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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202-219-8211
The $37.9 billion Labor Department FY 1998 budget increases investment
in crucial programs to prepare workers for good jobs, protect their pension
security and promote their health and safety on the job, said Acting Labor
Secretary Cynthia A. Metzler in announcing details of the budget proposal
today.
New to the budget this year are a Welfare-to-Work Jobs Challenge, health
benefits portability and a new initiative to assure that the Consumer Price
Index remains timely and accurate.
"This budget keeps the President's promise to balance the budget by 2002
while helping American workers to advance into the 21st century more prepared,
productive and better protected," said Metzler.
The FY 1998 budget includes $12 billion for the department's major
programs, an increase of $1.7 billion over FY 1997. Included in this total is
$750 million in mandatory funding for new welfare-to-work jobs. The balance of
the department's budget is in mandatory programs such as unemployment insurance
and workers compensation.
Budget Highlights
Lifelong Learning. The Labor Department is committing $10.3
billion for employment and training programs to help American workers get the
lifelong learning they need for high-wage jobs that will raise their standard
of living. Many of these programs are included in the President's GI Bill for
America's Workers to consolidate and simplify job training programs. The budget
continues a One-Stop Career Center delivery system to provide high-quality
labor market information and training services.
This year the Labor Department's FY 1998 budget includes $2.1 billion to
enhance the Administration's commitment to help disadvantaged individuals get
the training they need to become economically self-sufficient. This is an
increase of $1.6 billion above FY 1997. It includes $750 million for the first
year of the Welfare-to-Work Jobs initiative, which is designed to help the
states and cities move one million of the hardest to employ welfare recipients
into lasting jobs by the year 2000. It also includes $250 million for a new
program--Opportunity Areas for Out-of-School Youth-- to provide grants to
current and potential Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities to increase
the employment rate for out-of-school youth, and an increase of $169 million
for low-income adult training grants.
Enhancing Worker Protection. The FY 1998 budget builds on
previous years' efforts adding an additional $69.1 million to assure workplace
safety and health, wage protections and pension security for all workers.
New to the budget is $6.2 million to implement and enforce new laws
affecting the health benefits of some 150 million Americans. The Labor
Department is responsible for informing employees of their right to maintain
health care coverage as they move from job to job.
Improving Economic Indicators. The FY 1998 budget provides $17.5
million to continue updating and improving the key economic reporting system,
the Consumer Price Index, which is used by business, labor and government in
formulating fiscal and monetary policy, and often is used to make Cost of
Living Adjustments.
The budget includes $2.1 million for the first year of a multi-year
initiative to make it possible to revise the CPI more rapidly, produce
alternative measures of change in the cost of living, improve the measurement
of changes in the quality of goods and services, and provide a basis to bring
new goods into the ongoing CPI on a more timely basis.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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