mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , as we stand here today we continue to see significant progress toward greater economic opportunity and prosperity across the country . 
more than 2.7 million new jobs have been created over the last 17 months , and the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.2 percent , the lowest level since september 2001 . 
our economy is strong and it is getting stronger . 
the backbone of a strong economy is a well-trained and highly skilled workforce , and it is absolutely critical for workers to have the education and skills necessary to adapt to new opportunities and to move into higher wages . 
federal reserve chairman alan greenspan agreed with this view when he testified before the committee on education and the workforce last year . 
the chairman said , `` we need to increase our efforts to ensure that as many of our citizens as possible have the opportunity to capture the benefits of the changing economy . 
one critical element in creating that opportunity is the provision of rigorous education and ongoing training to all members of our society. '' chairman greenspan this morning testified before congress and talked about the need to do a better job with our education system and better training and retraining of american workers . 
the bill before us , the job training improvement act , would achieve this objective by strengthening the nation 's job training system . 
in 1998 , congress established a system of one-stop career centers aimed at providing one convenient central location to offer job training and related employment services . 
while these reforms have been generally successful , the workforce investment act system is still hampered by bureaucracy and duplication that prevents it from being as effective as it could be for workers and their families . 
our bill includes a number of reforms aimed at strengthening our job training system and better engaging the business community to improve job training services . 
our bill includes a number of reforms . 
first , requiring state and local workforce investment boards to ensure the job training programs reflect the employment needs in local areas . 
secondly , allowing training for currently employed workers so employees can upgrade their skills and avoid layoffs . 
third , encouraging the highest caliber providers , including community colleges , to offer training through the one-stop system , and leveraging other public and private resources to increase training and opportunities . 
the bill also includes other important reforms . 
first , it consolidates the three adult wia training programs , giving states and local communities greater flexibility and enabling more job seekers to be served with no reduction in services . 
in addition , it targets 70 percent of the youth grant funds to out-of-school youth , an underserved population that faces significant challenges in finding meaningful employment . 
the bill includes a proposal passed by the house last year introduced by the gentleman from nevada ( mr. porter ) xz4003240 to create personal reemployment accounts of up to $ 3 , 000 to help unemployed americans purchase job training and other employment-related services , such as child care , transportation services and housing assistance , giving them the flexibility they need in order to gain meaningful employment . 
in addition , it includes the president 's community college proposal to strengthen the partnership between local businesses , community colleges , and the local one-stop delivery system . 
later today , we will consider an amendment from my colleague from virginia to strip the faith-based provisions from this bill , an amendment that would deny faith-based providers their rights under the historic 1964 civil rights act . 
when we considered this bill in committee , we twice rejected it on a bipartisan basis , and i urge all members to vote against it today . 
the 1964 civil rights act made clear that when faith-based groups hire employees on a religious basis , it can exercise the group 's civil rights liberties and not discriminate under federal law . 
in 1987 , the supreme court unanimously upheld this right . 
as my colleagues can see from the chart that i have next to me , former president bill clinton signed four laws allowing faith-based groups to staff on a religious basis when they receive those federal funds . 
those four laws are the 1996 welfare reform law ; the 1998 community services block grant act ; the 2000 community renewal tax relief act ; and the 2000 substance abuse and mental health services administration act , all allowing faith-based providers to preserve their rights under the 1964 civil rights act . 
our nation 's faith-based institutions have a proven track record in meeting the training and counseling needs of our citizens . 
why would we want to deny them the opportunity to help in federal job training efforts ? 
president bush repeated this call to empower faith-based providers both during his state of the union address and again yesterday . 
i can think of no better place to start than to protect the rights of faith-based groups who are willing to lend a helping hand in providing job training and other critical social services to the most needy of our citizens . 
i want to thank the gentleman from california ( mr. mckeon ) xz4002670 for his work in putting this bill together , a bill that is supported by a broad and diverse coalition of groups , including the u.s. chamber of commerce , the national association of counties , the national association of workforce boards , the national workforce association , the coalition to preserve religious freedom and the salvation army , amongst others . 
we are part of a dynamic economy that is constantly creating new and different types of jobs , so the knowledge and skills of each job seeker is absolutely critical in determining their success or failure . 
if we are going to help them succeed , then strengthening our job training programs is essential . 
the bill , i believe , accomplishes that goal . 
unfortunately , the only plan that my colleagues on the other side have put forward to address the needs of american workers is the status quo . 
their plan fails to reduce duplication and inefficiency , it fails to give states and local communities more flexibility , and it fails to take advantage of the positive role that faith-based institutions play in our communities and the success they have in providing critical social services to those most in need . 
mr. chairman , the status quo is no plan at all . 
i ask my colleagues to support the underlying bill . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
