Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao
Archived Speech — Caution: Information may be out of date.
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
American Trucking
Associations
October 30, 2001
Good evening, and thank you, Bill, for that wonderful introduction.
Before I talk about the Department of Labor and our agenda, I want to speak for a few minutes about the times we find ourselves in.
We are – obviously – a nation at war.
I say “obviously,” even though this war isn’t obvious to us every day.
We all have the terrible images of September 11th burned into our collective memories.And each night we see grainy images of smart-bombs hitting their targets and scrolling news items at the foot of the screen.
But for most of us, it’s not quite real yet.And it needs to be, because the challenge we face has fundamentally altered our national priorities.
Three months ago, the Department of Labor was primarily focused on issues like the skills gap and future labor shortages and ergonomics.These remain serious issues, and we are continuing to address them.
But in this new, wartime economy, the Department of Labor is working overtime to get income support and training to those who have lost jobs in the aftershocks of September 11th.We are also giving assistance to the Director of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, to help address the workplace safety issues raised by anthrax mailings.
The war on terrorism will not be a short one, nor will it be easy.It is now affecting life at home, and it will continue to.But as the President has said, this is a war we must fight, it is a war we must win, and we are going to win it.
The goal we all must strive for is captured in one of the themes that Fox News has been using recently: “America United.”The challenge we face right now is too important for us to become sidetracked by partisan gamesmanship.
And as we wrestle with new threats like bioterrorism, we need to resist the temptation to play the “blame game” – and instead join together to protect our citizens and defeat the evildoers.
I want to report to you that there are encouraging signs that America is indeed united in Washington.The President and Congress have been working more closely than at any time I can remember to defend our country and help those who have been hurt.
The Department of Labor is working cooperatively with the postal unions to ensure the safety of those who handle our nation’s mail.
We don’t agree on every issue, and we don’t expect to.But as Americans, we share a larger goal that unifies us.And I am proud to say that we have been brought together not only by crisis, but also through the skilled leadership of our President, George W. Bush.
Now let me tell you a little more about what we are doing at the Department of Labor in the wake of September 11th.Right now, our top priority is getting displaced workers re-connected with the workforce.
Even before the attacks, the unemployment numbers had been increasing.But these are not just numbers.They are people. Thousands of American families who are suddenly without work and are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage.
The President is determined to get our economy back on track as quickly as possible.We believe this can be done swiftly and compassionately with an economic stimulus package that gives significant tax cuts to businesses and individuals – as well as a back-to-work program that helps people find new work instead of just handing them a check.
The stimulus package – if passed by Congress – would allow for enhanced expensing of capital expenditures and eliminate the alternative minimum tax.It would accelerate cuts in marginal rates and give tax relief to low-and-moderate-income workers.
The President’s plan also builds on effective Department of Labor programs to provide comprehensive support for those who have lost their jobs.It dedicates $3 billion to our National Emergency Grant program – funds that governors can direct to laid-off workers to help them keep their health insurance, upgrade their skills, pay for child care, and relocate to a new job.
We also automatically extend unemployment benefits in states that have been hardest hit by the aftershocks of September 11th.
Under the Back to Work plan, unemployment benefits would be extended by 13 weeks – in addition to the standard 26 weeks – bringing total coverage time to nine months for unemployed workers.
The President knows it may take some people a little longer to find a job in the coming months.But we don’t need a lot of new programs to respond to that concern – we need to help workers in crisis right now – and that’s what the Department of Labor does every day.
We can’t just spend our way out of this slow economy – we’ve got to stimulate it.That’s why we need the President’s package enacted into law this year.
Looking ahead, we also know that business can’t thrive when it’s suffocated under the weight of government regulations and taxes.
That’s why – in all the free time we have – we are reviewing the regulations we oversee to make sure we are protecting workers as well as possible, while imposing the smallest burdens possible on workers and their employers.
Shortly after I was sworn in as Secretary of Labor, we discovered a chart left behind by the previous Administration.It was a list – in fact, it was a very long, detailed list – of new regulations that the previous occupants wanted to get on the books before they left.In all, there were about 35 of them.
Thirty-five new regulations. That’s a lot.
To put this in perspective: twice a year the Department of Labor publishes its Regulatory Agenda. It is reviewed by OMB and printed in the Federal Register. The last time it was submitted it contained 132 regulations that were somewhere “in the works.” So more than one-fourth of them were these new ones, proposed in the last eight years.
My staff immediately set out to reduce that massive list of 132 pending regulations. They put together a list of basic, common-sense questions like, “How long has this regulation been pending?” “Can we really get it done in the next 12 months?” “Is it consistent with the President’s agenda”, and “Can the objective be achieved without regulation?”
As a result, we were able to cut the list of pending regulations back from 132 to 98 – a reduction of one-third.And we’re just getting warmed up!
You see, this Department of Labor is different. We want to trim and focus our Regulatory Agenda, not swell its size. We want to help companies with compliance, not simply wait to slap on a fine after a violation has occurred.
It’s common sense that more compliance means fewer violations. And fewer violations means fewer injuries and safer, healthier, happier workers.That’s not just good for your employees; it’s good for your business.
That’s why we are developing more effective compliance strategies for our Department, agency by agency.
We’ll be offering electronic communications to employers – using the Internet to explain regulations in plain English.And because our workforce is increasingly diverse, we’ll be offering the same content in plain Spanish as well.
As we pursue these goals, I welcome the input of business leaders like you, who have years of experience in deciphering and complying with our regulations.
You know best that voluntary compliance works best for everyone. And you know that treating employees right isn’t just the moral and legal thing to do – it’s what you want to do and it’s also just plain good business.
So I look forward to working together with you as we rebound – both economically and emotionally – from the evil attacks on our country. Government can lend a helping hand in these early stages, but it is the private sector – people like you – that really drive the economy’s engine.
Finally, let me leave you with this thought: our nation is inherently strong. Its foundations are rock-solid. We were not permanently damaged on September 11th, only bruised. And as long as we stay united, we will stand tall – we must stand tall, for we are the beacon of freedom and hope for the entire world.
Thank you for having me here tonight, and thank you for delivering the U.S. economy safely, affordably, and on-time.
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Archived Speech — Caution: Information may be out of date.
