Rep. Hinojosa Opening Statement on “Removing Inefficiencies in the Nation's Job Training Programs”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), the senior Democrat of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the hearing on "Removing Inefficiencies in the Nation's Job Training Programs".

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I am pleased that we are having a hearing on the critically important work of our nation's employment and workforce training programs.  I would like to thank our distinguished panel of witnesses for joining us today.

While our economy is moving in the right direction, in my congressional district and across our nation, millions of American workers continue to struggle to find good jobs and make ends meet. 

In order to thrive in today's workforce, American workers, particularly those adults and youth who are unemployed, dislocated, or disadvantaged, need education and training, counseling, guidance, and support to secure family-sustaining jobs, achieve their educational goals, and improve their lives.

In part, today's hearing will focus on recent reports released by GAO on federal programs that provide some form of employment and training services.  In these reports, GAO has recommended co-locating and consolidating administrative structures to avoid duplicating services.  

In addition, the GAO recommended that the Secretaries of Labor and HHS work together to develop and disseminate information to encourage such efforts.  

While my colleagues on the other side of the aisle support the consolidation of administrative structures and funding streams and argue that any savings should be applied to the deficit, I believe that consolidation should be used to improve the quality and accessibility of employment and job training services. 

If the process of co-locating or consolidating programs leads to a savings, I strongly believe that these resources should be reinvested into our public workforce and adult education system and be used to address the needs of those workers who are hardest to serve. Those who are jobless desperately need our help to improve their lives.

  

In the Río Grande Valley of South Texas, we have waiting lists for adult education and employment and training services and are unable to meet the needs of our most vulnerable workers and youth due to limited resources.  

As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, reauthorizing and improving the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and adequately funding our nation's public workforce and adult education system are top priorities for me. In my view, our public workforce and adult education system has been starved for far too long. 

It is my hope that we, the members of this committee, can identify areas of common ground and work in a bipartisan manner to reauthorize WIA in the 112th Congress.