[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H681-H682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EVEN THOUGH ECONOMY IS GOOD, WORKERS IN OIL PATCH ARE STILL LOSING JOBS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hayes). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, before I start, I would first 
like to associate a few words with the legislation, H.R. 396, which 
passed today that would honor our former colleague Ron Dellums by 
naming a Federal building after him in Oakland, California.
  Let me indicate my great appreciation and respect for the dedication 
and service of Ron Dellums. I can think of no better tribute to him 
than the naming of a building in his beloved Oakland after him. I 
salute the legislation and support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I have another topic that I would like to raise today, 
and I believe that there is much that we need to do on this issue. 
Although we look now at a budget surplus and are probably in the best 
economy that we have had along with its longevity of a number of years, 
we still have concerns.
  What does the number 50,000 make you think of? For myself, it 
signifies the number of jobs lost in Texas because of the harsh 
realities of our modern economy and the energy crisis. But there has to 
be hope for those workers in the oil patch.
  That is why I convened with top administration and congressional 
officials at the White House last month a meeting to discuss how we 
could better address the needs of energy workers who lose their jobs in 
mass layoffs.
  When the Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and White House Chief of 
Staff John Podesta expressed their concern about their circumstances, I 
felt that we could work together to improve the question of job loss in 
communities throughout this Nation, Boeing, for example, and the State 
of Washington.
  With that cooperation in mind, we have already been able to get part 
of the work done. In the State of the Union Address, President Clinton 
stressed that he would promote programs that would bring relief to 
communities that are struggling with mass layoffs.
  The real question is, do we have the information down at the local 
level? This would include job retraining and rapid response teams that 
help workers and employers in times of crisis. I have found that we 
really need to get this information not only to the employers but to 
the workers.
  The President followed up on that commitment by pledging $1.6 billion 
for training for displaced workers and $65 million to help those 
workers find new jobs in the budget for the next fiscal year.
  It is unique in the oil patch because we would like not to lose these 
workers while they have been laid off because we do believe in the 
supporting of a domestic oil policy.

[[Page H682]]

  I also plan to introduce a piece of legislation called the Job 
Protection Initiative Act in the coming weeks that will bring much 
needed structured assistance to the energy industry which has been hit 
by spontaneous negative market activity.
  My initiative will trigger faster governmental response to mass 
layoffs and will encourage employers to use Federal and State resources 
that are available to them already by requiring that the Secretary of 
Labor establish an office to monitor job layoffs across the United 
States, authorizing $500 million to be used to help private companies 
establish lifelong learning programs for their employees, and give the 
Secretary of Labor the authority to officially recognize those 
businesses that cooperate with the government to minimize the damage 
that their layoffs cause.
  Although the support of many of our Members of Congress will be 
needed in order to pass this initiative, I expect that all Members will 
be able to relate to times when industries that reside in their 
districts struggled in similar crises and support these efforts.
  As one of the representatives of those who work in the energy arena, 
the oil and gas arena, I realized that it is difficult to be a victim 
of a certain industry's downfall in these good times. Someone needs to 
listen, and so we must listen to those voices of individuals who 
support their family who are now being laid off because of the down 
trend in the energy industry and of course the low cost of oil per 
barrel.
  This helps the consumer, and we want to continue to help the 
consumer, but we also need to help our workers. I hope that my 
colleagues in Congress will see the benefit of also paying attention to 
those individuals who suffer layoffs even in this good economy.
  I would expect my legislation to be offered in the next couple of 
weeks. Mr. Speaker, I ask for your support and all of my colleagues so 
that we can respond to the working men and women of America who keep 
the engine of this economy going when they most need us in their time 
of need.

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