[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E10-E11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE WORKER REEMPLOYMENT ACCOUNTS ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JON C. PORTER

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 4, 2005

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to sponsor the Worker 
Reemployment Accounts Act of 2005. This important legislation will help 
thousands of unemployed Americans seeking to return to work by 
providing them with a Personal Reemployment Account.
  The American economy is the fastest growing economy of any 
industrialized nation in the world. Nationwide, more than 2.4 million 
jobs have been added since August 2003. The national unemployment rate 
has declined to 5.4 percent, lower than the average rate during the 
1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In my own state of Nevada, unemployment has 
fallen to 3.7 percent. Clearly, the Republican tax relief and growth 
package has helped to drive the strong recovery in our economy. But we 
still have more work to do.
  As the economy is adding thousands of new jobs and the unemployment 
rate is dropping across the country, the assistance provided by this 
bill is critical because we want to ensure that every job seeker has 
the resources they need to find a good job. That is what this bill is 
all about--helping Americans find careers.
  As President Bush proposed in his 2005 budget, the Worker 
Reemployment Accounts Act permits the Secretary of Labor to use 
demonstration funding under the Workforce Investment Act to provide 
Personal Reemployment Accounts to those with the greatest challenges in 
returning to work quickly.
  Through competitive grants, the local One-Stop Career Center system, 
where the unemployed already seek assistance in obtaining employment, 
will offer this important new benefit to unemployed workers, in 
addition to an array of employment services they already provide.

[[Page E11]]

  Under the bill, states and local workforce investment areas will be 
able to offer unemployed individuals who are most in need of help a 
reemployment account of up to $3,000. With these accounts, unemployed 
workers may purchase a variety of different services to help them find 
a good job, including job training, child care, transportation, housing 
assistance, short-term classes to upgrade skills, and employment 
counseling.
  One of the important features of the bill is that it provides 
individuals with significant new flexibility to design a package of 
services tailored to meet their needs. By taking into accounts the 
needs of the unemployed on an individual basis, our local, State, 
and federal governments will better equip these individuals with the 
tools they require to secure long-term, meaningful employment.

  In addition, recipients will be able to keep the balance of the 
account as a cash reemployment bonus if they become reemployed within 
13 weeks and stay employed for six months.
  These new Personal Reemployment Accounts and the current job training 
services already administered under the Workforce Investment Act are 
both essential in helping displaced workers in areas of the country 
facing skill shortages and enhancing the workforce for our increasingly 
knowledge-based economy.
  The Secretary of Labor already has begun the process of testing the 
PRA concept through a very limited pilot program. However, the 
authority of this bill would allow the Secretary to test the concept in 
more areas, either within the seven states already participating or in 
additional states. The lessons learned through this demonstration 
program will help inform Congress regarding the best way to serve the 
unemployed and ultimately will result in better reemployment and 
training services for all workers.
  Over the past two years, Republicans have taken numerous steps to 
help unemployed workers. I am also proud to join 21'' Century 
Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman McKeon and Chairman Boehner of 
the Education and the Workforce Committee in introducing the Job 
Training Improvement Act of 2005. This bill will reauthorize and 
enhance the services provided through the Workforce Investment Act and 
the nation's one-stop deliver system for workforce development. I am 
pleased that the provisions of the Worker Reemployment Accounts Act are 
included in this broader reauthorization package.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve job training 
opportunities for all Americans and offer this new innovative option to 
help workers as quickly as possible. The choice and flexibility 
available through a Personal Reemployment Account is the additional 
assistance American families need to get back into high-wage, steady 
employment. By providing this enhanced assistance, we can ensure that 
Americans are able to meet the challenges of the ever-changing economy 
that they face.
  I was proud to see similar legislation pass in the House of 
Representatives in the 108th Congress, and am excited to see it become 
law in the 109th Congress. I urge my colleagues to support this 
critical legislation.

                          ____________________