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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211
Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman today unveiled details in the
department's $38.1 billion FY 1999 budget and reported that the budget will
help bolster her three cross-cutting strategic goals: a prepared workforce; a
secure workforce; and quality workplaces.
"The monies allocated to the Department of Labor for fiscal year 1999
will support my continuing efforts on behalf of the nearly 10 million employers
and well over 100 million workers the department serves nationwide," said
Herman. "Moreover, the budget increases investment in several important areas
to assure that all Americans have the opportunity to find and hold secure jobs,
with good wages, reliable pensions, health benefits and opportunities to
improve their skills."
Major emphases in the budget this year: a youth opportunities
initiative to address unemployment in high-poverty areas; a major initiative to
fight child labor abuses both internationally and in the United States; a new
initiative to provide information on national labor shortages; and an
Unemployment Insurance Safety Net proposal. The Welfare-to-Work Jobs
initiative, which is already funded at $1.5 billion in mandatory funding in
both FY 1998 and 1999, continues to be a high priority in the department.
The FY 1999 budget totals $11.1 billion in discretionary spending for
the department's major programs, a net increase of $425 million over FY 1998.
The balance of the department's budget is in mandatory programs, such as
unemployment insurance and workers compensation.
Budget Highlights
Prepared Workforce--to Enhance Opportunities for America's
Workforce.
The Labor Department is committing $6.4 billion for training and
employment services to help workers to improve their potential to achieve
success in today's job market.
This year, the Labor Department's budget includes $2.6 billion for
disadvantaged youth to get the training they need to become economically
self-sufficient, an increase of $311 million over FY 1998. The FY 1999 budget
includes $250 million for the Opportunities for the Out-of-School Youth Program
to support the program from July 1, 2000, to June 30, 2001. These resources
will be used to address high levels of unemployment among disadvantaged youth
in high-poverty areas. The FY 1998 appropriation provided $250 million for FY
1999, contingent upon enactment of authorizing legislation by July 1, 1998. The
Summer Jobs Program, which provides funding to support 530,000 job
opportunities for urban and rural disadvantaged youth to have their first work
experience, is maintained at $871 million for the summer of 1999. Also, an
increase of $61.4 million is proposed for Job Corps, including funds to
complete five new centers by the end of FY 1999.
The Welfare-to-Work Jobs initiative is already funded at $1.5 billion
in both FY 1998 and FY 1999 by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. This program
provides formula grants to states and federally administered competitive grants
to private industry councils--political subdivisions of states and private
entities-- to assist hard-to-employ welfare recipients.
An additional $45 million is proposed in FY 1999 for Adult Training
Grants under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) II-A for training
disadvantaged adults. This will increase program funding to $1 billion and
serve an estimated 401,100 participants.
Also, legislation will be proposed in conjunction with the President's
budget to authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to reimburse the Labor
Department for up to $100 million to finance activities designed to train,
retrain and provide employment assistance for dislocated veterans under the
JTPA. This program will focus on the unique training needs of older veterans,
including those with significant barriers to employment.
Secure Workforce--Promote the Economic Security of Workers and
Families.
The President's budget will propose legislation to establish an
Unemployment Insurance (UI) Safety Net to assure the availability of benefits
for more of America's workers in the event of a recession, make the program
more accessible to low-wage and part-time unemployed workers and improve state
administrative operations. In addition, the department's budget includes $91
million to increase the integrity of the unemployment insurance system, as
authorized in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Funding this proposal will
reduce unemployment insurance errors and overpayments, improve state tax
collections and result in anticipated savings in excess of $100 million.
The department proposes an increase of $250 million for worker
retraining and benefits.
The Dislocated Worker Program provides formula grants to states and
discretionary grants for retraining and adjustment services to laid off workers
to help them return to work. The department's FY 1999 proposals include an
increase of $100 million, or 7 percent above the FY 1998 level. This increase
will expand services available to dislocated workers to enable the department
to include funds to assist secondary workers. In addition, the increase will
allow for demonstration projects to fund new and innovative ways to help
dislocated workers return to work.
In the North American Free Trade Agreement - Transitional Adjustment
Assistance(NAFTA-TAA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs,
legislation will be proposed to: extend the programs for 5 years; expand
eligibility for TAA to those who lose their jobs due to a shift in production
abroad, similar to NAFTA shifts in production to Mexico and Canada; increase
the training cap; make the requirements linking training and income support
more consistent across both programs; and finally, create a contingency funding
provision to assure that resources are available to pay for any unexpected
increase in benefit costs to eligible workers. The FY 1999 proposal is a $150
million increase over the FY 1998 level.
The department's FY 1999 budget proposes several initiatives to protect
the pensions of America's workers and to propose legislation for expanded
health care coverage for retirees and for those workers who lose
employer-sponsored health benefits when they retire. An increase of $4.6
million is proposed for the department to administer responsibilities related
to the new health care laws, particularly health-related enforcement and
regulatory activities. Participants and beneficiaries will be provided
information to better understand their rights under the law. The Administration
will also propose legislation that will provide dislocated workers with an
option to continue coverage under Medicare by paying premiums as long as they
need coverage or until standard Medicare coverage becomes available.
The department's FY 1999 budget supports efforts to protect pensions
with a $5 million increase to support operations and new responsibilities
related to the implementation of the new Form 5500 ERISA Filing Acceptance
System. This new system will enhance compliance with the requirements of ERISA
and thus provide more secure pension benefits. The investment in the new system
will yield a projected net savings to the federal government of approximately
$57 million over the 5-year life cycle of the system. The budget also includes
$1.6 million to enhance retirement security by more vigorous investigations of
individuals who manipulate pension fund assets for their own benefit.
Quality Workplaces--Foster Workplaces that are Safe, Healthy and
Fair.
The FY 1999 budget continues to build on previous efforts by adding
$74.1 million to assure safe, healthy and fair workplaces, and wage protections
for all workers.
New to the budget is $37.1 million for a child labor initiative.
Included in this total is an increase of $27 million to provide additional
support for the International Labor Organization's Programme for the
Elimination of Child Labor. As America takes its place in the global economy,
international labor standards, particularly prohibitions on exploitative child
labor, benefits all economics. This increase allows assistance efforts to
include more countries.
Domestically, there has been considerable progress in reducing illegal
child labor. The department also proposes $4.1 million to increase compliance
in targeted industries, including garment manufacturing, agriculture, health
care and other low-wage industries. An additional $800 thousand is included for
the expansion of the National Agricultural Worker Survey to include significant
data on child labor.
The Labor Department's budget also proposes a modest amount for Child
Care ($5 million) to expand the registered apprenticeship system to assist
states in building their infrastructures for the occupation of Child Care
Development Specialists in at least 10 states.
An increase of $12 million is proposed for ensuring compliance with
workplace safety requirements in FY 1999.
More detailed Fiscal Year 1999 department's budget briefing materials
are available.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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