Committee Leaders Unveil Next Step in Hurricane Recovery Efforts for Students, Workers & Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee leaders announced their next step in helping individuals impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by introducing two proposals today.  The bills, focused on providing regulatory relief and empowering individuals, build on several bills signed into law in recent weeks to help workers, higher education students and schools, and families affected by the unprecedented natural disasters in the Gulf Coast region.

“The recovery effort on the Gulf Coast is well underway, but far from complete.  All too often, bureaucratic red tape stands in the way of individuals and communities working to rebuild,” said Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH).  “Today, we’re proposing common sense solutions that will help affected students, schools, workers, families, and communities bypass the bureaucracy and move forward with the recovery effort.”

REGULATORY RELIEF: PROVIDING FLEXIBILITY & COMMON SENSE

The Hurricane Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 3975), introduced by Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-LA), offers common sense flexibility and assistance aimed at meeting the needs of individuals rather than compliance with burdensome red tape.  To ease the recovery effort for students, schools, workers, families, and communities, the bill would:

• Provide flexibility for K-12 schools.  For one year, the bill would ease some financial requirements for K-12 schools in the impacted Gulf Coast region.  This type of regulatory relief would provide much needed flexibility, free up resources and ensure states and schools are able to effectively serve affected students.

• Provide flexibility for teachers.  The bill would assist teachers by: allowing displaced teachers to be considered highly qualified when teaching outside their home state in areas that are serving large numbers of displaced students; expanding the special education Paperwork Reduction Pilot program; and protecting student loan forgiveness opportunities for displaced teachers.

• Provide flexibility for higher education students and schools.  The bill would strengthen financial aid opportunities for affected students, ease financial burdens on students and schools, and encourage college credit mobility.

• Encourage innovation and technology.  The bill would expand access to educational opportunities through distance learning to assist displaced students and encourage involvement from non-traditional sources such as charter schools.

• Expand access to child care and early childhood education.  The bill would ease burdensome requirements and provide additional guidance and flexibility to ensure affected families have access to child care and early childhood education through programs such as Head Start.

• Provide resources for communities.  The bill would promote community-based recovery services by allowing additional flexibility within the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, which provides an array of services and assistance through Community Action Agencies.

• Assist displaced workers.  The bill would add flexibility to job training programs, provide financial flexibility for displaced workers, and enhance safety and reduce bureaucracy in relief projects.

"I am very happy to introduce this legislation," said Jindal.  "This bill will help Louisiana families as they begin to rebuild from the devastation of Katrina and Rita in two very important facets -- education and employment.  By working to help displaced workers, we are rebuilding our present and by aiding the recovery of the education system, we are investing in our future."

"Hurricane Katrina was an unprecedented storm which has left us with unprecedented challenges in addressing the basic needs of children and families.  One of the most critical issues is ensuring all children displaced as a result of the storm are able to register for school, attend class and continue their studies as their families work to put their lives back together.  Schools provide a safe and stable environment for these children, who undoubtedly are experiencing much change in their personal lives,” said Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman Mike Castle (R-DE).  “This is a comprehensive package that goes a long way to ensuring access to education and helping people find jobs.”

"Congress has a real opportunity to help teachers in the Gulf Coast who lost their jobs because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Teachers affected by this storm should not have to worry about additional student loan payments because an unavoidable natural disaster left them temporarily without a job," said Cole, who authored the provision to protect student loan relief opportunities for teachers displaced because of the hurricanes.

More information on the Hurricane Regulatory Relief Act is available online at http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/109th/hurricane/hrrabillsummary100605.htm.

WORKER RECOVERY ACCOUNTS: EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS

Complementing the regulatory relief package, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) introduced the Worker Recovery Act (H.R. 3976), a key component of President Bush’s recovery plan for the Gulf Coast region.  The bill would create worker recovery accounts of up to $5,000 to help displaced Gulf Coast workers purchase job training and other key employment-related services as they aim to return to work after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“Worker recovery accounts offer an innovative approach so displaced workers in my community and throughout the Gulf Coast can enjoy more flexibility, greater choice, and more control over their employment search,” said Boustany, a member of the Education & the Workforce Committee.  “Better yet, these accounts will enhance services and benefits already available for those who face the greatest obstacles to finding and keeping new employment after the hurricanes.”

Worker recovery accounts (WRAs) are personally managed funds targeted to help dislocated workers who are receiving Disaster Unemployment Assistance or Unemployment Insurance and likely to exhaust these benefits.  These accounts would supplement currently-available benefits such as unemployment compensation, as well as core employment and training services offered through the Workforce Investment Act.  WRAs would be established and administered on behalf of these workers through local one-stop career centers – where unemployed individuals already seek assistance in obtaining employment – and a local partnership with private financial institutions.

Accounts could be used to purchase a variety of services to help the individual reenter the workforce, including intensive (such as employment counseling), job training, or supportive (such as child care, uniforms, and transportation) services.  If a WRA recipient becomes employed within 13 weeks of receiving an account, the balance of the account up to $1,000 would be paid to them.  The balance would be paid out in two installments of 60 percent at the time of employment and 40 percent after six months of retaining a job.

A similar concept – a personal reemployment account pilot project to help unemployed Americans return to work quickly – was approved by the House as part of the Workforce Investment Act reauthorization bill (H.R. 27) on March 2, 2005.  Moreover, since March 2005 the U.S. Department of Labor has commenced a similar worker account demonstration program in seven states.

“It is important that displaced workers have the opportunity to access employment-related services that will help them find meaningful jobs as the Gulf Coast region begins its reconstruction effort,” noted 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA).  “Whether it’s job training, transportation services, or child care, this important bill provides new resources and additional flexibility to assist workers and families in getting back on their feet.”

“This legislation is about helping Gulf Coast residents find jobs so they can regain their financial footing,” said Jon Porter (R-NV), author of the personal reemployment account provisions included in the House job training reform bill passed earlier this year.  “As the economy of that region rebuilds, worker recovery accounts will provide critically needed flexibility to job-seekers so they can get the services they need most.”

More information on the Worker Recovery Act is available online at http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/109th/hurricane/factsheetwra100605.htm.

For additional information on efforts to assist students, schools, workers, families, and communities impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, visit the Education & the Workforce Committee’s “Gulf Coast Hurricanes Rebuilding & Recovery” website at http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/109th/hurricane/hurricane.htm.

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