MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING LEGISLATION, 1970 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1969 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT, MANPOWER, AND POVERTY, OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10:10 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room G-308, New Senate Office Building, Senator Gaylord Nelson (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Nelson (presiding), Mondale, Javits, Prouty, and Smith of Illinois. Staff members present: Robert O. Harris, staff director; William R. Bechtel, professional staff member to the subcommittee, Bill Spring, professional staff member; John Scales, minority counsel to the subcommittee; and Peter C. Benedict, minority counsel. Senator NELSON. Today the subcommittee opens hearings on legislation concerning manpower development and training. The administration bill, S. 2838, other related bills, and departmental reports, will be printed in the record. (The material referred to follows:) (1) 91ST CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2838 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 12, 1969 Mr. JAVITS (for himself, Mr. Cook, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DOMINICK, Mr. GOODELL, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PROUTY, Mr. SCHWEIKER, and Mr. Scorr) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare A BILL To establish a comprehensive manpower development program to assist persons in overcoming obstacles to suitable employment, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Manpower Training Act 4 of 1969". 5 6 7 STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE SEC. 2. The Congress finds and declares that (1) The Nation's prosperity, economic stability, and 8 productive capacity are limited by a lack of workers with 9 sufficient skills to perform the demanding production, service, II-O 2 1 and supervisory tasks necessary in an increasingly techno2 logical society. At the same time, there are many workers 3 who are unemployed or are employed below their capacity 4 who, with additional education and training, could make a 5 greater contribution to the national economy and share 6 more fully in its benefits. 7 (2) The problem of assuring meaningful employment 8 opportunities will be compounded by the continued rapid 9 growth of the labor force. It is imperative that these new 10 workers, including the many young people who will enter 11 the labor force, be provided with adequate academic and 12 vocational skills which will allow them to work at the level 13 of their full potential. 14 (3) The placement in private employment of unem15 ployed, underemployed, and low-income workers is hampered 16 by the absence of entry level opportunities. These oppor tunities can be augmented by assisting workers now in entry 18 level jobs to improve their skills and advance to more de19 manding employment. 20 (4) Expansion of public service employment opportu21 nities for unemployed, underemployed, and low-income per 22 24 sons will allow the Nation to meet more adequately the unfulfilled public needs in such fields as health, recreation, housing and neighborhood improvements, public safety, 25 maintenance of parks, streets, and other public facilities, 3 1 rural development, transportation, conservation, and other 2 fields of human betterment and public improvement. 3 (5) The public and private educational system has the 4 major responsibility to provide the academic, technical, and 5 vocational training opportunities necessary to prepare at6 tending students for the world of work. This system must be 7 strengthened to achieve its goals, and its success is critical 8 to lessening the need for remedial manpower programs. But, 9 where effective opportunities have not been provided to 10 individuals or their access to them continues to be restricted, 11 remedial services should be provided as a part of our Nation's manpower programs. 12 13 (6) Improved training and employment opportunities 14 are vital to developing capacity for self-support by public 15 assistance recipients, and the manpower system must assume 16 special responsibility and accountability for training, plac17 ing, and upgrading these persons. 18 (7) Experience has shown that the administration and 19 delivery of effective manpower programs are extremely com20 plex matters, requiring a more comprehensive, unified, and 21 flexible approach, and the active cooperation of employers, 22 employees, and other public and private agencies, individ23 uals, and organizations. 24 (8) The effectiveness of manpower programs would be 25 improved by a more coordinated approach in evaluating |