FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 225-1025
June 22, 2000
No. HR-22
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Life-Long Learning, Committee on Education and the Workforce on "One-Stop Job Centers." The hearing will take place on Thursday, June 29, 2000, in room 2175 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Invited witnesses include representatives of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), the U.S. Department of Labor, State workforce boards, and the Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193), popularly known as the 1996 welfare reform law. In response to this law, States began converting their welfare offices, which previously focused primarily on filling out benefit applications and calculating benefit amounts, into job programs. Aided by a growing economy, the results so far have been impressive - the welfare rolls have declined by half, work by low-income (especially never-married) mothers is at an all-time high, and child poverty has declined. As a companion to the emphasis on helping people enter the workforce, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) which transformed the Job Training Partnership Act into a program that allowed States much greater flexibility in unifying and coordinating their job preparation programs. A centerpiece of the Workforce legislation was the requirement that States create "One-Stop Job Centers" for the purpose of streamlining and coordinating many of the Federally funded employment and training programs at the local level.
These two laws signaled major changes in the focus of both the nation's welfare and workforce programs. Welfare offices around the country are now much more focused on helping people get work and much less on maintaining families on cash benefits. The emphasis of the new welfare-to-work programs is rapid job placement, although some programs mix rapid job placement with some training, especially in the so-called "soft skills," such as getting to work on time, following directions, having a positive attitude, and getting along with co-workers. The workforce programs, which in the past have maintained a certain distance from welfare programs, have also become more focused on rapid job placement. According to GAO in a 1999 report, the goals and operations of the welfare system and the workforce system have become increasingly similar.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "Thanks to the successful welfare reform and the workforce reform legislation, the nation is now developing very effective programs to help people, including low-skilled young people with little work experience, get jobs. I want to know how effective "One-Stop Centers" are in coordinating programs at the local level to help workers get jobs, keep jobs, and move to better jobs, and what we can do to make this work even better."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The goal of the hearing is to summarize information on how "One-Stop Career Centers" are operating and especially the extent to which they are coordinating work and training programs, including welfare-to-work programs, at the local level. The hearing will also focus on the extent to which "One-Stop Centers" are helping workers retain jobs and advance to better jobs.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, July 13, 2000, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.