mr. speaker , for the purpose of debate only , i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts ( mr. mcgovern ) xz4002630 , pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
during consideration of this resolution , all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only . 
mr. speaker , house resolution 126 is a structured rule providing for 1 hour of general debate equally divided between the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on education and the workforce . 
the rule makes in order only those amendments printed in the committee on rules report , and for the time specified in the report . 
and finally , the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions . 
mr. speaker , i am pleased to stand before the house today in strong support of this rule and support of the underlying resolution legislation , h.r. 27 , the job training improvement act of 2005 . 
the gentleman from ohio ( chairman boehner ) and the gentleman from california ( subcommittee chairman mckeon ) and the committee members from both sides of the aisle are to be commended for their diligence and hard work in putting together a comprehensive measure reauthorizing vital job training programs while , at the same time , providing for improvements of those programs aimed at providing greater flexibility , accountability , targeting federal dollars where they will be most effective and where there is the highest demonstrated need . 
mr. speaker , my favorite movie of all time has always been `` inherit the wind. '' i still think it is spencer tracy 's greatest role . 
but in that he , playing the character of henry drummond , talks about the other main character , matthew harrison brady , who was a well intentioned , yet flawed , character . 
and in talking about his death , drummond says of brady , a giant once lived in that body . 
but matt brady got lost because he was looking for god too high and up too far away . 
federal government is a lot like matt brady . 
we are well intentioned , the greatest of desire to serve ; but we oftentimes get lost and allow too many people to fall through cracks and harm people because we try to solve problems from too high up and administer programs from too far away . 
from this isolated hall , we often concoct specific standards that fail people who have the needs but do not fit our preconceived standards . 
last wednesday in my district at a town meeting , i met a young lady by the name of micaela , who offered me also this five-page letter of her efforts and her concerns . 
she is in need of vocational rehabilitation services , but does not quite fit our standards we have designed . 
in her letter she said in her years of trying to receive services that she was told she had too many disabilities , too few disabilities . 
you could not visually see her disability . 
she was too young , too old , and too rare of a circumstance . 
you name it , she had heard it . 
and she has also been basically told that i am not worth helping , hiring , or even listening to . 
oftentimes the federal government , in fact , not oftentimes . 
the federal government 's only advantage is that of uniformity . 
by definition we can deal with people only as objects on a factory conveyor belt designed to meet the federal factory specifications . 
but if we truly believe that people are each individuals , that they have a spark of divinity , that individual needs are there that require individualized help , then we do not need uniformity . 
what we need is creativity , efficiency , and caring ; and that can only be done effectively on the state levels , which is why this particular bill has gone from several years ago , 63 programs , has now taken three funding streams and tried to bring it into one so they could help individual people by trying to apply 70 percent of the funding that has been given to students to those who have been unserved and out of school , to create a demonstration project for personal reemployment accounts to meet individual needs prior to coming to congress , i had the opportunity , like many of you , of serving in the state legislature , and i was a teacher for a long time . 
in that position , or those positions , i witnessed firsthand the years of oftentimes federal programs and mandates shoved on states , on local school districts , on local units of governments with this one-size-fits-all uniform approach . 
what was often , too often , left out were , quite frankly , the bona fide local needs . 
a uniform federal approach stifles innovation with the heavy hand of federal regulations and professionalism . 
the philosophy behind h.r. 27 , therefore , is to give governors as the chief political officer of the states the flexibility over job training programs to promote economic development and jobs based upon local needs , and that way , the states become responsive to employment and to job markets . 
recently , i attended a community college , a community technical college in my district . 
and i was amazed at the benefits i saw of partnerships with local private industry , government contractors , and local employers coming together . 
in their diesel program , to find the kinds of materials that were provided by the industry , they have to get hands-on experience for first-rate technicians . 
and in program after program in that particular college , i saw , through innovation and hard work , the community college has been able to leverage the state and federal dollars and to attract private contributions for equipment and training that met the need of training qualified workers in the high-tech future . 
vocational rehabilitation services in state after state does the same thing . 
but these type partnerships are not just allowed in this bill . 
they are encouraged under this legislation , which is vital in helping provide workers for the competition of the 21st century . 
h.r. 27 is strongly supported by a coalition of community colleges which authorizes $ 250 million for community-based job training grants to strengthen the role of those communities ' colleges and to promote the united states ' full workforce potential . 
we face a 21st-century challenge in an ever-changing technology and the aging american workforce . 
we must provide states , local workforce boards , governors flexibility to fit real people with real skills for real jobs . 
and they vary in need from state to state . 
we must allow them the opportunity to work together as they see fit to help people like micaela . 
i further support h.r. 27 because it targets federal funds to groups of youths who are presently underserved , because it provides for individual self-help efforts . 
i would like to point out also that h.r. 27 builds upon legislation passed in the 108th congress , namely h.r. 1261 , the workforce reinvestment and adult education act of 2003 , which was passed by this house . 
there may be some who would oppose this bill because it respects both the letter and the spirit of existing law . 
if there is a problem with existing law , this is not the proper venue for that discussion . 
let us not , in the debate over the rule or the bill , lose focus and lose sight of our goal , which is to help the micaelas of this nation who need services , which are and will continue to be distributed fairly without precondition . 
it is significant that we not confuse services rendered with the desire of some to sanitize and regulate legally diverse practices , reaffirmed in a rare moment of sanity by the courts , which do not impact the rendering of those employment services . 
others beside sanctioned-government programs care and help and are effective , and we ought to forget the old pattern of confrontation and pointless attacks on groups that we see as different ; we should join for the common goal of helping people . 
mr. speaker , this is a good rule , supporting a bill that has been discussed and amended in committee through regular order . 
the rule allows for three specific amendments to focus discussion on key elements of the proposal . 
i am looking forward to riveting debate on this bill , with the realization our goal is to help the micaelas of this world who have been hurt because there have been programs which are too high , too far away , and forgot our purpose of helping real people . 
i urge adoption of the rule . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
