Back to Work Incentive Act of 2003

BACK TO WORK INCENTIVE ACT OF 2003 -- (House of Representatives - June 03, 2004)

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I would welcome a constructive approach to help people who are struggling with the consequences of long-term unemployment. For nearly three years now, Oregon has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the entire country. Largely for circumstances beyond our control-the national and international economies, the manipulation of energy markets-Oregonians have suffered. Unfortunately, this bill falls short of providing meaningful help to the 65,000 Oregonians who have lost their jobs during the Bush presidency.

This bill caps the benefit at $3,000 per unemployed worker and provides no assurance that it will approach that much for most people. The one thing that is guaranteed is that recipients are cut off from other Federal programs for one year after they use their "reemployment accounts." This is a poor bargain with no guarantee of success.

Congress can and should do better than create a cynical shell game of taking away funding from existing Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs and reusing them in a lesser, unestablished program. Congress should place its priorities behind what the President campaigned on and existing, productive programs: enhancing Pell Grants, fully funding the WIA, and using the $14 billion already in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. Congress has established programs that are useful, flexible and creative that can help our 8.2 million unemployed workers. This new draconian proposal is ill-advised and unnecessary.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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