[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 16, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        REEMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                        HON. RICHARD A. GEPHARDT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 1994

  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, now that President Clinton and the 
Democrats in Congress have reversed a dozen years of rampant Republican 
spending and borrowing--now that the deficit is down, and job creation 
is up--we must ensure that America's workers have the skills to fill 
those jobs. One of America's greatest challenges in this decade is 
helping our working people--the best and most talented in the world--t0 
change with the changing times.
  That's why I am pleased to join with so many of my colleagues in 
introducing the Reemployment Act of 1994. It's a bill that recognizes 
that today's unemployment system just isn't meeting today's needs. And 
it's a bill that recognizes that in a fast-moving economy such as ours, 
our unemployment and our job training programs have to be an economic 
thoroughfare--not a dead end.
  Today's unemployment system may tide people over, but it doesn't help 
them move forward--it doesn't help them gain the skills and tools they 
need to find new and better jobs.
  At the same time, the very nature of unemployment itself is in 
transformation. Due to structural changes in the American work force, 
the number of workers who are permanently laid-off is growing. And 
relatively unskilled workers are having a hard time finding new jobs, 
losing their stake in an increasingly advanced, high-skilled economy,
  We've got to reverse this dangerous slide. And we can't do that by 
simply mailing out more and more unemployment checks, and hoping that 
these workers stumble into new jobs. We've got to reach out, and help 
them build a better economic future. The President's Reemployment Act 
is an important way to start.
  It will make our job training and unemployment system more focused 
and more effective. It will offer real, long-term training to those who 
have lost their jobs. It will reward those who find work quickly, and 
give special assistance to those who don't. I believe it will make an 
important difference to the workers of America. And I hope that in 
future years we can make these systems even more effective.
  Of course, while we train our workers for the 21st century, we must 
also do more to create the high-wage, high-skill jobs they deserve and 
demand. But this bill is the first step. That's why I urge my 
colleagues to support it, and I urge all Americans to stand behind it.

                          ____________________