[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 13, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E339-E340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AFTERMATH OF THE MARC TRAIN CRASH; HONORING THE CREW AND THE JOB CORPS

                                 ______


                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 13, 1996

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, a few short weeks ago, many Americans were 
shocked by the loss of life in the Amtrak/Maryland Commuter Rail [MARC] 
railroad tragedy. Among those who died were eight outstanding young 
people who were turning their lives around: Dante Swain, 18, Baltimore; 
Michael Woodson, 26, Philadelphia; Diana Hanvichid, 17, Woodbridge, 
Virginia; Lakeisha Marshall, 17, Capitol Heights, Maryland; Carlos 
Byrd, 17, Baltimore; Claudius Kessoon, 20, Landover, Maryland; Thomas 
Loatman, 23, Vienna, Virginia; and Karis Rudder, 17, Elmhurst, New 
York. Three fine MARC train crew members also died while heroically 
trying to save the passengers instead of themselves: Richard Orr, James 
Quillen, James Majors, all of Maryland.
  The young people were enrolled in the Job Corps at the time of their 
deaths. They were participants in one of the oldest and most successful 
Federal programs that gives at-risk youth a chance to build positive 
lives for themselves. They were striving to create the kind of lives 
that the MARC train crew members had made for themselves--responsible, 
productive, and hard working. The ideals of the Job Corps represent the 
dreams of these young people and the lives of the MARC train crewmen.
  The Job Corps was born in 1964, during the Great Society of Lyndon 
Johnson. It is one of that era's most productive and effective 
offspring. As the Nation's largest and most comprehensive residential 
job training and education program for at-risk youth, the Job Corps has 
provided more than 1.6 million disadvantaged youth with a pathway to 
prosperity and productivity. Some Job Corps graduates have become 
millionaires, Ph.D.s, judges, psychologists--even a World Heavyweight 
Boxing champion [George Foreman].
  The Job Corps was established as a public-private partnership. Under 
a contract with the U.S. Department of Labor, private industry operates 
almost 80 percent of the Job Corps centers. The remaining centers are 
managed through contracts with such Government agencies as the Forest 
Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park 
Service.
  Job Corps students are young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who 
are making a determined effort to achieve a productive, responsible 
life. Job Corps statistics show that their determination pays off: 
Seven out of ten

[[Page E340]]

Job Corps students go on to full-time employment, enlistment in the 
military, or further education at the college level.

  The return on the financial investment in the Job Corps brings 
impressive results. A 1983 study showed that the Job Corps yields a 46-
percent return to society on every dollar invested in it. The average 
cost per Job Corps student is $15,426 over a 7.5 month period--the 
average length of stay--This translates into $67 per student per day. 
The cost-benefit ratio of the Job Corps is dramatic when you compare 
this expenditure to the yearly per student cost at a public 
university--$17,246--or the average cost to incarcerate a juvenile for 
1 year--$38,000--or the cost per cadet for 1 year at the U.S. Military 
Academy at West Point--$62,250--.
  The young people who perished were students at the Harpers Ferry Job 
Corps site in West Virginia. It is one of 110 centers nationwide, 
including Puerto Rico, where approximately 60,000 young people are 
turning their lives around. A residential center, the Harpers Ferry Job 
Corps Center, provides basic education and the chance to earn a high 
school equivalency degree, training in life skills, as well as medical 
services and vocational counseling. The 210 students enrolled there are 
preparing to enter the construction trades, and business, clerical, and 
health occupations.
  The loss of the admirable young Harpers Ferry Job Corps members and 
the brave MARC train crew cannot be replaced. However, we can celebrate 
their hopes, dreams, and successes through the Job Corps.

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