[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 65 (Wednesday, May 20, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE ``COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT AND EMPLOYEE PROTECTION 
                                 ACT''

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TED STRICKLAND

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 20, 1998

  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation, 
along with my colleague Mr. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, which would 
guarantee that an amount equal to the tax windfall the federal 
government receives from the privatized United States Enrichment 
Corporation (USEC) would help to assist job creation and stimulate 
economic development in southern Ohio and western Kentucky. In the 
Energy Policy Act of 1992, the government-owned corporation USEC was 
created to assume responsibility for the Department of Energy's (DOE) 
uranium enrichment program. The 1992 Energy Policy Act not only 
transferred the Department's uranium enrichment program to USEC, but it 
also included a requirement that USEC prepare a strategic plan to 
privatize the corporation. On June 30, 1995, USEC issued its 
privatization plan. Today, that privatization plan is near completion 
and the transfer of this public asset will take place as soon as this 
summer.
  Back in the 1950's the Department of Energy's gaseous diffusion 
plants in Piketon, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky operated to supply 
enriched uranium for U.S. nuclear weapons and later for reactor fuel 
for nuclear submarines. Today, the Piketon and Paducah facilities 
provide an essential service in the production of fuel for commercial 
nuclear power plants operated by electric utilities. Unfortunately, the 
changes in DOE's mission have led to significant workforce reductions 
at the plant in southern Ohio, and this downsizing dramatically affects 
a region which has not experienced the unparalleled economic recovery 
so many other communities throughout the country have enjoyed. Under 
privatization, USEC intends to restructure its operation and there is a 
growing uncertainty about the security of existing jobs at the plant. 
Therefore, I believe the bill we are introducing today provides a 
reasonable approach to addressing the needs of the workers, their 
families and the communities of Ohio and Kentucky that supported our 
efforts during the Cold War.
  Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Energy's Worker and 
Community Transition Office to set up and manage a fund dedicated to 
improve economic security of the communities which depend on and 
support the operation of the two uranium enrichment plants located in 
Piketon, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky. The appropriation to this fund 
would be authorized at a level equal to the tax windfall received by 
the federal government from the privatized USEC. Under the management 
of DOE's Worker and Community Transition Office, the allocation of 
funds to the regions would be directly related to the economic distress 
factors in the local communities surrounding the facilities and could 
provide the resources necessary to improve the economic health in these 
regions. Those counties experiencing the highest unemployment rates 
would receive larger allocations than counties with unemployment rates 
closer to the state average unemployment rate. These financial 
resources would be used to help train displaced employees and market 
the region for future business opportunities. This dedicated fund would 
dissolve when the local unemployment rates of the affected counties 
reach the average unemployment rate of the respective states for a 
period equal to at least one year.
  While I recognize that downsizing at DOE facilities adversely affects 
local communities across the country, I doubt whether many of these 
communities have the pressing need that exists near the Piketon, Ohio 
plant. Recent unemployment statistics indicate that the average 
unemployment rate of the four counties surrounding the Piketon, Ohio 
plant is greater than 10%. The average unemployment rate in the state 
of Ohio is 4.3%, seasonally adjusted, and the national adjusted average 
unemployment rate is 4.7%. This bill is designed to address this 
unacceptable disparity and help to ensure that southern Ohio has an 
equal opportunity to contribute to this nation's economic recovery.

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