|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce
Owensboro, Kentucky
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thank you, Tish [Correa-Osborne, 2008 Chair, Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce].
Congratulations on the 95th Anniversary of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce! The theme of tonight's dinner — "Big Ideas" — is terrific! The ideas will be revealed at the end of this evening, so I don't want to spoil the surprise.
Owensboro is doing well from a labor market perspective. Owensboro companies provide over 52,000 payroll jobs, an all-time high. And the local unemployment rate is below the national average, and one of the lowest in Kentucky. But there is always more that can be done to strengthen our communities.
So this evening I'd like to share with you some of initiatives that this Administration has taken to help our country remain strong and competitive. First, let me share some of the details of the stimulus package the President announced last Friday. Then, let me share some of the initiatives that the Department of Labor has undertaken to strengthen the skills of our nation's workforce and to ensure that employers have access to the talent they need.
Let me also point out the resiliency of our economy. Despite all the challenges that we've seen, our nation's economy has produced 8.4 million new jobs since August 2003. We've now seen 52 months of consecutive job growth — the longest stretch of continuous job growth since records have been kept. By comparison, Eurozone countries and Japan have seen stagnate job growth. And the U.S. unemployment rate is lower than the average of the 1990's, which was 5.7 percent.
While the fundamentals of our nation's economy are still healthy, the President believes that we should not take economic growth for granted. He called upon the Congress to join him in creating a stimulus package that will inoculate the larger economy from the downturn in the housing market.
The President is pleased that just this afternoon, Secretary Paulson, Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader Boehner have come to an agreement on an economic growth package of about $150 billion. He commends the bipartisan group for finding common ground on this important effort.
The President hopes that the House will quickly pass this legislation, move it to the Senate for rapid action, and get it to the President's desk for signature in time to make a difference this year.
The President is pleased that the package meets the criteria he set forth. It will provide an effective, robust, and temporary set of incentives that will boost our economy without raising taxes. It rewards work and allows people and businesses to decide how to spend their own money. And it's expected to create about a half million jobs.
The plan allows Americans to keep about $100 billion of their own money to spend as they wish. All eligible taxpayers will receive $300 per person up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples, plus an additional refundable tax credit of $300 per child for eligible parents.
The plan offers businesses about $50 billion to expand and hire workers. It allows businesses to deduct an additional 50% of the cost of equipment and software purchased in 2008. It also doubles the expensing limit for small businesses to $250 thousand.
The President understands why Americans are anxious about the slowdown when they see turmoil in the financial markets, they wonder what's ahead. But American workers and employers should be confident about the long-term outlook for our economy. Working together in a bipartisan way, we now have an opportunity to take the swift, decisive action the President called for and our economy needs.
The President understands that it is the private sector that creates jobs, not the government. And that the role of the government is to create the climate for growth. That's why assisting job-creating employers like you is a key part of the President's plan. You are part of our country's tremendous job creating machine, which is the envy of the world.
Today, I've brought with me a publication that shows just how dynamic our job creation machine is. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is a part of the Department of Labor, has just published a valuable guide that pinpoints the great job opportunities that will be emerging in the years up to 2016. It's called "Charting the Projections: 2006-2016." This publication not only highlights the many occupations that are growing, but it also shows the level of education needed to access these opportunities. It points out the growing job opportunities for workers who invest in themselves through some kind of post- secondary education. That doesn't necessarily mean a four-year college degree. Some of the fastest-growing opportunities are for workers with two-year degrees from community colleges and workers who participate in long-term, on-the-job training.
A two-year degree can qualify workers for solid, well-paid careers in high growth occupations in such areas as health care, legal services, and computer support. By the way, in 2006, the median annual wage for jobs requiring an associate degree was just over $50,000.
On-the-job training, especially long-term on-the-job training, also provides a very fulfilling career path. These careers include first responders, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, first line supervisors and managers for a variety of industries; sales representative for wholesale, manufacturing, technical and scientific products and claims adjusters, examiners and investigators. These are rewarding careers that can provide the foundation to build a family and a future.
One of the best ways to access the skills needed for these careers is through the community college system. In Owensboro there is the Owensboro Community and Technical College, which is very highly regarded. Community colleges like Owensboro are accessible, affordable, and offer flexible schedules to accommodate people who need to continue working while they go to school. They are the gateways to a bright future.
That's why the President launched the Community-Based Job Training Initiative, which the Department of Labor administers. This initiative expands the capacity of community colleges to prepare workers for careers in growth sectors of the economy. So far, the Department has awarded $250 million in grants to fund 142 education and training partnerships with community colleges — and three of the grantees are from Kentucky. Under this program, Owensboro Community and Technical College received nearly $825,000 to train workers for careers in the growing biotechnology and life sciences field. Later this spring, the Department will announce the results of a third grant competition to further expand the capacity of community colleges nationwide to train workers. One of the key features of these grants is to connect education providers with leaders like you, to ensure that the curricula they offer provide skills you need in today's workplace.
At the same time the Department is strengthening education and training, it is investing in another group of workers who enter the job market quite differently. These are our returning servicemen and women, whose leadership and professionalism make them superb candidates for jobs in the civilian workforce. Here in Kentucky, we have so many brave men and women who have answered the call to serve. Many are based in Fort Campbell and Fort Knox in the Commonwealth, and at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indiana. Veterans issues are important to this community, as reflected in the successful advocacy of local veterans for a Veterans Administration Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Owensboro.
At the Department, we are committed to promoting and protecting the employment rights of our service members and veterans. In December 2005, the Department announced the first-ever regulations implementing the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 — known as USERRA. These regulations have helped clarify the law and improve enforcement.
Each year, over 318,000 military members return to civilian status — either through retirement, voluntary separation, or as a result of a discharge due to disability. And, the Department of Labor helps these individuals transition into the civilian sector by providing a variety of job placement and employment assistance services.
The Department's HireVetsFirst campaign has helped employers appreciate the value of hiring veterans. Our men and women in uniform are known for their intelligence, strong work ethic, discipline, and leadership. They have the highly marketable professional qualities that employers are looking for.
We're also helping veterans through our REALifelines initiative. This program is making a tremendous difference in the lives of our wounded and injured service members. REALifelines provides one-on-one job training, counseling, and re-employment services to seriously wounded and injured service members who cannot return to active duty. REALifelines has helped numerous men and women build new and rewarding careers in the private sector.
America's veterans were there for all of us. Now it's our turn to be there for them by providing the training, education, and services that can help them find new careers.
Finally, let me touch upon an issue that concerns many of you here in the Owensboro region, and that is the demand for agricultural workers. In Kentucky, the farm sector is an important part of the Commonwealth's economy, estimated at $2 billion and providing more than 105,000 jobs. And when there is a shortage of U.S. workers to fill those agriculture jobs, many agricultural employers rely on the H-2A visa program to hire foreign temporary workers. As many of you know, the Department of Labor administers part of the H-2A program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are about 1.2 million agricultural workers in the U.S. Surveys have shown that more than half of those people are in the country illegally. Clearly, America's farmers have a need for agricultural labor to help with the planting and harvesting of crops.
The H-2A program has no ceiling on the number of workers that can be admitted to work temporarily in the U.S. Yet last year the Department certified only about 75,000 agricultural jobs. Again, that is out of an estimated 1.2 million agricultural jobs in the U.S., where more than half are filled by undocumented workers.
Many farmers have been reluctant to use the H-2A program because of an overly bureaucratic process that is plagued with inefficiencies and delays. It is clear that the government can do a better job of providing Kentucky and the nation's farmers with the workers they need. Modernizing the H-2A program is one of the highest priorities of this Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Employers tell the Department that when they are unable to find a sufficient number of U.S. workers, they face bureaucratic hurdles in trying to use the H-2A program. Some believe that the current system is so broken that the only alternative to letting crops go unpicked is to hire undocumented workers. So we have a responsibility to fix the current system.
When the Congress failed to reach consensus on comprehensive immigration reform last year, the President announced that his Administration would help solve the security and economic challenges posed by illegal immigration. Part of that involves increased border and interior enforcement. But part of that also includes modernizing the H-2A program to ensure farmers have access to a legal workforce in which the rights of U.S. workers and foreign workers are protected. U.S. workers should have the first shot at these jobs. But if an employer is unable to locate enough U.S. workers, there should be an orderly and logical process to hire temporary workers.
In the near future, the Department will be proposing reforms to the H-2A program in the form of draft regulations called a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM. I invite you contact the Department with any comments or suggestions you may have. We need your input and your experience, so please make your voices heard.
The ability of the U.S. economy to produce new jobs, for all sectors of society and at all levels, is remarkable. And wherever I travel, our country's economy is the envy of the world. I have a special appreciation of how wonderful America is because, as many of you know, I am an immigrant.
My parents believed in America as the land of opportunity, and made tremendous sacrifices to give their children a chance to build a better life. They left behind their family, friends and everything familiar to emigrate to the United States. I waited 12 years to get my U.S. citizenship.
We have so many blessings in this country — freedom, a dynamic and resilient economy and most of all, the energy, compassion and generosity of the American people. So thank you for everything you are doing to create jobs and opportunity for others. Working together, we can continue to ensure that America remains a bright and shining beacon of hope.
# # #
| 
