John Kline

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I seek time in opposition to the motion.

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada, a member of the committee, Dr. Heck.

Mr. KLINE. I now yield 2 minutes to the chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, I'm very pleased now to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee, the chairman of the Health Subcommittee, Dr. Roe.

Mr. KLINE. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, can I inquire as to the time remaining on each side.

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby).

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, at this time I'm very pleased and honored to yield 1 minute to the distinguished House majority leader, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 803.

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Rokita), the chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee on the committee.

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 803, the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act, the SKILLS Act, and yield myself as much time as I may consume. Despite an increase in hiring last month, our Nation is still experiencing a jobs crisis. Twelve million Americans are searching for work. Nearly 5 million of these unemployed workers have been without a job for 6 months or longer. For many Americans, the hope of a new job grows more desperate the longer they are unemployed. Jack Walerius has not had full-time work for more than 3 years and has lost count of the number of times he has applied for a job. He recently told CBS News: From my perspective, from my eyes, I still see that we're in a deep recession. Today, we have an opportunity to advance reforms that will give workers like Jack a better chance to succeed. Our economy is extremely competitive and constantly changing. Unfortunately, the workforce training system has failed to keep up. It's not surprising when you consider the size of the bureaucracy that now exists. This chart is a snapshot of the current job training system. It includes more than 50 programs spread across nine Federal agencies. President Obama described it as a ``maze of confusing training programs.'' I completely agree. The current system is inefficient and ineffective. For individuals served through the Workforce Investment Act, less than one in five completed training. Fewer than half of those who received employment assistance such as job searches and resume writing were able to find work. To make matters worse, Federal mandates stifle the engagement and innovation of employers and State and local leaders. Onerous rules prevent workers from accessing the training they need when they need it. And taxpayer dollars are being spent with little accountability. A bloated bureaucracy is standing between workers and the support they need. We've tried the Washington-knows-best approach, and it isn't working. It's time to move in a new direction. It is time for a workforce training system that empowers job creators to meet the demands of a dynamic economy. It is time to give State and local leaders greater freedom to serve their communities. It is time for a workforce training system that spends taxpayer money wisely. It is time to invest less in bureaucracy and more in workers and training. The SKILLS Act will help us reach these goals. The legislation replaces 35 ineffective and duplicative programs with a new Workforce Investment Fund. No more maze of programs. Instead, workers will get help through one simple and flexible source of employment support. The bill strengthens the role of job creators, as well as State and local leaders, who know best the needs of their workforce. Doing so will ensure the skills workers receive can be applied to the jobs of today and the future, not the past. The legislation also makes sure our most vulnerable workers-- including veterans, disadvantaged youth and individuals with disabilities--are being served. Finally, the SKILLS Act provides accountability over the use of taxpayer dollars. If a program demonstrates a pattern of failure, then taxpayers will know about it. Madam Chair, for 10 years, Congress has talked about job training reform but has failed to make reform a reality. It is time to fix the broken job training system and help put more Americans back to work. I urge my colleagues to support the SKILLS Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Madam Chair, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), a member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I submit for publication the attached copy of the rules of the Committee on Education and the Workforce for the U.S. House of Rerpresentatives for the 113th Congress:

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Education and the Workforce be discharged from further consideration of House Resolution 833 and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself a moment to briefly offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of Newtown, Connecticut. What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday is simply unspeakable, and we as a Nation are devastated by the loss of so many innocent lives. In the face of such tragedy, it is our duty to join together and honor the memory of the victims. Let us stand united in offering our prayers to their families and friends. Mr. Speaker, I yield my time to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy) and ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control the time.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. I have got a number of issues to address here. We've heard so much in a relatively short period of time here. We heard from some of our colleagues that we haven't brought a jobs bill. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle know very well that we have brought many jobs bills. In fact, over 30 of them have passed this House--most of them in a bipartisan way--and are sitting in the Senate. We just don't happen to believe that trillions more of borrowed money to jump-start the economy is a jobs bill. That's been proven to fail. This, in fact, is a jobs bill because we want people on welfare to get to work. And so we've heard that, no, this information memorandum, which has been now correctly determined to be a rule--an information memorandum designed to bypass Congress--will in fact weaken the work requirements. And so how do we draw that conclusion? From a number of things. One, we're very concerned about the definition of ``work.'' We've heard the number, 20 percent increase. It actually means instead of 1.5 percent of people leaving with a ``job'' that we still haven't quite defined, apparently, we'd have 1.8 percent. Not an overwhelming number. And then we have the nonpartisan, ever-present Congressional Budget Office that has joined us with this opinion. Under the memorandum: CBO expects the penalties for States that don't meet the work requirements specified in the Social Security Act would be reduced. It sounds like waiving work requirements to me. And they go on: Thus, CBO estimates that enacting Resolution 118 would reduce direct spending by $59 million over the 2012-2022 period, as some States would pay increased penalties to the Federal Government for failing to meet the work requirements. The work requirements in section 407, which the Congress explicitly said may not be waived. And we heard from the other side that Republicans in the committee, including the chairman, voted for the Workforce Investment Improvement Act, which waives all work requirements. We disagree with that. We disagree with that. Even the CRS concedes that the purpose of the provision in that bill is to reduce administrative inefficiencies, not to gut welfare reform. But we have some disagreement. It could be controversial. In an open system, an open process, we can address that question when it comes to the floor of the House; and if there is confusion, we can make it crystal clear that we do not want to waive work requirements that have been so important to the success of welfare reform. We're here today because the President decided he would exercise power he does not have in order to waive welfare work requirements Congress has said must not be waived. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Gowdy).

Mr. KLINE. I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 118, a resolution disapproving the Obama administration's attempt to roll back successful welfare reforms. The resolution we are considering today is quite simple. It preserves bipartisan policies that serve low-income families, and it reins in this latest example of executive overreach by this administration. In 1996, a Republican Congress worked with a Democratic President to fix a broken welfare system. By promoting work as a central focus of helping individuals achieve self-sufficiency, this bipartisan achievement reduced poverty and strengthened the income security of millions of needy families. The success of the law is a testament to the power of work and personal responsibility as well as what we can achieve when both sides work together in good faith. Unfortunately, the bipartisan spirit of welfare reform has been tarnished by the Obama administration's decision to waive the historic work requirements, ending welfare reform as we know it. While this action is troubling, it isn't surprising. The President has a track record of weakening work requirements in other Federal programs, including with unemployment benefits and food stamps. The results have been disappointing. A memo by the Congressional Research Service notes the number of able-bodied adults on food stamps doubled-- that's right, doubled--after the President suspended the program's work requirement, and now we are supposed to believe a similar experiment will help families on welfare. This is also not the first time the President has been guilty of executive overreach. The Obama administration has coerced States to adopt its education agenda through conditional waivers, ignoring congressional efforts to reauthorize the law. Now States and schools face more uncertainty than ever about the future of our Nation's education system, and they remain tied to a broken law. Additionally, the President has announced which immigration laws he will and will not enforce, and has installed unconstitutional, nonrecess recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. Despite all of these heavy-handed attempts to advance the President's agenda, 23 million workers are still searching for a full-time job, and 46 million Americans are still living in poverty. Too many of our fellow citizens are unemployed and trapped in poverty, not because of failed welfare policies but because of President Obama's failed leadership. If the President had ideas for enhancing flexibility in welfare policies, he must submit those proposals to Congress and work with us to change the law. He has not done that. Instead, he has chosen to adopt a controversial waiver scheme that rewrites law through executive fiat. The good news is we have an opportunity today to tell the President: Stop. Stop rewriting Federal law behind closed doors. Stop promoting schemes that undermine personal responsibility and that encourage government dependency. Stop advancing failed policies, and start working with Congress on positive solutions that will grow our economy and great jobs. The American people desperately need and expect as much from their elected leaders. I urge my colleagues to support H.J. Res. 118 and to take a stand against the President's effort to roll back reforms that continue to lift families out of the poverty. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased now to yield 2 minutes to a distinguished member of the committee, the gentlelady from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I'm pleased to yield 3 minutes to a member of the committee, the subcommittee chair, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a member of the committee, the subcommittee chairman of the Health Subcommittee, the gentleman from east Tennessee, Dr. Roe.