INTRODUCTION The proposed Manpower Revenue Sharing Act of 1971 (S. 1243 and H.R. 8141) was introduced on March 16, 1971, as one of President Nixon's special revenue sharing proposals. The purpose of the bill is to turn over to state and local governments responsibility for managing the more than a dozen manpower programs created by the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 and the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. In a message to Congress, March 4, 1971, President Nixon said: Manpower Revenue Sharing is a partnership. Washington The proposed Manpower Revenue Sharing Act is part of the administration's total program of revenue sharing designed to revamp federalstate relations. The program is divided into two parts, general revenue sharing and special revenue sharing. The general revenue sharing program would transfer federal tax revenues ($5 billion the first year) to state and local governments to be used as they see fit. Special revenue sharing consists of six separate proposals channeling funds ($11 billion the first year) into areas of national concern, including transportation ($2.6 billion), education ($3 billion), and manpower training ($2 billion). The manpower revenue sharing bill would consolidate the many manpower programs in existence into one financing operation for programs administered by state and local governments. Matching funds and maintenanceof-efforts requirements would be eliminated. Of the funds appropriated, 85 percent would be allocated to manpower training and employment activities; the remainder would be used by the secretary of labor to carry out national activities. The act would make additional funds available whenever national unemployment equals or exceeds 4.5 percent for three consecutive months; these funds would provide additional training and employment opportunities, including transitional public service jobs. The administration bill (S. 1243) was introduced in the Senate by Senator Winston Prouty (R., Vt.) and referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The companion bill (H.R. 8141) was introduced in the House by Representative Marvin L. Esch (R., Mich.) and referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. BACKGROUND Manpower Programs Manpower programs are designed to help the unemployed and the underemployed make the transition to higher skill levels, better jobs, and better pay. During the 1960s manpower training programs were created by the passage of several major acts: the Area Redevelopment Act of 1961, the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962, and the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Federal expenditures on manpower programs increased enormously during the past decade. Total federal expenditures in 1961, including those made by the United States Employment Service, amounted to $275 million. By fiscal 1970 total federal expenditures on ten major manpower programs exceeded $2.2 billion. Federal manpower programs have a variety of objectives. Some are designed to provide job training for various occupations; others to provide work experience for those unaccustomed to the discipline of work. Some emphasize basic education or training for entry-level jobs; others provide subsidized employment for the poor. Existing programs can be divided into three major categories: 1. Vocational education and rehabilitation programs, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, designed to enhance the employability of disabled and handicapped persons. 2. Programs created by the Manpower Development and Training Act, 2/ under the jurisdiction of the Manpower Administration of the Labor Department, to provide remedial and skill training, basic education, subsidies to employers to cover training costs, and research and demonstration projects. 3. Job creation and training programs authorized by the Economic Opportunity Act.3/ Vocational Education and Rehabilitation. Federal expenditures on vocational training were increased by the Vocational Education Act of 1963 4/ and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1965. 5/ These acts authorized federal grants to state vocational programs providing services to the mentally and physically handicapped. Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962. Enacted in an effort to decrease the rate of unemployment, the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) was designed to encourage the training and retraining of the unemployed and the underemployed. The act originally contemplated both institutional and on-the-job training. Institutional training was the mainstay of MDTA programs in the early years; emphasis later shifted to on-the-job training through private contracts with employers. Amendments in 1963, 1965, 1966, and 1968 revised the MDTA funding process to give the states authority to develop and administer comprehensive manpower programs. Economic Opportunity Act. The Economic Opportunity Act estab lished several manpower training programs: The Job Corps was established to give general education, vocational training, work and physical conditioning to persons between the ages of 16 and 21 who were out of school, unemployed or in "deadend" jobs. Conservation centers located in rural areas were set up to provide basic education and training. The establishment of these centers was based on the assumption that many youths could be rehabilitated through training and education when removed from the home environment. Urban centers were operated under contract by private corporations or educational institutions to train enrollees for various skilled and service jobs and to provide basic education. In 1969 the Job Corps was drastically restructured and its enrollment was cut by 40 percent to 18,000. Criticism ranged from the cost of the program (in 1967 the total annual cost per enrollee was over $8,000) to the requirement that a certain percentage of youths must leave the home environment to receive training. The Neighborhood Youth Corps was established to provide income support for youths from poor families. The Youth Corp consists of three separate but related programs: (1) The in-school program is designed to provide (2) The summer Neighborhood Youth Corps is similar (3) Out-of-school Neighborhood Youth Corps programs are a variety of work situations, including maintenance, custodial, and health work. However, the programs rarely offer vocational training and basic education and, therefore, help little in improving a youth's employability or his propensity to return to school. Administrative regulations authorized a payment of $1.25 an hour for a weekly maximum of 32 hours. JOBS (Job Opportunities in the Business Sector),6/ established in 1967, encourages private industry to hire, train, and retrain hard-core unemployed and underemployed workers. The program was originally limited to the hardcore unemployed of fifty major metropolitan areas, but was later expanded to include all hard-core unemployed of a nation-wide basis. Employment of minority groups is stressed. JOBS attempts to distribute existing opportunities more equitably, not to create more jobs. JOBS is a cooperative venture between the Department of Labor and the National Alliance of Businessmen. The program is run by private employers, and is partly subsidized by the government. In addition to on-the-job training, the JOBS program also provides remedial education, counseling, and assistance with health and transportation problems. Operation Mainstream, 7/ authorized by a 1965 amendment to the Economic Opportunity Act, provides counseling, basic education, and work experience for chronically unemployed rural adults. Work is provided in community development and beautification programs. Little, if any, job training is offered, but for many participants the earnings are a supplement to social security payments. The Work Incentive Program (WIN), created during the first half of 1968, was designed to replace the Work Experience and Training Program developed under the Economic Opportunity Act. It is administered by the Department of Labor. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare is responsible for the referral of enrollees and for furnishing social service during enrollment. WIN provides work, training, child care and related services in an effort to move more employable persons from the welfare rolls into productive employment. To encourage welfare recipients to seek work, WIN allows them to retain part of their welfare payments in addition to their earnings. |