[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 31 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Page 1548]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Senate Action on Job Training Reform Legislation

July 31, 1998

    For years now, I have been fighting for a ``GI bill'' for America's 
workers to modernize job training for the economy of the next century. I 
appreciate the bipartisan effort in the Senate that led to passage of 
legislation to do just that last night. This bill will make sure that 
job training in America helps our people meet the demands of a rapidly 
changing economy. I hope the House will continue this bipartisan effort 
to give Americans new training opportunities designed for the cutting-
edge jobs of the future.
    This legislation will fundamentally reform job training by 
empowering individuals to learn new skills with a simple skill grant. It 
also consolidates the tangle of training programs; creates a network of 
One-Stop Career Centers; increases accountability to ensure results; 
allows States and communities to tailor programs to locally determined 
needs; and ensures that business, labor, and community organizations are 
full partners in system design and quality assurance. It targets 
vocational and adult education funds to educational agencies and 
institutions with the greatest need, and to activities that promote 
program quality. It improves the vocational rehabilitation program by 
streamlining eligibility determination, improving State planning, and 
strengthening program accountability. And it includes the youth 
opportunity areas initiative--which was funded in last year's 
appropriations process--that will create jobs and opportunity for out-
of-school youth in high-poverty areas.