Washington Internet Daily, April 6, 2004

Arguing the U.S. is "not training enough people to fill the jobs of the 21st Century," President Bush called Mon. for a restructuring of federal workplace programs to enhance high-tech training. He said changes were needed to compete in an "innovation economy," and built on comments on high- tech jobs he included in his State of the Union address (WID Jan 22 p4). The remarks come as outsourcing of high-tech jobs has become a hot topic on Capitol Hill.

According to Commerce Secy. Donald Evans' testimony before the House Commerce Committee March 24, the FY 2005 budget allocates just under 19 billion for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Pell grant program. Bush's comments Mon. addressed WIA; he said he would discuss the Pell grant program today (Tues.). Bush's call for a new focus for WIA comes at an awkward time, when both the House and Senate have passed bills reauthorizing the program. The House cleared its bill, HR-1261 -- by Chmn. McKeon (R-Cal.) of the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness -- last May. The Senate passed S- 1627 -- by Chmn. Enzi (R-Wyo.) of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment -- in Nov. A conference to reconcile the bills hasn't been set.

"High-tech companies create twice as many jobs as those in any other industries," Bush said. Many high-tech jobs are created overseas, but Bush said the U.S. needs "an innovative way to make sure our workers get retrained here today." He said innovations were occurring in communications and information technology, areas where the U.S. has traditionally led other countries, but "we should never take anything for granted."

In his State of the Union Bush proposed a new program using community colleges to develop more high-tech workers. He asked Congress to allocate more than 500 million for the program he called "Jobs for the 21st Century." Of the money, 250 million would be for partnerships between community colleges and employers in high-demand job sectors, 33 million for expanded Pell grants for low-income students, 100 million for a reading program and 120 million to improve math education in schools. The proposal echoed the Tech Talent Act, introduced by House Science Committee Chmn. Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and then-Senate Governmental Affairs Chmn. Lieberman (D-Conn.) in the 107th Congress.

Bush gave his speech in Charlotte, N.C., at Central Piedmont Community College, and Sen. Edwards (D-N.C.) was quick to criticize him. Edwards made the loss of jobs to overseas workers the centerpiece of his unsuccessful presidential campaign. Mon. he said Bush had cut federal job retraining funding by an inflation-adjusted 972 million. "This fits a pattern for a president who says one thing and does another," Edwards said. But Bush's proposal was praised by Computing Technology Industry Assn. (CompTIA) Vp-Public Policy Bob Kramer. "The President's proposal focuses squarely on making the U.S. workforce more competitive globally," he said. Kramer praised Bush for seeking to modernize WIA's administration so that IT skills can be acquired more easily. But Edwards said cash-strapped state and local govts. would be asked to create more jobs with less money to administer the programs.

Kramer said CompTIA had long supported workforce training proposals from both political parties, but the issue has proven to be divisive, in part because the House bill included language relating to Bush's faith-based initiative. At a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing March 11 on workforce training, Chmn. Boehner (R-O.) said that 2004 "is an election year, and we all know in election years there's a temptation on both sides to point fingers instead of problem solving. With all due respect to my colleagues, I know my constituents are tired of finger- pointing."

Outsourcing Issue Heating Up

Federal Reserve Chmn. Alan Greenspan told a House panel last month that "concerns have arisen about the possibility that an increasing number of our better-paying white-collar jobs will be lost to outsourcing, especially to India and China." Testifying before the House Education and Workforce Committee, he said many of those jobs "are in the service sector, and they were previously perceived as secure and largely free from the international competition long faced in the manufacturing sector." One solution, Greenspan said, is "rigorous education and ongoing training to all members of our society."

Referring to the current economy, Bush said "[t]he economists call it a period of transition." So do Cabinet members, as Commerce Secy. Donald Evans told the House Commerce Committee March 24 that "I believe that we are at a time of transition." "Some business leaders I have spoken to express serious concerns about whether the United States is adequately preparing the next generation for the demands of a high-tech workforce," Evans said, promising that such education was a priority of the administration.

Telecom reform could be a way to reduce the threat of outsourcing, the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) said last week. In a letter to Bush, PRI said the U.S. could better compete globally if its broadband use per capita rose higher than 11th place, with the nation currently behind countries such as Italy and Canada. "The reason we have fallen behind is poor telecom policies that hamper and distort investment," Technology Studies Dir. Sonia Arrison said. PRI urged Bush not to appeal a recent U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., decision rejecting FCC rules that require ILECs to share their lines with broadband competitors.