe we need to reform our job training 
assistance program. Our current system was designed decades ago to 
provide temporary income support for individuals who were laid off for 
short periods of time. Workers usually got their old jobs at the same 
plant back long before benefits expired. We didn't give much thought to 
intervening before people were put out of work.
  Unfortunately, this system just doesn't work in today's ever changing 
economy. An increasing number of people are joining the ranks of 
displaced workers, those employees who have lost their jobs and 
probably won't find a similar one in their area or any other. The 
statistics are alarming: in 1992 75 percent of laid-off workers were 
permanently laid off--this represents the highest annual figure since 
1967 when this category of workers was first tracked. Since the 1970's, 
the percentage of unemployed workers out of work for 6 months or longer 
has increased steadily from 11 to 16 percent in the 1990's. In fact, in 
1993 21 percent of the unemployed hadn't worked in at least 6 months, 
the second highest annual rate since World War II.
  These workers need access to job training and educational services to 
provide them with new skills demanded by today's economy. However, they 
can't access these services until they have been notified that the 
place they work will close or until they have been given a pink slip. 
This is far too late. The emotional and financial strain of losing 
one's job is exacerbated by confusion about how to take advantage of 
training and other services under JTPA. Workers should be able to learn 
about the services available and begin training or educational programs 
before they find themselves out on the street.
  Moreover, current law does not provide assistance to the countless 
employees who work for subcontractors, suppliers, and other businesses 
that are dependent on work from the larger business. In my State, 
countless subcontractors and small business have been, and will 
continue to be, adversely affected by massive layoffs at Electric Boat, 
Pratt and Whitney, and Aetna Life & Casualty. It is very likely that 
significant numbers of these workers will lose their jobs and require 
job search assistance or retraining services. It is essential that 
these employees also have access to services prior to losing their 
jobs.
  My bill would amend the Job Training Partnership Act to provide the 
range of JTPA services to workers in facilities that will close or 
experience significant layoffs prior to closure or formal notification 
of layoffs. It will also expand access to workers in other businesses 
that will be affected by the closure or layoffs. Moreover, the bill 
will authorize the Secretary of Labor to assist companies which are 
developing programs to retrain their existing skilled work force to 
make the business more competitive. This would allow companies to meet 
their needs in the future with workers who have proven productive over 
the years.
  Workers should have access to assistance before they find themselves 
without a job and under pressure on many fronts. We have a 
responsibility to cushion the blow of job loss, and this bill can help 
achieve this end. Furthermore, workers in businesses connected to those 
closing or laying off large numbers of workers should have access to 
these services as well. Reductions at one facility have ripple effects 
which we have to address. The American worker deserves as many options 
as possible prior to actually being unemployed. This bill helps provide 
some of these options and may very well reduce total unemployment 
because people could prepare for a new job prior to losing their 
existing one. This is beneficial to the worker and the economy. I urge 
my colleagues to support this important legislation.

                          ____________________