[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 27, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E463-E464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   JOB CORPS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                            HON. BOB FRANKS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 27, 1996

  Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing 
legislation to make the Job Corps safer for program participants and 
more cost-effective for taxpayers.
  I support the Job Corps and its important mission. But for too long, 
Congress has tolerated too much waste, fraud, and inefficiency in this 
program. The American taxpayer wants more accountability, and the young 
people that the Job Corps serves need to better prepare themselves for 
an increasingly competitive job market. My legislation targets these 
two goals.
  Job Corps was created more than three decades ago as part of 
President Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty. Presently, it is funded at 
over $1 billion a year, and it is the largest job training program for 
disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16 and 24.
  In 1994, a survey of Job Corps students showed that 68 percent of 
enrollees had two or more barriers to employment, including not having 
a high school diploma, lacking basic skills or having limited English 
proficiency. The program currently serves over 60,000 young adults in 
46 States.
  The original idea behind Job Corps was to give disadvantaged youths a 
hand up in order to avoid a lifetime of hand-outs. But as times have 
changed, so have the problems facing Job Corps students.
  And in too many instances the Federal Government has been too slow in 
adopting policies to adjust to changing times. Today many Job Corps 
students come from one parent homes in communities ravaged by crime, 
drugs, and violence--problems whose proportions could scarcely be 
imagined a generation ago.
  In order to maintain an environment within which young people can 
learn, the centerpiece of my bill institutes a zero tolerance policy 
for drugs, alcohol abuse, and violence in the Job Corps. I know the Job 
Corps bureaucracy has recently made strides in combating these 
scourges. But because violence, alcohol abuse and drugs are anathema to 
a productive learning environment, Job Corps students deserve a 
guarantee in law that these centers can be a sanctuary where students 
can live and learn without fear. My bill ensures that those who enter 
the Job Corps in order to learn can do so, and those who enter the 
program without that commitment will be weeded out before they disrupt 
those who are intent to learn new job skills.
  My bill also contains a provision requiring the Department of Labor 
to undertake an indepth, comprehensive review of the entire Job Corps 
program. The purpose of this review would be to ascertain what the Job 
Corps does well and where further improvement is needed. Such a review 
has not taken place since 1982, and hard data on how well the

[[Page E464]]

Job Corps is fulfilling its mission is largely unknown. For example, 
the Department of Labor estimates that the overall job placement rate 
for Job Corps graduates is 70 percent, but some centers have had rates 
as low as 20 percent for 5 consecutive years. Furthermore, a recent 
General Accounting Office study found that fully 15 percent of Job 
Corps' job placement verification procedures were invalid. That means 
that some Job Corps centers were reporting that their graduates were 
finding jobs, when in fact they were not.
  Reforms are needed to ensure that Job Corps enrollees obtain work 
upon graduation, and are not merely shuffled through the program. 
Considering that the average Job Corps student costs taxpayers $24,000 
to train, it is no longer acceptable to assess the performance of this 
program by collecting anecdotal evidence. The comprehensive Job Corps 
review called for under my legislation is closely modeled after a 
proposal offered by Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania that passed 
the Senate last October. It will give Congress and the Department of 
Labor credible statistics that will allow us to make informed judgments 
on how best to improve and strengthen this important job training 
program.
  My bill also limits the spending on the Job Corps bureaucracy to 13 
percent. Currently 18 percent, or over $180 million is spent on 
administering this program. That figure is too high, and indicates that 
efficiencies can be made within the bureaucracy to reduce costs. I want 
more money spent on students, not on bureaucrats. My bill would force 
the Department of Labor to examine Job Corps' overhead budget, find the 
waste and eliminate it.
  Today, there are 109 Job Corps centers throughout the country. In an 
effort to upgrade the performance of each of them, my bill would 
eliminate the 10 worst Job Corps centers in the Nation by the end of 
the century. At some Job Corps centers, the buildings and living 
quarters are in disrepair, the management is inept, the training that 
students receive is ineffective, and worst of all, violence and drugs 
are prevalent. Those centers need to be cleaned up or closed down, so 
the funds saved from their closure can be funneled to productive, well-
run centers.
  Job Corps is the most expensive Federal youth employment and training 
program. Despite the fact that Congress is consolidating nearly 100 
education and training programs into State block grants, funds for Job 
Corps are actually slated to increase. The reason Congress has retained 
this program is because it has demonstrated some meaningful success. 
Many people are unaware that Job Corps students who do complete their 
training are five times more likely to get a training-related job, and 
training-related jobs pay 25 percent higher wages. Moreover, employers 
who hire Job Corps graduates are generally satisfied with their Job 
Corps hires.
  My bill preserves what is right about Job Corps, and strengthens it 
for the future. It makes significant reforms to this program, with the 
promise of additional reform when the comprehensive performance review 
it calls for becomes available. The Federal Government's investment in 
this program is too great not to demand improvements, and the at-risk 
youths this program serves need what this program offers more than 
ever.
  Mr. Speaker, without the Job Corps, many of today's disadvantaged 
youth would be unskilled, unemployable, and without hope. When it is 
successful, the Job Corps breaks the cycle of despair and turns 
unfocused youths into productive citizens. I support an effective Job 
Corps, and I will continue to fight to improve this important program.

                          ____________________