[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 170 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2384-E2385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HELP PARENTS GET REAL JOBS, REAL WAGES, AND REAL SUCCESS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 20, 2003

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill, the 
Business Links Act of 2003, that would provide needed resources to 
parents facing serious barriers to employment. The bill would provide 
grants for transitional jobs programs in order to support State efforts 
to help TANF recipients find work. Transitional jobs can provide the 
right combination of support, work, and vocational training and have 
the potential to turn many job seekers into permanent wage earners.
  I would like to thank my colleagues who have joined me as original 
cosponsors on this bill. I would also like to commend Senator Jeff 
Bingaman who has already introduced companion legislation, S. 786, in 
the Senate.
  This legislation would replace the TANF bonus grants currently 
provided to States and instead provide $200 million for each of fiscal 
years 2005 through 2009 for grants to be awarded to nonprofit 
organizations, local workforce investment boards, States, localities, 
and Indian tribes. The grant funds could be used either to promote 
business links by improving employee wages and job skills in 
partnership with employers or to provide fully subsidized wage-paying 
jobs to individuals who have been unemployed because of limited skills 
or other barriers. The legislation also includes worker protection 
provisions that, among other things, prohibit transitional job 
participants from displacing or replacing existing workers or positions 
and provide participants the same worker protections that all other 
workers receive. Parents who are currently receiving or have recently 
received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), parents who 
are at risk of needing TANF, individuals with disabilities, and 
unemployed, noncustodial parents who are having difficulty meeting 
their child support obligations would be eligible to participate in 
transitional jobs programs.
  Transitional jobs programs would provide intensive case management 
and access to needed support services such as vocational skills 
training, basic education, job placement services, and child care to 
all participants. Transitional jobs programs, which are aimed at 
helping those who have limited English proficiency and other barriers 
to employment, can be particularly effective for the hardest to serve 
welfare recipients. Program participants must work 30 to 40 hours a 
week, unless they have a child under the age of six, and participation 
is time limited to between six and 24 months. The goal of transitional 
jobs programs is to prepare and help participants find unsubsidized, 
permanent jobs. Because of the individual attention given to each 
transitional job holder, various programs across the country

[[Page E2385]]

have proven very successful in achieving that goal. From January 2000 
to July 2001, a Chicago program known as Transitional Community Service 
Jobs placed over 75 percent of its participants in unsubsidized jobs, 
more than one-third of which paid over $8.00 an hour.
  Many cities and communities across the country have implemented 
transitional jobs programs because they understand the importance of 
helping those facing serious barriers to employment, and they recognize 
the long-term benefits of investing in a future workforce that is well-
trained and able to contribute to the economy. However, because the 
Welfare-to-Work funds that help support transitional jobs programs are 
nearly exhausted and because of tight State budgets, many of those 
successful programs are at risk. This bill would provide a more stable 
funding source to allow many of these programs to survive, enable the 
development of new programs, and require a rigorous evaluation of 
funded programs.
  I am proud that this bill would help those who are having a difficult 
time supporting their children by providing them with resources and 
skills that will help them immediately, as well as sustain them in the 
future. I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring the Business 
Links Act of 2003.

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