DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR AND HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1979 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1978. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ASSISTANCE TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT FOR OLDER AMERICANS WITNESSES ERNEST G. GREEN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING WILLIAM B. HEWITT, ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF POLICY EVALUATION AND RESEARCH ROBERT ANDERSON, ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF COMPREHENSIVE EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT LAMOND GODWIN, ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF NATIONAL PROGRAMS HUGH C. MURPHY, ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU OF APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING ROBERT TAGGART, III, ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF YOUTH PROGRAMS T. JAMES WALKER, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT CAROLYN M. GOLDING, COMPTROLLER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING JOHN F. SHINE, BUDGET OFFICER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING WILLIAM B. LEWIS, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. EMPLOYMENT SER VICE LAWRENCE E. WEATHERFORD, JR., ADMINISTRATOR, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SERVICE CHARLES E. PUGH, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF BUDGET Mr. NATCHER. The committee will come to order. We have before the committee at this time Mr. Ernest G. Green, the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training. Mr. Green, it is a pleasure to have you before our committee along with your associates. At this time tell us who you have with you. (1) Mr. GREEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At the left far end is Mr. Lamond Godwin, Administrator of our Office of National Problems; Mr. Robert Taggart, Administrator, Office of Youth Programs; Mr. Robert Anderson, Administrator of the Office of Comprehensive Employment Development. To my right is Mr. William Hewitt, Administrator of the Office of Policy Evaluation and Research. To his right, Mr. Walker who is the Acting Administrator, Office of Administration and Management, and then Ms. Carolyn Golding, Comptroller for Employment and Training and Mr. Charles Pugh who is Director of the Office of Budget for the Department of Labor. Mr. NATCHER. Thank you. Mr. Green, we have had an opportunity to examine your statement and you have an excellent statement. With your permission we will place your statement in the record in its entirety and just take the questions. Mr. GREEN. Very well. [The prepared statement follows:] STATEMENT BY ERNEST G. GREEN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to present the budget request for fiscal year 1979 for Employment and Training Assistance, Temporary Employment Assistance, and Community Service Employment for Older Americans. The funding authority for these three appropriations expires at the end of this fiscal year and requires reauthorization. This includes all titles of the comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973, except for the Young Adult Conservation Corps contained in title VIII, and title IX of the Older Americans Act of 1965. The administration will be submitting a legislative proposal to the Congress shortly. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ASSISTANCE The Employment and Training Assistance appropriation provides the principal resources for programs authorized under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973, as amended. This account includes two new initiatives proposed for 1979. One is a large scale demonstration effort relating to the Employment Opportunities Program component of the President's welfare reform proposal. The other is a private sector program to develop better ways to make the private sector unsubsidized jobs available for greater numbers of the long-term unemployed and disadvantaged, particularly youth. In addition, funds to continue the public service jobs programs authorized under title II, for which funding has previously been requested in this account, will be requested in the Temporary Employment Assistance Account. This appropriation has four activities: Comprehensive employment and training programs, special programs for youth, other national programs, and private sector initiatives. The total amount requested at this time for these activities in fiscal year 1979 is $4,852,828,000, a net increase of $1,398,358,000 over the revised 1978 level of $3,454,470,000. I will now go into specifics concerning this request. COMPREHENSIVE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAMS The request for comprehensive employment and training programs, which includes funding only for title I State and local training and employment programs, is $2,026,700,000, an increase of $75,300,000 over the revised fiscal year 1978 level of $1,951,400,000. The fiscal year 1978 revised estimate includes a proposed supplemental totaling $71,400,000. This supplemental and the fiscal year 1979 increase of $75,300,000 reflect the estimated impact of the minimum wage increases on title I programs. The title I funds provide financial assistance, primarily by formula, to over 450 State and local prime sponsors to design and operate comprehensive employment and training assistance programs tailored to meet the specific needs of their communities. These funds will permit prime sponsors to serve more than 1.6 million economically disadvantaged, unemployed and underemployed persons in various training and employment programs during 1979. Our major objective for title I programs in 1979 is to increase private sector opportunities. These efforts will include the promotion of new methodologies for linking employment needs with the private sector, the improvement of abilities to match skill training with available job opportunities, and the promotion of the development of programs which are cost effectively administered, so as to insure that the maximum numbers of participants may be served. SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH The request for special programs for youth is $1,967,096,000, a net increase of $857,096,000 over the fiscal year 1978 level of $1,110,000,000. The programs to be funded by this request include the four new youth programs, namely, the Young Adult Conservation Corps, the Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Projects, the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects, and the Youth Employment and Training Program, authorized by the Youth Employment Demonstration Projects Act of 1977, the traditional summer youth program for disadvantaged youth and the Job Corps program. A total of $1,311,234,000 will be available for the new youth programs in 1979, of which $930,896,000 is requested in new obligational authority and $380,338,000 is from projected unspent carryover funds. These programs were funded in 1978 from the 1977 Economic Stimulus Appropriations Act, and therefore no new budget authority was provided in fiscal year 1978. By the end of this fiscal year, we expect to attain an enrollment level of 157,600 participants: 25,500 in the Young Adult Conservation Corps; 17,500 in the Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Projects; 18,000 in the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects; and 96,600 in the Youth Employment and Training Program. With the exception of the entitlement projects the youth programs will be maintained at the participant level we expect to reach by the end of fiscal year 1978. The entitlement projects will be increased from the 18,000 end of year enrollments to 27,700 by the end of fiscal year 1979. The Summer Youth Employment program provides jobs for economically disadvantaged youth aged 14 to 21 during the summer months. The budget request for this program totals $740,200,000, which is an increase of $47,200,000 over the $693,000,000 provided in fiscal year 1978. The amount will provide 1,000,000 9-week part-time job opportunities at a minimum wage of $2.90 per hour. This is marginally below the job level which is planned for the summer of 1978, and the same job level which was funded in the summer of 1977. The Job Corps provides severely disadvantaged youth, aged 16 to 21, with a comprehensive program of basic education, vocational training, job placement, medical support, and other services in a residential setting. The fiscal year 1979 request for Job Corps totals $296,000,000, which is a reduction of $121,000,000 from the $417,000,000 provided in fiscal year 1978. However, an additional $212,796,000 will be available for the Job Corps program in 1979 from projected unspent prior year funds, providing a total availability of $508,796,000. The funds will allow the Job Corps to expand to a 44,000 slot level during 1979. The actual time required to identify, acquire and rehabilitate Job Corps center sites precluded the expansion orginally envisioned in the economic stimulus program plan during fiscal year 1978. We do, however, expect to reach the 44,000 capacity level early in fiscal year 1979. Approximately 106 Job Corps centers are expected to be in operation in fiscal year 1979. Many of the new centers will be located in States which either do not currently have centers, such as Massachusetts and Florida, or which have never had a Job Corps center, such as Louisiana. Currently, the Job Corps has 22,800 enrollees in 61 centers. We have selected 23 new sites which should accommodate 8,700 additional enrollees. OTHER NATIONAL PROGRAMS The request for other national programs is $459,032,000, a net increase of $65,962,000 over the revised 1978 estimate of $393,070,000. The revised 1978 request reflects a proposed supplemental totaling $5,140,000, which represents the impact of the minimum wage increase on the migrants and seasonal farmworkers, and Indian and other native American programs. The request includes $145,922,000 for the Indian and native Americans, and migrant and seasonal farmworkers programs, an increase of $5,422,000 over the revised fiscal year 1978 level of $140,500,000. The fiscal year 1978 revised estimate includes a proposed supplemental of $5,140,000. This supplemental and the fiscal year 1979 increase of $5,422,000 represent the estimated impact of the minimum wage legislation. Funding for these programs will continue to be linked to the statutory requirements of the substantive legislation. A total of $69,200,000 is requested for other special target programs, a decrease of $1,500,000 below the fiscal year 1978 level of $70,700,000. The decrease represents a transfer to the Departmental Management appropriation in fiscal year 1979. Any additional resources required for funding these programs will be made available from title I discretionary resources. The request for program support activities is for $43,910,000, a net decrease of $960,000 from the fiscal year 1978 level. This net decrease includes an increase of $1,540,000 for labor market information to provide necessary State salary and benefits cost increases and is offset by a $2,500,000 decrease in evaluation funds provided in fiscal year 1978 for the evaluation of stimulus programs. The $43,910,000 includes $15,010,000 for training and technical assistance; $12,600,000 for labor market information; and $16,300,000 for research, development and evaluation. A total of $200,000,000 is requested to implement a series of welfare reform demonstration projects which would test alternative methods of job creation, regional variations in the number and type of clients served, and various management systems which would be used under welfare reform. The demonstration projects are essential to insure that the service mechanisms envisioned by the proposed "Better Jobs and Income Act" will have been well defined and tested prior to implementation of the program nationally. The economic stimulus programs for which no new funding is being requested include $75,000,000 for the Skill Training Improvement Program, $37,000,000 for migrants and Indian initiatives, $20,000,000 for the Help Through Industry Retraining and Employment program, and $5,000,000 for the Disabled Veterans Outreach program. Of the 2,000 Disabled Veterans Outreach positions funded in 1977 and 1978, it is anticipated that in fiscal year 1979 State agencies will be able to absorb 500 of these veterans into regular employment service activities largely through attrition. The remaining 1,500 Disabled Veterans Outreach positions will be funded from title I discretionary funds. PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVES A major effort will be made in fiscal year 1979 to increase the orientation of training and employment programs toward preparation for, and placement in, private sector jobs. To do this, we are requesting $400,000,000 of new budget authority for private sector initiatives in fiscal year 1979. Working through States and localities these funds will be utilized for training and employment designed with the aid of local businesses. This initiative will be aimed at serving the long-term unemployed and disadvantaged, particularly youth. TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE Although there is a marked improvement in the economy, the unemployment situation continues to call for special measures. Therefore, we are requesting to continue the 725,000 public service employment jobs currently authorized under titles II and VI of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act during 1979. Funds to finance the 725,000 jobs goal for 1978 were provided by forward funding in 1977 appropriations. A total of $6,670,000,000 is required to maintain the 725,000 public service employment jobs during 1979. Of this total, $5,955,286,000 of new obligational authority is being requested for fiscal year 1979, with the remaining $714,714,000 to be derived from projected unspent carryover funds. The unit cost per job is estimated to reach $8,900 by the end of fiscal year 1978, and to average $9,200 during fiscal year 1979. COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT FOR OLDER AMERICANS One of our basic_concerns is employment opportunities for the elderly. The Community Service Employment for Older Americans appropriation provides parttime job opportunities in community service activities for unemployed low-income persons age 55 and over. This program provides advance funding and is currently funded through June 30, 1979. The 1979 request will fund the program through June 30, 1980. The request for fiscal year 1979 totals $228,450,000, which is an increase of $8,050,000 over the revised 1978 request of $220,400,000. The revised 1978 estimate reflects a proposed supplemental totaling $30,000,000. The supplemental and the 1979 increase of $8,050,000 reflect the impact of the minimum wage increases on the program. Approximately 37,400 job opportunities for the elderly will be provided through June 1978. Beginning July 1, 1978, 47,500 job opportunities will be provided. This concludes my statement Mr. Chairman. I will be happy to answer any questions you, or Members of the Committee, may have. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH-ERNEST G. GREEN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF Labor for EmPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DepartMENT OF LABOR Mr. Green was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training by the Senate on March 10, 1977. From 1967 until his confirmation, he had been executive director of the Recruitment and Training Program (R-T-P, Inc.), formerly the Joint Apprenticeship Program of the Workers Defense League/A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, New York City, an organization which recruits minorities for apprenticeship programs. He began with the program in 1964 as a field representative, attempting to place black and Puerto Rican young men into the New York City building and construction trade unions as apprentices. Under his leadership as executive director, the program expanded beyond apprentice training and became actively involved in journeyman upgrading and training. It was also one of the first organizations in the country to develop construction skills training for Model Cities residents. Born on September 22, 1941, Mr. Breen is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas. He was the first black to be graduated from Central High School in Little Rock. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State in 1962 and a Master of Arts degree from the same school in 1964. Mr. Green has received the J. D. Rockefeller Outstanding Public Service Award, the A. Philip Randolph Award of the Negro Trade Union Leadership Council, and the Freedom in America Award of the Workers Defense League. He has also received awards or citations from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, the American Federation of Teachers, the Elks, Ebony Magazine, and the New York Post. REAUTHORIZATION OF CETA Mr. NATCHER. Now, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, which we refer to as CETA, expires this year, as you well know, Mr. Green. Can you summarize for us, if you would, please, what the administration is proposing in the way of an extension of CETA? Just briefly tell us what the proposal is, Mr. Green. Mr. GREEN. The proposal at this point is to extend the bill for 4 years, to build in both a structual and a countercyclical public service employment program into a new public service employment title, and to add a number of new activities to Title III such as job search and relocation assistance to those who become unemployed due to large scale loss of jobs in a locality. The proposal also would bring together the separate youth programs in CETA into Title IV, and include a new separate Title VII for private sector initiatives. This is part of the private sector activity that has been proposed by the President. Mr. NATCHER. Mr. Green, if I asked you to name two of the major changes, what would you say they would be, just two of the major changes now? Mr. GREEN. Well, I would say that the major focus would be, one, to target on those more in need to a greater extent than we do now, and second to build in a triggering process in our PSE program so that at the point that the economy continues to improve we are able to trigger the program down or vice-versa, if the economy turns worse. |