U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Industrial Machine Works
Pennsylvania NEG Announcement
Etna, Pennsylvania
Friday, October 21, 2004

Thank you Melissa, [Hart, R-Pa., 4^th District].

And thank you, Senator [Rick] Santorum, for your strong leadership and advocacy on behalf of this grant and the people of Pennsylvania.

And I want to thank, Al, [Sarver, President of Industrial Machine Works], for hosting us and for showing us your facility.

Let me also recognize Pete Ramage, President of the Etna Borough Council; Mary Ellen Ramage, the Manager of the Borough of Etna; and Bob Ober, Etna Chief of Police. And I want to say hello to members of FOP Lodge #91 who are here today.

And I want to thank Senator Arlen Specter, who could not be with us today, for his support of this grant, as well.

First, our hearts go out to all of those whose homes, lives and livelihoods have been devastated by the recent storms. President George W. Bush and I are deeply concerned about the toll that the recent heavy winds, rains and flooding have taken on your community.

Even though the floods were over a month ago, there is still a great deal of damage that needs to be repaired. We saw it as we came through town—heavy construction projects on the roads, the damaged bridge right outside this facility and many homes and businesses that are still boarded up. There is even a water mark on the wall right behind me, which shows the tremendous extent of the damage.

So today, I am announcing a $10.4-million National Emergency Grant to help clean-up and rebuild Etna and other areas of Pennsylvania that were severely damaged by the severe September storms and floods.

This grant will provide 672 immediate, temporary jobs to help in the clean up, repair and restoration efforts. Workers who lost their jobs as a result of the floods, and others who have been out of work for lengthy periods of time, will be eligible for these jobs.

These workers will help renovate and reconstruct destroyed structures, public facilities and lands. They will help restore and repair homes and other buildings, as well as haul away debris and aid in the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Pennsylvanians who want to apply for these temporary jobs should contact the CareerLink Center nearest them. There are 77 Comprehensive CareerLink Centers throughout Pennsylvania.

To locate the nearest CareerLink Center, please call toll-free: 1-877-US2-JOBS. If you have electricity and Internet access, you can also find your nearest CareerLink Center by visiting this Web site address: www.servicelocator.org.

This grant will also provide participants in the temporary jobs program with a number of supportive services. These include job-related transportation, work equipment and child care. We want to make sure that workers have everything they need to take care of themselves so they can take care of you and your communities as you recover and rebuild. This assistance is on top of the $496.9 million the Labor Department provides to Pennsylvania annually for job-training and employment programs.

President George W. Bush and I are committed to helping the people of Etna, and all Pennsylvanians affected by the flood, get back on their feet and reclaim their lives and livelihoods as quickly as possible.

So now, I am pleased to present this check for $10.4 million to Senator Santorum.

Thank you all, again, for being here today. Now, I'd like to ask Senator Santorum to make a few remarks.

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