[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 123 (Monday, October 4, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MINGO JOB CORPS CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JO ANN EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 4, 2004

  Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, the Mingo Job Corps Civilian Conservation 
Center was established in 1965 and is located on the southeastern 
corner of Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. Over 224 corps members 
participate in the program at Mingo at any one time. They can see daily 
what many people travel miles to observe on a National Wildlife Refuge. 
They are working to make a special effort to provide vocational work 
sites for training, as well as placement in permanent jobs, not just at 
Mingo, but on other facilities within the region.
  In a residential setting, students are given the opportunity to 
complete their secondary education, round out their social skills, and 
acquire a vocational skill. Vocational training is offered in the 
following trades at Mingo: automotive repair, building maintenance, 
bricklaying, carpentry, heavy equipment operation, painting, welding, 
clerical, culinary arts, and health services.
  With an audience of over 200 young people in residence for over a 
year on a National Wildlife Refuge, the Center is taking advantage of 
the opportunity to expose them to environmental awareness concepts in 
the education, vocational training, and residential living programs. 
The Center is a unique mix of human resources and natural resource 
management.
  The Mingo Job Corps Center, located in Puxico, Missouri, has become a 
critical part of the economy in Southeast Missouri. I first want to 
brag on the work the Center has done and give a little background on 
the work they do to better the community and the lives of those they 
serve. The Center has been crucial in providing the young people in 
Southeast Missouri many opportunities that they would not otherwise 
have available to them. The lack of viable economic opportunities in 
the area is staggering, and, as a result, many people in the area have 
to rely on government assistance to make ends meet.
  The Mingo Job Corps Center is the one place these people can go to 
develop the critical skills needed to enter the workforce. While some 
of the students at the Center are what we commonly refer to as being 
``at-risk,'' the Job Corps program has allowed these young men and 
women to make a life for themselves and succeed. Additionally, the 
surrounding community has benefitted from the work of the Center 
because, upon graduation, the students are able to give back to the 
community with the skills they have learned.
  Last year, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that they did not 
have the budget to adequately operate the Center. As a result, the 
Department of Labor recommended that the operations of the Center be 
contracted out. I completely opposed the proposal to contract out the 
operations at the Mingo Job Corps Center.
  In response to the announcement to contract out operations Senator 
Bond and I introduced legislation to transfer the Mingo Center to the 
jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. By adding the Mingo Job Corps 
Center to the list of U.S. Forest Service-run facilities, we will 
protect the livelihood of the students and employees served by the 
Center and ensure that the facility will continue to be operated by an 
experienced and dedicated staff. Most importantly, the skilled workers 
who graduate from the Center will continue to add to the dedicated 
workforce and contribute to the health of the rural economy.
  I am very proud to bring this legislation to the House of 
Representatives for a vote today, because it represents an important 
initiative in rural Missouri. Our job training programs are vital to 
our economic success now and in the future. Keeping the Mingo Center 
open and operating is a small, but important way to acknowledge our 
commitment to a dedicated workforce.

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