Job Training Improvement Act of 2005

JOB TRAINING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - March 02, 2005)

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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 27, the Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization.

Today, there are nearly 8 million people who are unemployed and seeking work in this country. There are an additional 5 million workers who want a job but have given up their job search out of frustration. And about one in every five unemployed people--1.7 million Americans--has been jobless for more than 26 weeks.

These sad statistics make a clear point--access to job training services is critical for Americans across the country.

Job training should be a bipartisan priority of this Congress, but this is the second Congress in a row that Republicans have brought to the floor a partisan bill that undermines our job training initiatives.

This Republican bill puts the funding for job training services at risk by consolidating them into a block grant. This is at a time Republicans have already cut funding for job training initiatives under WIA by $750 million since 2002.

The Republican bill eliminates targeted job training for workers who need it the most--those who have lost their jobs to outsourcing and the downturn in our economy.

It allows the states to rob from Adult Education, Veterans' Reemployment, and job training programs for individuals with disabilities to fund more bureaucracy. This would severely jeopardize services to our most vulnerable populations.

Most troubling, this bill sends the message that discrimination will be condoned in federal, taxpayer-funded job training programs.

We all recognize and appreciate the work of faith-based organizations in their service to communities in need. But there is absolutely no evidence that the current law protections have hampered the full participation of faith-based organizations in providing job training services.

This bill, however, would allow religious groups to discriminate on the basis of religion when hiring or firing staff for federally-funded job training initiatives.

It would permit those seeking jobs funded by the federal government to be judged solely on the basis of their religious beliefs and practices, not on their qualifications or ability to do the job.

Instead of promoting the good works of religious organizations, this bill unfairly tarnishes them with the specter of discrimination that they have nobly fought so hard against.

The bill's constitutionally dubious provisions will introduce needless uncertainty and controversy. It will subject religious organizations to legally and morally untenable positions.

That is why this bill is opposed by many religious and civil rights organizations.
The Scott Amendment preserves current law, which permits these organizations to provide job training services with federal funds as long as they do not discriminate.

We can support faith-based organizations without breaking faith with our fundamental American commitment to non-discrimination.

And we can do so much more to support job training services for the millions of American workers who are struggling to find work.

I urge my colleagues to support the Scott Amendment and oppose the Republican bill.

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