Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1504 - Extension of the Veterans' Job Training Act

(House)
(Dowdy (D) MS and 16 others)

The administration opposes H.R. 1504, because extension of the special job training program for Vietnam-era and Korean conflict veterans is completely unnecessary.

The program was enacted in 1983, because the unemployment rate for Vietnam veterans (9.1 percent) exceeded for the first time the rate for the comparable group of non-veterans. Economic recovery has improved this situation significantly; the most recent data (May 1987) show the Vietnam veterans' unemployment rate (4.2 percent) is lower than that of the comparable group of non-veterans.

In addition, H.R. 1504 is objectionable because: (1) the program has had mixed results, including a lower success rate than other job training programs, and (2) the program overlaps other job training and employment programs. Moreover, the administration's proposed $1 billion job training program for dislocated workers will serve a large number of veterans.