[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 105 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9489-S9493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT OF 1998--CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. JEFFORDS. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now turn to the 
consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 1385 to 
consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training, literacy, 
and vocational rehabilitation programs in the United States, and for 
other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The report will be stated.
  The Legislative clerk read as follows:

       The committee on conference on the disagreeing votes of the 
     two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 
     1385), have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their 
     respective Houses this report, signed by a majority of the 
     conferees.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the Senate will proceed to 
the consideration of the conference report.
  (The conference report is printed in the House proceedings of the 
Record of July 29, 1998.)
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I ask unanimous consent that the conference report be 
adopted, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and other 
statements relating to this conference report be printed in the Record.
  Before you proceed, Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Ohio 
would like to make some comments, and I invite him to do so.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I thank the Chair. I thank the chairman of 
the committee, Senator Jeffords, for yielding to me and thank him also 
for the tremendous work he has done on this bill. He has been working 
on this for a number of years. This is the culmination of a great deal 
of work.
  We are about to pass the conference report. Once the bill is sent on 
to the President and signed by the President, it will represent a major 
accomplishment of this Congress. This bill consolidates over 70 
federally funded job training related programs--over 70 of them 
consolidated. This bill will make job training, federally funded job 
training, in this country much more accountable. It will also involve 
the business community much more in the development and design of job 
training.
  The one thing Chairman Jeffords and I have learned as we have held 
hearings on this matter over the years is that if you want job training 
to work, it has to be run locally and it has to have great input from 
the local business community. This bill will make sure that we have 
that local input. We have to remember who the consumers are. When you 
are talking about job training, there are two consumers. One is the 
person who wants the job and wants to be trained for the job. But the 
other, equally as important, is the company or the individual who wants 
to hire that person, and so you have to involve them both in the design 
of job training.
  That is what this bill does. This bill also dramatically reforms Job 
Corps. Job Corps is a Great Society-era job training program, 
residential, that is run by the Federal Government. It costs over $1 
billion a year. It is targeted at our most at-risk young people in this 
country, people who desperately need our help, desperately need our 
assistance. What this bill does is make sure that $1 billion will be 
correctly spent. And again, we do that by measuring the results.
  One of the things that Chairman Jeffords and I, I think, and the rest 
of the committee, were so shocked about when we held hearings several 
years ago on this--actually former Senator Kassebaum was chairman--was 
that Job Corps did not really measure success or failure of the young 
people. It didn't measure the success or failure of a particular job 
training program. They looked at it and saw whether or not a person had 
a job for 2 weeks. If they kept a job for 2 weeks after graduating from 
the program--and it didn't matter what the job was--the program was 
considered a success. The contractor who was in charge of getting that 
person a job got paid, and then no one ever looked back.
  What we do with this bill is say we are going to measure success or 
failure after 6 months. We are going to measure success or failure 
after 12 months. And then we are going to be able to tell which 
programs work and which do not work in regard to Job Fair.
  Another change we are making in Job Corps is to involve the local 
business community. Too often Job Corps has herded young people from 
500, 600, 700 miles a way. They go to the Job Corps. They stay there 
for awhile, they complete their program, and then they go back home, 
and it is very difficult to involve the local business community when 
they know that person is not going to be there to work for them. And so 
we change those priorities in regard to Job Corps as well.
  We also in this bill make a major step forward to link the regular 
job training programs of this country with

[[Page S9490]]

vocational rehabilitation. We do that by closing the gap. We do that by 
preserving the dedicated flow of money that will go for this targeted 
population, targeted population that is in need of our assistance, who 
wants to help themselves. We preserve that dedicated fund, those 
dedicated funds. But we give that recipient, that client, more 
resources. We empower that client to go to the vocational 
rehabilitation site or, if the services are not there, to make sure 
that the client has the legal right to go across the street or across 
the county, wherever that is, to get help and assistance from the 
regular system as well. It integrates the two.
  In conclusion, let me say this bill is a bill for workers. It is a 
bill for people who want to be workers. It is a bill for young people. 
It is a bill that literally empowers the person who is seeking the job 
training. It gives them a lot more, many more rights. It gives them a 
lot more flexibility. It puts them into the ball game as far as 
choosing what is the job training that is best for them. So it makes a 
significant difference.
  This bill also has a very significant component aimed directly at 
children. We set aside a significant sum of money for those young 
people between the ages of 14 and 21. We do it; we target it; we say it 
is important. There is nothing, I think, more important in this country 
than what we do with our young people and the assistance we try to 
provide for them. We have many young people in this country who we call 
at-risk youth. This bill will go a long way to give them direct 
assistance. However, even though we target it in this bill and say 
these funds are dedicated for these young people, we also at the same 
time give all the flexibility to the local community, States and local 
communities to allow them to design the specific program that will 
actually work for their young people in their local communities.

  This is a revolutionary bill. It is a bill that dramatically changes 
the status quo. It is a bipartisan bill. It is a bill that Senator 
Wellstone worked on with me in the subcommittee. It is a bill on which 
Senator Kennedy worked with Senator Jeffords. It is a bill that 
Secretary Alexis Herman has been very, very much involved in. She has 
been involved in it up until the last 10 minutes, as we have negotiated 
the final portions of this bill.

  So, it is a bipartisan bill. It is a bill we can all be very proud 
of. It is a bill that will truly make a difference for our young people 
and for those who need to be trained in this country.
  Again, I thank my chairman for the tremendous work that he has done; 
for his persistence. One of the qualities I think you have to have in 
the U.S. Senate is perseverance and persistence, as well as patience. 
He has demonstrated all three very well. The culmination is what we see 
tonight, which is a bill we are about to send to the President of the 
United States for his signature.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, first, I thank my colleague from Ohio 
for his very eloquent description of the legislation, which makes it 
entirely unnecessary for me to go further. I appreciate the kind 
comments he made.
  As he pointed out, this is an example of bipartisanship as well. 
Senator Wellstone and Senator Kennedy, on the other side of the aisle, 
participated always in a constructive way and allowed us to come up 
with an excellent piece of legislation.
  On the House side, Congressman Goodling, my good friend and colleague 
for many years, as chairman of the committee, and Congressman Clay, 
whom I also worked with in the past and to the present, Congressman 
McKeon of California, and Congressman Kildee of Michigan--all 
participated in this conference report.
  It could not have been done without the fantastic help of our staff. 
The committee personnel, CRS, and legislative counsel, and DOL, 
Department of Education, the White House--all participated in bringing 
to fruition a piece of legislation which has been struggling for 4 
years to be able to get there.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, final passage of the Workforce Investment 
Act is a landmark achievement in which we can all take pride. For 
years, Congress has struggled to design an employment training system 
that would provide America's workers with the skills they need to 
succeed in the 21st century workplace. I believe this legislation will 
accomplish that enormous task. Few bills which we consider will have a 
greater impact on more Americans than the Workforce Investment Act we 
pass today.
  An educated workforce has become the most valuable resource in the 
modern economy. Our nation's long term economic vitality depends on the 
creation of an effective, accessible, and accountable system of job 
training and career development which is open to all our citizens. 
Schools must assume more responsibility for preparing their students to 
meet the challenges of the 21st century workplace. Disadvantaged adults 
and out of school youth need the opportunity to develop job skills 
which will make them productive members of the community. Dislocated 
workers who have been displaced by the rapid pace of technological 
change deserve the chance to pursue new careers. Individuals with 
disabilities need the opportunity to fully develop their career 
potential. The way in which we respond to these challenges today will 
determine how prosperous a nation we are in the next century.
  The importance of highly developed employment skills has never been 
greater. The gap in earnings between skilled and unskilled workers is 
steadily widening. For those who enter the workforce with good academic 
training and well-developed career skills, this new economy offers 
almost unlimited potential. However, for those who lack basic 
proficiency in language, math and science and who have no career 
skills, the new economy presents an increasingly hostile environment.
  Over three million young men and women between the ages of 16 and 24 
in this country did not complete high school and are not enrolled in 
school. Many more graduate from high school without the level of 
knowledge and skill that a high school diploma should represent. They 
will require more education and job training in order to obtain stable, 
well-paying employment. Without it, they are in danger of becoming a 
lost workforce generation.
  Effective job training is also essential to the success of welfare 
reform. More than 40 percent of those in the JTPA program for 
disadvantaged adults have come from the welfare rolls. Under the 
welfare reform legislation, an additional 1.7 million people will be 
entering the job market. Most of these individuals have little or no 
work background and very limited employment skills. In many cases, they 
are also the sole support of young children. They are making urgent new 
demands on a job training system that is already burdened beyond its 
capacity.
  In addition, the combination of rapidly changing technology and the 
shift of manufacturing jobs overseas is creating an alarming number of 
dislocated workers. These individuals have extensive work experience, 
but their skills are no longer in demand. We must give them the 
opportunity for retraining, and for the development of new skills to 
enable them to compete in the 21st century workplace.
  The accelerating pace of technological change has made much of the 
existing job training system obsolete. Broad reforms are clearly needed 
to meet the demands of the modern workplace.
  The Workforce Investment Act will provide employment training 
opportunities for millions of Americans. It responds to the challenge 
of the changing workplace by enabling men and women to acquire the 
skills required to enter the workforce and to upgrade their skills 
throughout their careers. It will provide them with access to the 
educational tools that will enable them not only to keep up, but to get 
ahead.
  The legislation is the product of a true bipartisan collaboration. I 
want to publicly commend Senators Jeffords and DeWine for the genuine 
spirit of bipartisanship which has made this effort possible. Senator 
Wellstone and I appreciate it. This spirit of collaboration was also 
shared by the House conferees. The resulting legislation will, I 
believe, truly expand career options, encourage greater program 
innovation, and facilitate cooperative efforts amongst business, labor, 
education and state and local government.
  I also want to recognize the important role President Clinton has 
played in bringing about this dramatic reform

[[Page S9491]]

of our current job training system. He has consistently emphasized the 
need for greater individual choice in the selection of career paths and 
training providers. The philosophy behind his skill grant proposal is 
reflected in our legislation.
  The Workforce Investment Act is designed to provide easy access to 
state of the art employment training programs which are geared to real 
job opportunities in the community through a single, customer-friendly 
system of One Stop Career Centers. Over 700 such Centers are already 
operating successfully across the country. This legislation will ensure 
that every individual in need of employment services will have access 
to such a facility. The cornerstones of this new system are individual 
choice and quality labor market information. In the past, men and women 
seeking new careers often did not know what job skills were most in 
demand and which training programs had the best performance record. All 
too often, they were forced to make one of the most important decisions 
of their lives based on anecdotes and late-night advertisements.
  No training system can function effectively without accurate and 
timely information. The frequent unavailability of quality labor market 
information is one of the most serious flaws in the current system. 
This legislation places a strong emphasis on providing accurate and 
timely information about what area industries are growing, what skills 
those jobs require, and what earning potential they have. Extensive 
business community and organized labor participation are encouraged in 
developing a regional plan based on this information. Once a career 
choice is made, the individual must still select a training provider. 
At present, many applicants make that choice with a little or no 
reliable information. Under this bill, each training provider will have 
to publicly report graduation rates, job placement and retention rates, 
and average earnings of graduates.
  Because of the extensive information which will be available to each 
applicant, real consumer choice in the selection of a career and of a 
training provider will be possible. The legislation establishes 
individual training accounts for financially eligible participants, 
which they can use to access career education and skill training 
programs. Men and women seeking training assistance will no longer be 
limited to a few predetermined options. As long as there are real job 
opportunities in the field selected and the training provider meets 
established performance standards, the individual will be free to 
choose which option best suits his or her needs.

  An essential element of the new system we have designed is 
accountability. As I noted earlier, each training provider will have to 
monitor and report the job placement and retention achieved by its 
graduates and their average earnings. Only those training programs that 
meet an acceptable performance standard will remain eligible for 
receipt of public funds. The same principle of accountability is 
applied to those agencies administering state and local programs. They 
are being given wide latitude to innovate under this legislation. But 
they too will be held accountable if their programs fail to meet 
challenging performance targets.
  The rapid pace of technological change in the workplace has produced 
an alarming number of workers who have become dislocated in mid-career. 
The dislocation has been compounded by the increasing number of labor 
intensive production employers relocating their businesses abroad. This 
trend has been particularly acute in the manufacturing sector. We have 
a special obligation to these dislocated workers who have long and 
dedicated work histories and now are unemployed through no fault of 
their own. The Workforce Investment Act makes a commitment to them by 
maintaining a special dislocated worker program, supported by a 
separate funding stream, which is geared to their retraining needs. The 
current dislocated worker program served approximately 540,000 
dislocated workers nationwide in the most recent year. Of those who 
completed the program during that year, 71 percent were employed when 
they left the program, earning on average 93 percent of their previous 
wages. America's dislocated workers have earned the right to assistance 
in developing new skills which will allow them to be full participants 
in the 21st century economy.
  There is no challenge facing America today which is tougher or more 
important than providing at-risk, often out-of-school, youth with 
meaningful education and employment opportunities. Far too many of our 
teenagers are being left behind without the skills needed to survive in 
the 21st century economy. I am particularly pleased with the commitment 
which the Workforce Investment Partnership Act makes to these young men 
and women. This legislation authorizes a new initiative focused on 
teenagers living in poverty in communities offering them few 
constructive employment opportunities. Each year, the Secretary of 
Labor will award grants from a $250 million fund to innovative programs 
designed to provide opportunities to youth living in these areas. The 
programs will emphasize mentoring, strong links between academic and 
worksite learning, and job placement and retention. It will encourage 
broad based community participation from local service agencies and 
area employers. These model programs will, we believe, identify the 
techniques which are most effective in reaching those youth at greatest 
risk.
  Another important program for young people who face the highest 
barriers to employment is Job Corps. Most of the participants grow up 
in extreme poverty. Their educational opportunities are limited. Job 
Corps, at its best, moves them from deprivation to opportunity. But, 
for many of them, it is an extremely difficult transition. As a result, 
critics of the program are always able to point to failures. But for 
each story of failure, there are many stories of success. Job Corps is 
a program worth preserving and worth expanding too. Our legislation 
decisively rejects the view that Job Corps should be dismantled. 
Instead, it strengthens the program in several ways. It establishes 
closer ties between individual Job Corps Centers and the communities 
they serve. It ensures that training programs correspond with the 
area's labor market needs. It extends follow-up counseling for 
participants up to 12 months and established detailed performance 
standards to hold programs accountable.
  The legislation also provides for the continuation of summer jobs as 
an essential element of the youth grant. For many youth, summer jobs 
are their first opportunity to work and their first critical step in 
learning the work ethic. The summer jobs program also provides many 
youth with quality learning experiences and follow up during the school 
year. Studies by the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector 
General and research by Westat, Inc. have reported positive findings 
regarding the program, concluding that work sites are well-supervised 
and disciplined, that jobs provide useful work, that the education 
component teaches students new skills that they apply in school, and 
that students learn the value of work.
  I believe that the summer jobs program needs to continue to be 
available on a significant scale with sufficient funding. This bill 
recognizes the critical importance of the summer youth program by 
requiring that it be a part of each local area's youth program and 
allowing local communities to determine the number of summer jobs to be 
created.
  The Workforce Investment Act includes titles reauthorizing major 
vocation rehabilitation and adult literacy programs. Both programs will 
continue to be separately funded and independently administered. We 
have incorporated them in the Workforce Act because they must be 
integral components of any comprehensive strategy to prepare people to 
meet the demands of the 21st century workplace.
  Vocational rehabilitation offers new hope to individuals with 
disabilities, allowing them to reach their full potential and actively 
participate in their communities. The Rehabilitation Title of the Act 
will ensure that all working-aged individuals with disabilities, even 
those with the most significant disabilities, have realistic 
opportunities to obtain the resources and support they need to reach 
their employment goals.
  Adult literacy programs are essential for the 27% of the adult 
population who

[[Page S9492]]

have not earned a high school diploma or its equivalent. Learning to 
read and communicate effectively are the first steps to career 
advancement. This legislation will increase access to educational 
opportunities for those people most in need of assistance and enhance 
the quality of services provided.
  The Workforce Investment Partnership Act will make it possible for 
millions of Americans to gain the skills needed to compete in a global 
economy. In doing so, we are also enabling them to realize their 
personal American dreams.
  I would like to recognize the substantial contributions made by 
several individuals to this enormous legislative effort. On my staff, 
Jeffrey Teitz has worked on the development of the workforce and 
education titles of this bill for nearly eighteen months and done an 
outstanding job. Connie Garner has devoted a comparable effort to the 
vocational rehabilitation title. Jane Oates' assistance throughout the 
conference process has also been invaluable. I am proud of their work.
  I also want to call the Senate's attention to the role of my longtime 
friend, William Spring of Boston. Bill is a leader on training and 
education issues in Massachusetts and his creative recommendations are 
incorporated throughout this legislation. There is one further person 
who deserves special mention. Steven Spinner worked for me during the 
104th Congress until his tragic and untimely death. His invaluable 
efforts helped to lay the groundwork for our success in reforming the 
workforce system.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleagues in 
support of the Workforce Investment Act Conference Report. This is a 
truly bipartisan bill. As a conferee, I would like to commend Senators 
Jeffords, Kennedy, DeWine, and Wellstone, as well as the House 
conferees, for shepherding this bill through the conference.
  Few issues that we vote on in Congress are as important to the future 
of this country as the lifelong education and training of our 
workforce. We live in an era of a global economy, emerging industries 
and company downsizing. It is imperative that our delivery of services 
meets the employment and educational needs of the 21st century.
  The current maze of more than 160 programs which are administered by 
15 separate federal agencies has failed. The Workforce Investment Act 
streamlines these programs by giving more authority to state and local 
representatives of government, business, labor, education, and youth 
activities. The bill establishes a true collaborative process between 
the state and local representatives to ensure that training and 
educational services will be held to high standards. This bill also 
gives more flexibility to individuals seeking training assistance. 
Individuals will no longer be limited to a predetermined set of 
services.
  I am especially pleased that the cornerstone of the Workforce 
Investment Act is streamlined service delivery through one-stop career 
centers. My state of Connecticut is nearing completion of 
implementation of its one-stop system, called Conneticut Works. This 
network has reformed the delivery of job training services in the 
state. I have had the privilege of visiting many of these centers and 
can attest to their success.
  While I applaud the new system of providing training assistance 
incorporated in ths bill, I am pleased that the bill retains some 
direct federal involvement in order to ensure that disadvantaged youth, 
veterans and displaced workers receive the training assistance and 
support they need.
  For many years, the Connecticut economy was dependent on defense-
oriented industries. The Workforce Investment Act ensures that 
employees who are adversely affected by base closures and military 
downsizing will have access to job training and supportive services in 
order to acquire the skills needed for employment in the technology-
driven economy of the 21st century.
  This legislation also provides for the coordination of adult 
education systems, allowing adult education to play a crucial role in a 
participant's professional training program. In the area of adult 
education and literacy, this legislation specifically targets those 
communities that demonstrate significant illiteracy rates to receive 
adult education programs as a first priority. I am pleased that this 
legislation also includes a provision that will direct funds designated 
to support English as a Second Language (ESL) programs to those ESL 
programs in communities with designated need. This means that ESL 
programs with waiting lists--those in communities with the greatest 
need for the valuable services these programs provide--will receive 
funds on a prioritized basis.

  Mr. President, in order to better assist nonnative English speakers 
and fully assimilate them into our society, we must help them become 
more fluent in English. I can think of few more important factors in 
determining whether or not someone new to this society will 
successfully make this difficult transition than their ability to speak 
English.
  A clear and effective grasp of the English language is still the best 
indicator of success for nonnative English speakers. The ability to 
speak English for anyone in today's marketplace represents an ``open 
door,'' Mr. President. This ``open door'' can lead to greater 
employment and advancement opportunities for those whose first language 
is not English.
  Additionally, Mr. President, this legislation reauthorizes the 
Rehabilitation Act. This critically important legislation provides 
comprehensive vocational rehabilitation services designed to help 
individuals with disabilities become more employable and achieve 
greater independence and integration into society.
  Under the Rehabilitation Act, states, with assistance provided by the 
federal government in the manner of formula-derived grants, provide a 
broad array of services to individuals with disabilities that includes 
assessment, counseling, vocational and other educational services, work 
related placement services, and rehabilitation technology services. 
More than 1.25 million Americans with disabilities were served by 
vocational rehabilitation programs in 1995 alone, Mr. President.
  I am particularly pleased that a provision dealing with assistive 
technology was included in this legislation. This provision, Section 
508, will require the federal government to provide assistive 
technology to Federal employees with disabilities. This provision will 
put into place for the first time regulations requiring the federal 
government to provide its employees with disabilities access to 
appropriate technology suited to their individual needs.
  This legislation would allow the federal government to take the lead 
in providing critical access to information technology to all federal 
employees with disabilities in this country. It strengthens the federal 
requirement that electronic and information technology purchased by 
federal agencies be accessible to their employees with disabilities.
  Electronic and information technology accessibility is essential for 
federal employees to maintain a meaningful employment experience, as 
well as to meet their full potential. We live in a world where 
information and technology are synonymous with professional 
advancement. Increasingly, essential job functions have come to involve 
the use of technology, and where it is inaccessible, job opportunities 
that others take for granted are foreclosed to people with 
disabilities.
  Presently, there are approximately 145,000 individuals with 
disabilities in the federal workforce. Roughly 61 percent of these 
employees hold permanent positions in professional, administrative, or 
technical occupations. Nationally, there are 49 million Americans who 
have disabilities, nearly half of them have a severe disability. Yet 
most mass market information technology is designed without 
consideration for their needs.
  Section 508, Mr. President, is the first step in an effort to ensure 
that all individuals with disabilities have access to the assistive 
technology providing them the ability to reach their full capability. 
Though Section 508 will presently only affect federal employees, it is 
my hope that one day all individuals with disabilities will have the 
same access to assistive technology now afforded federal employees 
because of this important legislation. The federal government must 
truly be an equal opportunity employer, and this equal opportunity must 
apply fully to individuals with special needs.

[[Page S9493]]

  Finally, Mr. President, I would again like to commend Senators 
Jeffords, DeWine, Kennedy, and Wellstone, as well as Chairman Goodling, 
Congressmen Clay, Kildee, and Martinez for the important role they each 
played in making this conference agreement a reality. They all worked 
closely with myself and my staff to address numerous concerns and for 
that I would like to thank them.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I am extremely pleased we are about to 
pass this important conference report. I look forward to its enactment 
upon signature by the President, which I hope can occur very soon. It 
is my understanding that the House is prepared to act on the conference 
bill during the coming days.
  I have spoken on numerous occasions regarding the subject. As the 
Ranking Democrat on the Senate Labor Subcommittee on Employment and 
Training, I have worked hard with my colleagues Senator DeWine, Senator 
Jeffords and Senator Kennedy to help bring us to where we are this 
evening. I thank them and the many Minnesotans who have worked directly 
with me and my staff during the months of hearings, preparations, 
debate and drafting.
  The conference bill preserves important policy principles contained 
in the Senate bill. It will help coordinate, streamline and 
decentralize our federal job training system. At the same time, it will 
make that system more accountable to real performance measures. It 
gives private sector employers--the people who have jobs to offer and 
who need workers with the right skills--a greater role in directing 
policy at the state and local level, which is where most decision-
making power resides in this bill. The bill retains crucial federal 
priorities, then allows state and local authorities to decide how best 
to address their needs.
  And it will move the country to where Minnesota and a number of other 
states have already moved decisively: to a system of One-Stop service 
centers where people can get all the information they need in one 
location. It will replace currently over-bureaucratized systems in many 
states and localities with systems driven more by the needs of those 
who utilize them. Adults seeking training will receive Individual 
Training Accounts to give them direct control over their own careers. 
High quality labor market information will be accessible through the 
One-Stops, and training providers will be required to report publicly 
on their performance. Men and women will have the ability to make their 
own choices based on the best information about which profession they 
should pursue, about the skills and training they'll need, and about 
the best place to get those skills and that training.
  This week in Minneapolis, concluding today, the U.S. Department of 
Labor and Minnesota's Department of Economic Security hosted a national 
conference on One-Stop Workforce centers. It is with some pride that I 
note that my state has been a real leader in innovation with respect to 
One-Stops. Minnesota has also been a national leader when it comes to 
workforce system performance.
  The conference bill ensures that states such as Minnesota, and the 
localities within them, can continue to innovate within the new system 
created. Good-performing service delivery areas will be allowed to 
continue to perform successfully. The same is true of current 
collaborative one-stop structures and local workforce boards which 
currently successfully undertake a range of activities, such as what 
the bill calls core services and training services. We have 
intentionally built flexibility into the bill.
  Veterans will be served both in State-administered training programs 
and the national veterans workforce investment programs. Veterans also 
will have a strong role in the policy processes established in the 
bill. Community-based organizations are assured an appropriate role in 
setting policy. Labor organizations, too, retain a prominent role. 
Crucial provisions regarding the federal employment service are 
protected.
  Mr. President, it has been a very busy week. I have given longer 
speeches on this topic in the past and may yet again. For now, I am 
extremely satisfied with our accomplishment in this bill. I hope we 
will soon be able to celebrate its enactment.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Conference Report 
on H.R. 1385, the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
  In a world where economic activity knows no national boundaries, it 
is crucial we ensure that we have the most knowledgeable and best 
trained workers in the world.
  As a member of the Conference Committee on H.R. 1385, I am pleased 
that the Conference Agreement before us today will help us reach this 
goal by streamlining and reforming job training, adult education, and 
vocational rehabilitation programs, while enhancing federal support and 
investment in these critical areas.
  The Conference Agreement will help states implement a more coherent, 
performance-driven system to ensure that Americans receive the training 
and education they need throughout their lives.
  The Conference Agreement will streamline services by establishing a 
one-stop delivery system; enhance accountability by requiring states, 
local boards, and training providers to meet higher performance 
measures; provide more reliable information on local career 
opportunities and training programs and providers; empower individuals 
to use individual training accounts to choose their own training 
programs and providers; and increase flexibility to allow states and 
local areas to implement innovative job training programs.
  I am also particularly pleased that this Conference Agreement 
includes provisions which will benefit my home state of Rhode Island, 
such as preserving the state's successful service delivery area 
structure.
  In addition to job training reform, the Conference Agreement also 
improves the accessibility and quality of adult literacy and education 
programs. Indeed, more aggressive adult literacy programs are essential 
if we are to ensure that everyone in the workforce has an ability to 
read.
  Lastly, the Conference Agreement reauthorizes the Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973. In doing so, it links vocational rehabilitation to the new 
workforce system, while maintaining a separate funding stream for 
vocational rehabilitation. This will provide improved training and 
employment services to individuals with disabilities.
  I want to thank Chairman Jeffords, Senator Kennedy, Senator DeWine, 
and Senator Wellstone, and their staffs, for their efforts on this 
important legislation and for working with me to address issues 
affecting Rhode Island.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I now renew my unanimous consent 
request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the conference report is 
agreed to.

                          ____________________