On the recordMarch 15, 2013
Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Despite the extraordinary mischaracterization of the bill and some pretty amazing straw men that have been put forward today, let's look at what we really have here. This chart shows the situation that we've got today. This myriad of programs, I would call this bureaucracy run amok. I might call it red tape, as one of the colleagues from the other side suggested I might call it. It is confusing at best. And this is what the President had to say about it. He said: It's a maze of confusing training programs. He said that last year. I thought he meant it. I'm not sure about his statement today. Maybe he has changed his mind, but he called it a maze. So what are we going to do about this maze, this red tape, this bureaucracy? We recommend simplifying it, making it easier to use, helping people get the training they need, not the bureaucracy for them to wade through. So we took the information from the Government Accountability Office. We looked at the statements coming from the administration and departments. We looked at programs that even the administration had recommended to stop funding, and we said: Let's make this simple. Let's make this easier. Let's let the local workforce boards who know their communities, with the employers in their communities, make it easier for people to get work, and we put together a bill that has one workforce investment fund.…





