Howard Metzenbaum: “today I rise to introduce the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Amendments Act. This legislation amends our…”

“today I rise to introduce the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Amendments Act. This legislation amends our Federal plant closing notice law--also known as the WARN Act--to address serious problems in coverage, compliance, and enforcement. This legislation is a companion to the Reemployment Act I introduced on behalf of the Clinton administration earlier this week. Just as WARN was originally enacted to ensure the success of our current Federal dislocated worker program, we need to strengthen the WARN Act today to ensure that the Reemployment Act can successfully serve our workforce in the years to come. I authored the original plant closing law and our current dislocated worker program 6 years ago in an effort to minimize the devastating impact of job losses on workers, their families, and their communities. Of course, the best solution to this problem is to keep layoffs and plant closings from occurring in the first place. We need a strong jobs policy to keep our manufacturing base healthy, and to create and preserve American jobs. But invariably, there will be businesses that are forced to downsize or shut down altogether, regardless of the state of the economy. We cannot prevent businesses from making those decisions. But we can require employers to give workers and communities fair warning of layoffs, so they can plan for the transition, keep their dignity, and start new lives. That's just what WARN was intended to do.”