[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 20 (Wednesday, March 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1347-S1348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER:
  S. 1709. A bill to authorize the Secretary of Labor to provide 
assistance to States for the implementation of enhanced pre-vocational 
training programs, in order to improve the likelihood of enabling 
welfare recipients to make transitions from public assistance to 
employment, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Labor and Human 
Resources.


         the job preparation and retention training act of 1998

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to introduce 
vocational training legislation, entitled the ``Job Preparation and 
Retention Training Act of 1998,'' which is designed to respond to the 
need for pre-vocational training assistance to enable welfare 
recipients to make the transition from public assistance to work.
  I believe that the historic 1996 welfare reform law will serve the 
American people well by ending systemic dependence and creating a 
program that emphasizes employment--gainful and permanent employment--
by giving the States greater flexibility in administering their 
programs. We are already hearing about the rise in employment rates and 
the substantial drops in State welfare rolls.
  While many Americans have effectively made the transition from 
welfare to work, a need exists for skills training to enable many of 
the individuals who have been long-term welfare recipients to make 
transitions into unsubsidized employment that provides career potential 
and enables the individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
  Mr. President, as Chairman of the Senate Labor, Health and Human 
Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, I believe that it 
would be worthwhile to recognize the need for pre-vocational training, 
a type of training that is not formally offered by the U.S. Department 
of Labor.
  Current Federal law does not adequately address the tremendously 
negative effect of unfavorable environmental and cultural factors on 
the ability of such individuals to obtain and retain gainful 
employment.
  I believe that a Federal commitment to the development of pre-
vocational training programs should focus on: improving the job 
readiness of individuals who are welfare recipients and preparing the 
individual psychologically and attitudinally for employment.
  The bill I am introducing today would authorize funding for States to 
enroll chronic welfare dependents into a training program which would 
provide the necessary skills to locate and maintain employment. The 
Secretary of Labor would award States grants on

[[Page S1348]]

a competitive basis for use in teaching individuals to fulfill 
workplace responsibilities such as punctuality, literacy, 
communication, and other survival skills. Once an adult has completed 
this short period of training, he or she would be prepared to get the 
most out of their job training and unsubsidized employment 
opportunities. The $50 million authorization would be provided for each 
of the next two years. The sunset will provide a chance to determine 
the program's efficacy. Further, training funds would be limited to no 
more than $1,200 per individual, which I am advised is a realistic cost 
of skills training and job placement programs.
  Many community-based organizations across the country have already 
recognized this need and are providing pre-vocational training. In this 
limited context, we have found that prevocational trainees have fared 
much better in the economy. I am advised that one such community-based 
organization, the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, 
Inc., has found that the average hourly wage of trainees prior to pre-
vocational training was $3.70, not even a minimum wage. After receiving 
pre-vocational training, these same participants started earning an 
average of $8.00 an hour. Further, pre-vocational training resulted in 
an 85% placement rate into better-paying jobs.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in sponsoring this legislation. 
This bill is intended to enhance welfare reform and it does not tamper 
with the positive changes in existing law, such as the five-year time 
limit. Simply, I am asking for continued federal involvement in ending 
generational welfare.
                                 ______