mr. chairman , i rise today in opposition to h.r. 27 , the so-called job training improvement act of 2005 . 
today 's bill has nothing to do with improving job training for our workforce -- far from it . 
instead , this bill actually weakens worker protections , opens the door to hiring discrimination , and dismantles the employment service program that helps unemployed workers find jobs . 
apparently the republicans have n't monitored the weak job market numbers . 
how else can you explain being so cruel and unfair as to pull the rug out on our nation 's unemployed ? 
let me remind my republican colleagues that there are still fewer jobs available in america than when president bush came to office . 
inflation is still growing faster than the average earnings of workers -- a fact that is particularly true for low-skilled and low-income workers . 
confronted with such evidence , this congress should be doing everything we can to bolster workforce investment . 
yet , this republican bill cuts employment and re-employment services at the time they are needed most . 
it underfunds the employment service , adult , and dislocated worker programs by consolidating them into a single block grant . 
this puts a greater financial burden directly on the states , exacerbating their budget deficits and perversely triggering layoffs among the very state employees who administer these programs . 
yet , much worse , it forces unemployed workers and welfare recipients to fight it out for a share of these limited funds . 
to add insult to injury , the republicans give states the right to waive basic worker protections that allow employees to seek redress when they 've been treated unfairly . 
they even allow religious organizations to engage in hiring discrimination in an unholy attempt to turn back a half-century of progress in preventing workplace discrimination . 
current law prohibits employers participating in federal job training programs from discriminating based on race , color , religion , sex , national origin , age disability , or political affiliation or belief . 
the republican bill would allow the taxpayer dollars that pay for these job-training programs to go to religious organizations that blatantly discriminate in hiring based on religious beliefs . 
what next ? 
will the next bush initiative include allowing discrimination based on race , sexual orientation or political affiliation ? 
the vital civil rights provision barring federally-funded religious discrimination has never been controversial and has never been a partisan issue . 
in fact , the provision was first included in the federal job training legislation that former senator dan quayle sponsored . 
it passed through a committee chaired by senator orrin hatch and was signed by president ronald reagan . 
throughout its 23-year history , this civil rights provision has not been an obstacle to the participation of religiously affiliated organizations in federal job training programs . 
currently , many religious organizations participate in the federal programs and comply with the same civil rights protections that apply to other employers . 
but suddenly , under the leadership of the white house , we are being asked to forget the principle of equal opportunity on which our country was founded . 
now is not the time to be rolling back civil rights protections and it certainly is n't the time to be short-changing the unemployed . 
congress ought to be creating solutions to make it easier for folks to find jobs , not more difficult . 
this republican bill is clearly not a solution . 
i urge my colleagues to vote `` no '' on h.r. 27 . 
