This estimate provides for a supplemental appropriation for grants to the States totalling $295,000. This amount is requested to provide the States with greater capability to deal with the increasing number of veterans seeking assistance from the local offices, primarily as a result of the "Cold War GI Bill," and to give the States the resources to provide employment assistance to veterans through the Veterans' Assistance Centers, pursuant to the recommendations of the President.

All of the additional need can be financed from Trust Fund revenues.

GRANTS-9

Activity 2. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE (1968, $284,192,000;

1968 (Revised), $285,199,000)

Narrative Description of Program

The concept of an active manpower policy has grown out of the recognition that economic & social problems of today carot be solved by traditional methods. Although there have been several years of economic progress & relatively full employment substantial pockets of poverty remain.

Essentially, an active manpower policy seeks to achieve optimal efficiency of the job market by improving knowledge of available job opportunities, developing or increasing the skill levels of the population, and facilitating the process of matching workers and jobs. The accomplishment of this task rests with the United States Employment Service, its affiliated State agencies, and the network of 2,100 local offices the State agencies administer. Each local office operates as the manpower service center of the community and is primarily concerned with finding jobs for workers seeking employment, recruiting workers to fill employers' job openings, providing specialized services to job applicants who encounter serious difficulties in the competitive job market, coope rating with other government agencies and with local groups to resolve the manpower problems of the area and providing job market information to all these users of such information..

Veterans Employment Service

Special attention is given to the employment problems of veterans through the Veterans Employment Service.

It is charged with the responsibility for employment services provided veterans at the State and local level by four laws: the WagnerPeyser Act of 1933, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill), the Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952 (Korean GI Bill) and the Veterans' Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966. The 1966 act extended to post-Korean veterans (those who served only after January 31, 1955) the same "maximum of job opportunity" which the earlier GI Bills provided. The increasingly larger number of veterans being separated from the armed services (more than 800,000 each year) and the 3.8 million post-Korean veterans inmediately covered by the "new GI Bill" has intensified the need for a high quality employment service for veterans.