U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao

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As Prepared

Remarks to Yonkers Chamber of Commerce
11^th Anniversary of the Women of Excellence Luncheon
Yonkers, NY
March 13, 2003

I am delighted to join all of you for the 11^th Anniversary of the Women of Excellence Awards. I want to extend my appreciation to the Women in Business Committee, especially Chairperson Dr. Maxine Helman and luncheon Chairwoman Jeanne Vergari Martinelli.

And I want to thank the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce… in particular, the Honorable Angelo Martinelli and President Kevin Cacace.

The Yonkers Chamber of Commerce has a tremendous reputation throughout the country. Your members are creating a climate for economic growth and job creation. And you are building better lives throughout this community by preparing workers for jobs in the 21^st century workforce.

I want to begin today by touching briefly on the mission of the Department of Labor. We partner with employers and workers in job creation, job training and productivity so our country can remain competitive and economically strong in a global marketplace.

By federal standards, the Department of Labor is a relatively small organization. The Department has 17,500 employees and an annual budget of about $71 billion. It’s responsible for administering and enforcing more than 180 federal laws that affect 10 million employers and 125 million workers.

But the Department does a lot more than regulate employment practices. It also oversees every private pension and 401(k) plan in America—ensuring the security of over $4 trillion in workers’ retirement savings.

In addition, the Labor Department administers the nation’s over $60 billion unemployment insurance system. Basically, if it has anything to do with work, the Department of Labor is somehow involved.

That’s important because the American workforce is undergoing a transformation more significant than anything we have seen since people left the farms for the cities and started working in factories.

And women are on the front lines of that transformation. Their entrepreneurial achievements are reflected in their numbers nationwide—6.2 million women-owned businesses providing employment for 9.2 million Americans. In fact, women-owned businesses are growing at twice the rate of all businesses… and the resulting job creation is enabling other women to achieve their economic independence.

As President George W. Bush has said, “when it comes to entrepreneurship and job creation, ours in an increasingly woman’s world.”

As you know, the economy started slowing down in the summer of 2000. The stock market peaked in February 2000, the manufacturing sector hit the doldrums in August 2000 and this Administration came into office facing three quarters of negative economic growth. Our economy began to tick upward, but then the devastating attacks of September 11^th occurred, in which 1.5 million jobs were lost. Despite these blows, the economy has started to grow again—but not growing fast or strong enough.

The President has proposed a plan that will boost the economy by focusing on the two things most lacking in this recovery: new business investment and new job growth.

His plan will stimulate spending, savings and investment by providing tax relief for every American who pays federal income taxes.

By now, you’ve heard many of the details of the President’s plan. But here are a few highlights. The plan:

• Speeds up the 2001 tax cuts to increase the pace of the recovery and job creation.
• Encourages job-creating investment in American’s businesses by ending the double taxation of dividends and giving small businesses new incentives to grow.
• Provides help for unemployed Americans, including extending unemployment benefits and creating new re-employment accounts to help workers get back on the job quickly.

The President’s proposals will provide tax relief for more than 92 million Americans and pump an additional $52 billion into the private economy this year alone. That’s more money for businesses to expand and hire new workers and pay higher wages, and the President’s plan will help create 1.4 million new jobs by the end of 2004.

In addition, this Administration strongly supports proposals to allow small businesses to purchase affordable health care for their employees through Association Health Plans. These plans will allow you to pool your resources and spread your risk, putting small and medium sized employers on the same footing as larger corporations in purchasing health care. Association Health Plans could help close the coverage gap for the 85% of the uninsured who come from working families.

This year we are also working hard to strengthen the public workforce investment system, which many of you have helped to promote in this community.

The Labor Department is introducing a new pro-active, demand driven culture into these vital job-training programs, which are administered through our One-Stop Career Centers. The public workforce system must do a better job of connecting with employers, who know where the new jobs are and what skills are in demand. The goal is to continue to transform the One-Stop Career Center delivery system into a cohesive network that responds quickly to changing economic conditions in your community and every community throughout the country. With the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act this year, we have an excellent opportunity to achieve this important mission.

There have been some great workforce development successes here in Yonkers. I visited the Yonkers Employment Center in April 2001. And it’s been a year since the Yonkers Employment Center was certified as a One-Stop Career Center. You’ve pioneered job fairs, marketing campaigns, the swipe-card system and many other ideas to promote this resource. Your work is a wonderful example of how employers, government, and community-based organizations can work together for the betterment of the workforce and the community.

I’m so pleased to be part of this event today, which recognizes community leaders who are going above and beyond what is required to help create jobs and improve lives.

Reverend Ulrich, Joy Lawrence, Christine Gaudio, and Kathleen Ryan—congratulations on being recognized by your peers for your wonderful work and service to this community.

I look forward to working with you—and the community and business leaders represented here today—to create new jobs and strengthen our critical safety net for America’s working families. Together, we can help ensure that the promise of the American dream reaches every willing heart.

So thank you for inviting me today and thank you for everything you are doing to make sure our country remains strong, prosperous, and free.

Thank you.

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