For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 17, 2003
Fact Sheet: Providing Job Opportunities for America's Workers
Today's Presidential Action
President Bush traveled to Northern Virginia Community College to
meet with workers involved in employment training and to discuss his
plan to strengthen economic growth and create new jobs.
The President signed the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003 to provide
tax relief for workers, families, seniors, and small business
entrepreneurs that will increase the demand for goods and services,
creating more jobs. The President will not be satisfied until every
American who is looking for work can find it, every business has a
chance to grow, and prosperity reaches every corner of America.
The President called on Congress to act on his budget proposal for
Personal Re-employment Accounts, which will provide eligible unemployed
workers the assistance and flexibility they need to find a new job
right away. The President has proposed $3.6 billion for Personal
Re-employment Accounts, which would help more than a million unemployed
men and women across America get back to work.
The President also urged the Senate to act on the Workforce
Investment Reauthorization bill recently passed by the House of
Representatives that includes reforms to make the workforce investment
system more flexible, accountable, and focused on results to ensure
that we fund the programs that are most effective at helping Americans
find work.
Administration Actions Providing Job Opportunities for America's
Workers
High-Growth Job Training Initiative: While unemployment remains a
top concern, there are industries, such as health care and
high-technology manufacturing, which need skilled, well-trained workers
now. The Department of Labor's High-Growth Job Training Initiative
partners businesses looking to hire new workers with local educational
and career centers to re-train unemployed workers in skills that are in
high demand.
Personal Re-employment Accounts: To help people find good jobs
faster, the President proposed creating Personal Re-employment Accounts
and included a $3.6 billion request for FY 2003, to be spent over the
next two years. Personal Re-employment Accounts would give flexibility
to eligible unemployed workers by providing them with up to $3,000 to
use for job training, child care, transportation, moving costs, or
other expenses associated with finding a new job. Individuals who find
full-time employment within 13 weeks would be able to keep any money
remaining in the account as a re-employment bonus.
Workforce Investment Act Reforms: The Department of Labor
annually provides states with substantial funds (over $4 billion
in 2003) for employment and training programs governed by the Workforce
Investment Act. The Act also establishes the One-Stop Career Center
network with over 1,900 centers nationwide through which the
Administration invests nearly $15 billion each year in government-wide
job training and employment services. The Administration has proposed
changes to the Workforce Investment Act to strengthen the One-Stop
network, to give states more flexibility, to better connect the
community college system and local businesses to the public workforce
development system, and to make the system more accountable.
Pell Grants: More than 1.8 million community college students now
take advantage of the Pell Grant program to help pay for their
education and training. The President proposed more than $12.7 billion
for Pell Grants for FY 2004, representing a 45% increase in funding
since 2001.
For more information on the President's initiatives, visit
www.whitehouse.gov
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