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OPA News Release: [03/12/2003]
Contact Name: Elissa Pruett
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676

Secretary Elaine L. Chao Testifies on Administration’s Personal Reemployment Accounts Proposal

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today urged the House Committee on Ways and Means to help enact President Bush’s Job Growth package in order to preserve the hard-won gains the economy has made, while speeding growth and adding new jobs around the country.

In her testimony, Chao highlighted the proposal to create Personal Reemployment Accounts. While the Administration’s economic growth package includes many features to promote long-term growth, the Personal Reemployment Accounts proposal is designed to deliver critical short-term, immediate assistance to unemployed and dislocated workers.

“Under the President’s proposal for Personal Reemployment Accounts, an eligible worker will have the freedom and flexibility to choose his or her own custom-designed training package. He or she will also be able to use this account to purchase any needed supportive services such as transportation, childcare and even re-location services to help get back to work,” said Chao. “We believe support services can make a critical difference in helping unemployed and dislocated workers—particularly single mothers—return successfully to the workforce.”

The Secretary further testified that states would administer these proposed accounts through the established and easily accessible One-Stop Career Center system. Potentially eligible workers would be identified through the existing unemployment insurance screening system, which assesses the likelihood of an individual claimant exhausting his or her benefits before finding a new job. In addition, workers who find a job within 13 weeks would be able to keep the cash balance remaining in their accounts.

The full text of the testimony will be available on the Internet at www.dol.gov.

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