DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006--Continued
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COMMUNITY-BASED JOB TRAINING GRANTS
Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, I first want to thank Chairman SPECTER and Ranking Member HARKIN for their diligent work on the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. Budgets are very tight these days and I appreciate how well the chairman and the ranking member were able to address so many of the important issues in this bill. With all of this in mind, I want to enter into a colloquy to clarify a key issue concerning this measure.
Our Nation's community colleges are critical to our economy. So many men and women across our country have lost their jobs, and our traditional manufacturing industries have been hit especially hard. In the midst of this economic transition, community colleges have been a real beacon of hope. In North Carolina, for example, workforce development programs at Piedmont Tech and Forsyth Community College, are training former tobacco and textile workers for new, well-paying jobs in health care and biotechnology. Community colleges are leading the way training workers for the high growth, high demand jobs of the 21st century.
I am so grateful, as I know the community colleges across the Nation are as well, for Chairman SPECTER's efforts to fully fund the President's request for Community-Based Job Training Grants in last year's appropriations process. Unfortunately, having reviewed the provisions contained in the House-passed Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, the Department of Labor and I are very concerned about the future of this program.
The House bill designates $125 million in funding for fiscal year 2006 while at the same time rescinding $125 million of fiscal year 2005 funding for the program. This cuts the program in half for both fiscal years and dramatically reduces the number of dislocated workers our community colleges can train. Achieving the greatest possible funding amount for this program must be a top priority. I know that Senator CORNYN is strongly supporting increased funding for this program and I thank him for his efforts to help community colleges.
The Community-Based Job Training Grant Program is providing much-needed funding for community colleges across our country and in my home State of North Carolina. Just last week, the Labor Department announced grants for 70 community colleges in 40 States, exhausting the $125 million pot of available money allocated for this program. Nationwide, 388 colleges applied for this funding, and in North Carolina, just one of the 16 applicants, Haywood Community College, was selected to receive this funding. We all know that grant programs are very competitive; still, this funding is clearly not coming close to meeting the needs of our community colleges. They are on the front lines, training workers and helping grow our economy, and we can and should do better to assist them in this endeavor.
Can the chairman assure me of his commitment to the funding of this program for fiscal year 2006?
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