Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions - S 1348

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Ms. CANTWELL:

    S. 1348. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the computation of eligibility for certain Federal Pell Grants, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

    Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss a topic that I believe is critical to our Nation's economic growth and future competitiveness—the training of our workforce.

    We are living in tough economic times. The economy of the State of Washington and the Nation at large are suffering through a recession where jobs are scarce and workers are scrambling to pay the bills. The most recent employment data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics have offered little comfort in Washington where the unemployment rate is 7.3 percent. Washington, along with the other Pacific Northwest States of Oregon and Alaska, continues to have among the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

    Just a month ago, the Senate moved quickly to extend the temporary extension of unemployment compensation program, so that approximately four million workers across this country will not lose their Federal extended unemployment benefits. I am proud that the Senate acted quickly to extend this important program. This means that over 100,000 unemployed workers in Washington State will receive 26 weeks of Federal extended benefits. I am disappointed, however, that we were not able to pass coverage for the estimated 1.1 million unemployed workers who have entirely exhausted their State and Federal benefits. Therefore, I am fighting to pass a bill that would extend coverage to the long-term unemployed, so that help is available to the hardest hit workers in this weak economy.

    Nonetheless, our efforts should not stop with an unemployment insurance extension. We must continue to pursue long-term strategies for a sustained economic recovery. The fundamental strength of our economy lies in the working men and women of this Nation whose innovation and hard work propelled the massive economic expansion of the past decade.

    The competitive edge that will keep our workers ahead in this changing global economy is their skills. Our economy is global, linked by international markets and communications networks. The sustained success of U.S. companies depends on adaptability and innovation, which means that workers themselves need to remain flexible and continually update job skills.

    Even in this time of high unemployment, businesses throughout the country cannot find workers with the skills they need. According to a study completed by Heldrich Work Trends Survey, American employers are finding it difficult to hire qualified workers. Nearly half, 46 percent, of American businesses say they have had trouble finding workers with the necessary skills. At the same time, over three million workers are laid off each year, but well under 500,000 receive any sort of training to learn the skills demanded by those businesses that face worker shortages. Job training is an answer to meeting those skill demands and bridging the skills gaps that persist. However, it will not occur widely without a strong financial commitment from the Federal Government to ensure access to job training programs, and ongoing efforts to maximize the effectiveness of those funds that we already invest.

    Investment in job training must be our first priority not our last—the decisions we make today to invest in our workers will pay off many times over in the form of stronger local economies, healthier communities, and improved quality of life.

    But the reality is that we are delivering a trickle of funding while faced with a tidal wave of need. I have traveled across my state, from Olympia to Kelso, Vancouver to Bellingham, the Tri-cities to Spokane and received a great deal of feedback from Washingtonians who are seeking training, are providing it, or are serving as employers who need to hire skilled workers. And I heard similar concerns repeated in each of these areas: first, as our economy continues to evolve, the demand for new skills has grown; second, the enormous increase in demand for skills training by individual workers who are upgrading skills or changing jobs is a trend that appears to be widespread throughout the Nation; but third, far too many of those workers seeking access to training cannot get the training they need due to limited space at training institutions and the limited tuition assistance.

    Last year, my office released a study of this apparent shortfall in capacity of training systems in my State, and the results of that study were staggering to me. There are over 110,000 dislocated workers in my state, the majority of whom want to upgrade their skills but cannot do so because of budgetary limitations that prevent institutions from offering enough courses, and the limited numbers of available training vouchers.

    To make things worse, this year, the State of Washington received approximately 40 percent less in Workforce Investment Act, WIA, formula funding compared to last year. This drastic cut in WIA funding means that services will be cut back at a time when the demand is at an all time high. It is imperative that during this time of State deficits, States receive additional help from the Federal Government for important services such as education and job training.

    As my colleagues know, the Workforce Investment Act is up for reauthorization this year. The WIA system is clearly the centerpiece of the Federal job training programs. It provides a one-stop delivery system designed to meet a broad range of worker needs, and it emerged from years of bipartisan work by Congress to consolidate over 33 Federal programs into one system for delivering employment and training services.

    Today, I am introducing three bills that are designed to build upon the existing workforce structure to expand opportunities for training and improve its effectiveness.

    The first piece of legislation would change the Pell Grant program to make certain that student financial aid is available to recently laid off workers. Under current law, the standard practice in the determination of Pell Grant eligibility for student aid is to base grant awards upon the applicant's income during the previous year. The use of tax forms for this purpose, in many cases, is the most appropriate and easiest administrative method of obtaining a clear and official statement of financial need. But, as a result, many recently laid-off workers are not eligible for critical financial assistance at a time when the workers' families are experiencing a dramatic decrease in income. My legislation would explicitly provide the authority for educational institutions, after taking sufficient precautions to prevent fraud, to consider current-year income levels for applicants seeking training through Pell Grant-eligible programs. It does this in a very narrow way, by only allowing institutions in States with high unemployment rates to consider current year financial circumstances rather than previous year income.

    The second bill addresses issues of distance-learning and delivery of training to hard to reach areas in a comprehensive manner. While many distance-learning technologies have been developed in recent years, those technologies have not necessarily reached many of those who are most in need of training. Many workers in need of training may not be aware of online distance learning opportunities and may not be able to take advantage of them even if they do know about them. I believe, it is not enough to create a distance learning curriculum and passively provide it through an educational institution website. Rather, comprehensive solutions need to be developed that integrate curriculum innovations, technological access, and the promotion and linkage of workers in need of training with such opportunities, especially to help workers in rural areas. That's why my bill encourages the local workforce development boards to plan a comprehensive approach to improve access to and delivery of employment training services by using technology and online resources to connect workers with the information and tools they need to upgrade their skills.

    The third bill that I am introducing today is designed to help local workforce development boards better understand regional labor market dynamics and improve system performance by identifying emerging sectors and industries with chronic worker shortages. My legislation encourages local workforce development boards to target employment and training resources so that workers can get training in occupations where employers need workers.

    My legislation provides new resources to the state level so that states can direct funding down to the local workforce development boards to form partnerships with employers, unions, service providers and other key players in order to develop a strategic plan for addressing regional industry and workforce needs.

    I want to make clear that this legislation is not intended to reinvent the wheel for areas that are already developing sectoral approaches within existing workforce development systems. In fact, Washington State is a leader in sector approaches: in 2000, the Washington State Legislature enacted legislation to support industry skills panels known as the "Skills Initiative." The Skills Initiative provides grants to local workforce development councils to engage business and industry in strategies to close the skill gaps in my State. My legislation emphasizes this work by providing funding to support these partnerships.

    This is a first step on a long journey as we work to improve Federal job training systems, and it is critical, now more than ever, that Congress increase funding for the job training programs under the Workforce Investment Act. By providing the necessary resources, we send a strong message to the American public that our government must invest in our greatest resource—the American worker. Each of these bills is an important component of that broader strategy, and I look forward to working with my colleagues as we begin to look at the reauthorization of WIA and the Higher Education Act this year and next.

    Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of each bill be printed in the RECORD.