Job Training

JOB TRAINING -- (House of Representatives - June 02, 2004)

(Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, since President Bush took office, 2.2 million Americans have lost their jobs. Americans are suffering through the longest unemployment period in 20 years and the most dismal job picture in almost 40 years.

And what is the Republican leadership doing about it? Having the House vote on tired proposals for job-training vouchers that do not actually create jobs for the millions of Americans who are out of work. Unemployed Americans need jobs and benefits immediately so that they can provide for their families. They do not need training vouchers for jobs that do no exist.

Democrats have offered proposals that will create real solutions for Americans. We have proposed a highway bill that would create 1.8 million good-paying jobs more than the Republican bill. Democrats have also proposed enacting tax bills that will keep manufacturing jobs here in the U.S. and end incentives for shipping jobs overseas.

Americans also need Congress to extend tax cuts for the middle class, such as a child tax credit, without adding to the deficit. These are real solutions that create new jobs for out-of-work Americans and keep existing jobs at home.

We should be voting to pass these meaningful solutions to unemployment in this country and not wasting our time on gimmicks.