[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 23, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: March 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. METZENBAUM (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Simon, Mr. Pell,
Mr. Dodd, Mr. Wofford, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Ford, Mr. Daschle,
Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Moseley-Braun, and Ms. Mikulski):
S. 1964. A bill entitled the Reemployment and Retraining Act.
the reemployment and retraining act
Mr. METZENBAUM. Mr. President, today I am introducing the
Reemployment and Retraining Act of 1994, an initiative proposed by the
Clinton administration to revitalize assistance to dislocated workers.
Our economy is finally emerging from a long recession. In the first
year of the Clinton administration, almost 2 million jobs were created
in the private sector. This is encouraging news, but for the 8.5
million Americans still looking for work, this is little consolation.
No matter how much the economy improves, their old jobs are gone for
good. In 1993 we saw the highest percentage of permanent job loss ever
recorded by the Department of Labor--75 percent of all laid-off workers
will never return to their former jobs.
For years unemployment has been concentrated in the manufacturing
sector due to increased global competition and overseas plant
relocation. But job loss is no longer the exclusive problem of these
blue collar workers. Tens of thousands of white-collar jobs have been
eliminated in downsizing efforts by large companies, a trend that is
likely to continue even in an expanding economy.
Workers in both sectors have been affected by the increasing use of
part-time and temporary workers. Often these contingent jobs are the
only jobs out there, even for experienced, skilled professionals--jobs
with lower pay, fewer benefits, and no security.
The business community claims that this is unavoidable in an era of
global competition. But as companies trim their payrolls and plants
close their doors in the name of competitiveness, more and more workers
are left to face the difficult task of finding new jobs and new
careers.
We must do more to help workers meet the challenges of our changing
economy. Business and labor must work together to create high wage
jobs. We must also ensure that workers have the information and skills
necessary to find new and better jobs.
In the past, we have tried to assist dislocated workers with programs
targeted at specific groups affected by trade agreements, defense
reductions, and other government actions. In fact, I was the author of
the dislocated worker provisions in the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988. Unfortunately, this multi-program approach
has left too many dislocated workers out in the cold, Dislocated worker
programs serve approximately 600,000 workers each year, but that is
only about one-third of the dislocated worker population. We can, and
we must, do better.
When workers come to the government for help, they are confronted
with a confusing maze of forms, eligibility requirements, and lengthy
processing periods. The assistance available to these workers is often
inadequate. Too frequently, local program offices lack the necessary
information to help workers make informed decisions about career and
training choices and do not have the funds to enable workers to retrain
for better jobs. Budget cuts in dislocated worker programs during the
1980's have left the dislocated worker program a well-intentioned, but
mostly unfulfilled promise.
In addition, the success of these programs is dependent upon early
intervention, which is possible only when workers and local communities
receive advance notice of layoffs. But our Federal notice law has
substantial problems in terms of coverage, compliance and enforcement.
We must address these problems if our dislocated worker programs are to
succeed.
In sum, American workers deserve a better chance at a fresh start.
That is why today I am introducing the Reemployment and Retraining
Act of 1994, an initiative proposed by President Clinton and Secretary
of Labor Robert Reich. The reemployment and retraining act aims to
restructure existing dislocated worker programs into one comprehensive
system that will serve all permanently laid-off workers. By
consolidating these programs, access to assistance will be easier for
workers and the department can sponsor a broader array of services.
The bill will require State and local governments to establish a
network of career centers that will provide a single point of access to
job search assistance, career counseling, skills assessment and
referral to job training. A new labor market information system will
provide dislocated workers with up-to-date information on job openings
and labor market trends. These services will be available to all
permanently laid-off workers, without any consideration as to why they
lost their jobs.
Workers who need retraining will receive $4,750 per year for training
expenses and will be able to select a training program based on
consumer performance information, such as placement rates and graduate
earnings. For workers who have 1 to 3 years tenure with their previous
employer, income support for up to 1 year will be available while they
are enrolled in a training program.
In addition, the Reemployment and Retraining Act encourages States to
go one step further by establishing one-stop centers that would expand
these services to assist not only dislocated workers, but all job
seekers.
The Reemployment and Retraining Act will increase funding for
dislocated workers' assistance by $1 billion a year. This is a bottom
line investment that will help revitalize programs that have long been
underfunded. Our workforce is this country's greatest resource and we
should spend whatever amount is necessary to provide workers with
needed jobs and job skills.
The Reemployment and Retraining Act is a good and important first
step toward putting Americans back to work, preferably in high skill,
high wage jobs. I intend to hold a series of hearings, with the full
participation of the job training community, to evaluate what has
worked and what has not worked in the past 6 years of program
experience. I look forward to working with my colleagues and with the
administration to develop this legislation into a strong and successful
reform of our job training programs.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is an honor to join Senator Metzenbaum
in introducing the Reemployment and Retraining Act of 1994. This
legislation, which was developed by the Clinton administration after
extensive consultation with key leaders around the country, addresses
an issue of critical importance to our economic future: The need for an
effective system to ensure that workers who are bearing the brunt of
the rapid structural changes in the economy get the services they need
to enable them to secure new jobs at decent wages.
We have all heard the encouraging news about the increasing pace of
economic recovery. Unemployment is down, production and productivity
are up, and nearly 2 million new jobs have been created in just the
last 13 months. The administration's economic program and deficit
reduction strategy are clearly producing results.
But these positive signs of recovery exist side by side with other
compelling data that tell us that for working Americans, the landscape
is still bleak. Wages are stagnant--and in some sectors still falling.
Large companies continue to downsize, shedding workers at a record
pace. Long-term unemployment--the percent of unemployed
workers who have been out of work for more than 6 months--remains at a
postwar high. And more than three out of every four workers who lost
their jobs last year were permanently--not temporarily--laid off.
Even those who were fortunate enough to keep their jobs and standard
of living through the last recession remain deeply concerned about
their economic future. According to recent polls, large percentages of
employed Americans have very real fears that they too will lose their
jobs or be forced to take pay cuts in the foreseeable future.
As Labor Secretary Reich testified last week at a hearing by the
Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, we cannot, and must not,
accept a status quo in which large numbers of working Americans are
left behind as the economy moves ahead. That is why it is so important
to use our best efforts to ensure that working Americans have the
skills, the services, and the information they need to participate in
the benefits of economic recovery.
The evidence is strong that skill is one of the most significant
factors in determining who is benefiting and who is being hurt by the
changes in the economy. The earnings gap between those with a college
education or other technical training and those without it is steadily
increasing. Jobs for relatively unskilled or semiskilled workers that
pay good wages and provide decent benefits are disappearing. Workers
who once held those jobs and have lost them often find themselves with
no other choice than to accept low-paying, unskilled work at a fraction
of their former wages.
The legislation which we are introducing today is designed to address
that challenge by replacing our current fragmented system of Federal
assistance programs for dislocated workers with a single, comprehensive
system that moves quickly to identify unemployed workers who are not
going to get their old jobs back, and provide them with a range of
services to prepare for new jobs that pay decent wages.
In place of the six separate existing programs for dislocated
workers--two for workers affected by trade agreements, two for workers
affected by defense cutbacks, one for workers affected by the Clear Air
Act, and a separate program for every one else--this legislation
creates a single program that will serve all workers who are
dislocated, regardless of the reason for their dislocation. That step
alone should save millions of dollars that are currently wasted each
year in duplicative administrative expenses and costly efforts to
determine whether a particular worker meets a particular program's
eligibility requirements.
Instead of requiring dislocated workers to travel from one office to
another to get information and receive the various services available
to them, the bill creates single-site career centers at which workers
can obtain a full range of services, including assistance in filing for
unemployment benefits, information about job openings and training
programs, and individualized counseling to assist them in developing
plans to get back to work.
Instead of a system in which workers are too often steered into
training programs that fail to fit their needs, the bill is designed to
allow workers to make their own choices from among programs offered by
a wide range of providers. These choices will be based on accurate and
up-to-date information on how well those programs are performing in
providing participants with marketable skills relevant to actual job
opportunities.
For most dislocated workers using the new system, services will focus
on providing accurate labor market information and job search
assistance. Such services have proved effective for workers who have
marketable skills but have difficulty in identifying and contacting
potential employers with job openings for which the workers would be
qualified.
For the 30 percent of dislocated workers who lack skills to find work
or whose skills are obsolete or no longer relevant to existing job
opportunities, the program will provide more intensive services,
including individual counseling to develop a re-employment plan and
assistance in identifying and enrolling in job training programs.
Participants enrolled in qualified education and training programs will
be eligible to receive up to $4,760 per year in tuition assistance.
Participants will receive training and education services from a wide
variety of public and private providers, including community colleges.
However, those providers will be required to furnish objective
information on their graduation and placement rates and other
performance factors, so that participants can make informed choices
about whether to enroll in particular programs, and to ensure that
Federal dollars are not used to subsidize fly-by-night or other
ineffective programs.
The administration's proposal which we are introducing today is the
product of extensive consultations that have been ongoing since early
last year. Hundreds of interested groups have participated in the
consultation process, and the administration's proposal takes account
of many of the comments received. This consultation process has
produced broad support for the administration's approach from business
and labor groups, state and local government officials, and the
provider community.
Because the proposal is complex, we anticipate a full airing of the
proposal in the Labor and Human Resources Committee. Last week's
hearing, at which Secretary Reich testified, was the first of a series
of hearings we will be holding on the bill. We look forward to the
active participation of all interested parties as the bill moves
forward through the committee. Other aspects of the administration's
proposal will be considered by the Senate Finance Committee, including
the important reforms of income support for the unemployed. I look
forward to working with the members of that committee and with other
Senators to achieve the comprehensive reform that is needed.
______
By Mr. McCAIN:
S.J. Res. 175. A joint resolution to designate the week beginning
June 13, 1994, as ``National Parkinson Disease Awareness Week''; to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
NATIONAL PARKINSON DISEASE AWARENESS WEEK
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today it is my pleasure to
introduce legislation which designates the week beginning June 13,
1994, as ``National Parkinson Disease Awareness Week.'' I am proud to
be sponsoring this important resolution which is dedicated to
developing a better understanding of Parkinson's disease by promoting
and sponsoring discussions, mutual sharing and support groups for
patients as well as their families throughout our Nation.
Also included in this important week will be educational forums and
medical symposiums which will help stimulate further medical research
into this disease. Since there is no cure for this disease, we must
improve biomedical research to determine the causes of this disease,
effective treatment methodologies, and one day a cure.
Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the nervous system which affects
more than 1,500,000 people throughout our Nation. I am personally aware
of the effects of Parkinson's disease, as I have watched my very good
friend and one of this country's most respected elected officials,
Congressman Mo Udall, valiantly battle the effects of this disease.
Mr. President, I think we can all agree that this measure is in the
best interest of this Nation and will play a vital role in the fight
against Parkinson's disease. I hope that my colleagues will join me in
working together to pass this joint resolution and ensure that National
Parkinson Disease Awareness Week is a success in promoting public
awareness and the fight against this disease.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the joint resolution and
a letter from the American Parkinson Disease Awareness Association be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S.J. Res. 175
Whereas Parkinson's Disease is a chronic neurologic,
crippling disorder of the nervous system; and
Whereas Parkinson's Disease affects more than 1,500,000
people of all ages in the United States and millions more
around the world; and
Whereas no cure is available at this time, but extensive
research in laboratories throughout the world has led to
improved treatment in alleviating symptoms while searching
for a cure; and
Whereas Parkinson support groups, chapters, and information
and referral centers across America are dedicated to
developing understanding of this disease and community
awareness of Parkinson's Disease by promoting discussions,
mutual sharing, and support among patients and family members
and by sponsoring educational and medical symposiums that
help stimulate research: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the week
beginning June 13, is hereby designated as ``National
Parkinson's Disease Awareness Week.'' The President is
authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon
the people of the United States to observe that week with
appropriate ceremonies and activities.
____
The American Parkinson Disease
Association, Inc.,
Washington, DC, March 23, 1994.
Hon. John McCain,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator McCain: The American Parkinson Disease
Association and the more than 1 million people who suffer
from Parkinson's Disease thank you for sponsoring legislation
that would establish the week of June 13, 1994 as National
Parkinson Disease Awareness Week.
As you know, Parkinson's Disease is a long term
debilitating neurological disorder which unfortunately, has
no cure. Several national organizations are dedicated to
developing a greater understanding of Parkinson's Disease by
funding research, sponsoring educational programs and medical
symposiums, and raising public awareness. Until there is a
cure for Parkinson's Disease, our work will continue.
Establishing National Parkinson Disease Awareness Week will
help focus national attention on the important need for
Parkinson's Disease research and greater public awareness
while we all work toward the ultimate goal--a cure for
Parkinson's Disease.
Thank You.
Sincerely,
Paul C. Smedberg.
____________________