[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 21, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H8417-H8418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       COMBATING ADULT ILLITERACY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy) for 3 minutes.

[[Page H8418]]

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my good friend and 
colleague, Chairman Ruben Hinojosa, for his work on this issue of adult 
illiteracy which he just spoke about.
  Just like Ruben Hinojosa and his district in Texas, in my State of 
Rhode Island where unemployment rates continue to rise, 23 percent of 
the adult population in my district alone lacks a high school diploma. 
Last June when the National Commission on Adult Literacy released its 
report, it served as a wake-up call for all those concerned with the 
quality of our adult workforce. The commission found that 80 to 90 
million adults in this country have deficiencies in basic education and 
that our investments in adult education and training were reaching less 
than 3 percent of those who need it. That's why we need to ensure that 
our adult education and workforce training programs have the tools and 
resources they need to prepare our workers for the next generation of 
jobs in energy, in health care and in technology. We need to improve 
the way we deliver adult education and workforce training programs and 
the way we provide career paths to higher growth fields through greater 
involvement with business leaders, State agencies and adult education 
community and workforce leaders. We need to better leverage employers 
to provide educational programs to their employees. We need to enhance 
the use of technology to improve quality learning access and delivery 
of adult education, literacy and workplace skills services.
  The Adult Education and Economic Growth Act which Ruben Hinojosa and 
I are introducing will do all of these things in order to provide those 
employed and unemployed with the ability to attain the skills they need 
to compete in an ever-changing workplace.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

       The Adult Education and Economic Growth (AEEG) Act of 2009


                         WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO

       1. Will refocus the adult education and workforce skills 
     system to make postsecondary and job training readiness a 
     primary goal.
       85 percent of GED graduates have to take at least one 
     remedial course before they can enroll in postsecondary 
     education. We need to do a better job preparing them for 
     success in school and in work, rather than getting them to an 
     arbitrary finish line that actually leaves them short of 
     where they need to be.
       2. Will give incumbent workers greater access to the 
     workforce skills training and adult education systems.
        It is too hard for people already on the job to receive 
     workforce skills training and adult education. It's not 
     enough to get someone into a job, we need to get them into a 
     career. That means continued training, even after a worker is 
     on the job.
       Only 3 to 4 percent of the workers with the most limited 
     literacy proficiencies receive basic skills training from 
     their employers. Our bill will create greater incentives for 
     employer involvement in the education of their employees.
       3. Will ensure that federal funding formulas accurately 
     take into account the adult education and workforce skills 
     needs of individual states.
       Federal funding formulas are outdated, and especially 
     penalize states with a high proportion of non-native English 
     speakers. Our legislation will ensure a fairer distribution 
     of federal funds.
       4. Will increase the use of technology in workforce skills 
     training and adult education.
        Technology has greatly increased our ability to reach 
     workers at times and places convenient to them. By 2006, 73 
     percent of American adults were online, including those at 
     the lowest literacy levels. We cannot reach all of those 
     needing services without deploying technology to provide 
     services outside the classroom walls.
       5. Will increase access to correction education programs 
     and provide for added accountability in the system.
        Offenders with education and training are statistically 
     less likely to commit crimes after release. There is a direct 
     correlation between education level and recidivism: the 
     higher the education level, the lower the recidivism rate. A 
     decrease in recidivism reduces costs to taxpayers and keeps 
     our communities safer.

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