[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E957-E958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

WORKFORCE REINVESTMENT AND ADULT EDUCATION ACT OF 2003

______

speech of

HON. RAHM EMANUEL

of illinois

in the house of representatives

Thursday, May 8, 2003

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of
the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1261) to
enhance the workforce investment system of the Nation by
strengthening one-stop career centers, providing for more
effective governance arrangements, promoting access to a more
comprehensive array of employment, training, and related
services, establishing a targeted approach to serving youth,
and improving performance accountability, and for other
purposes:

[[Page E958]]

Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Chairman, last week the House of Representatives
passed the Workforce Investment Act, a reauthorization bill short-
changing job training programs in America. A current beneficiary of WIA
funds is the Youth Community Technology Program administered by Korean
American Community Services on the northwest side of Chicago. I am very
proud to represent this organization in Congress because it has a
proven record of success by helping hundreds of young people in my
district learn how to build and maintain computers, gain valuable
experience through internships in area non-profit organizations, and
benefit from the experience and companionship of professionals working
in the information technology industry.
Regrettably, the Youth Community Technology Program recently lost all
WIA support to serve students, and funding to serve youth not in school
was severely reduced. The consequences of diminished federal investment
in youth workforce development are easily observed at the local level:
Eight of 29 local WIA youth programs for in-school youth, including the
Youth Community Technology Program, were eliminated in response to a 20
percent cut in federal WIA Youth Program appropriations in fiscal year
2003. As a result of these cuts, more than 150 youth were enrolled in
these programs. These young people will not have the opportunities
provided to Mario Argueta, one of my constituents and a participant in
the Youth Community Technology Program. Without these important
programs, young people like Mario could join the ranks of the more than
80,000 Chicago youth ages 16 to 24 who have dropped out of school and
remain out of work or are at risk to violence, delinquency, early
pregnancy, and dependency.
The bill passed by the House last week cuts WIA Youth Program formula
funds, and this could have a direct impact young Americans like Mario
and the community organizations that serve them. Young people deserve
increased federal investment in education and training, not another
funding cut. Additionally, diverting one quarter of WIA Youth Program
formula funds to create discretionary ``Challenge Grants'' would result
in yet another round of severe cuts for local providers who depend on
this money to serve youth like Mario. Any new grant created through
reauthorization of the WIA Youth Program must be created with
additional funds, not by diverting formula funds, in order to allow
providers who are already meeting the challenge to continue their
critical work.
The United States is currently experiencing a jobs recession in which
2.5 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last two years,
including two million in the manufacturing sector. Unemployment in
Illinois has reached 6.6 percent with 17,400 jobs lost in the last
month alone. It is important now more than ever to ensure that the
unemployed and those workers who want to improve their skills and
participate in the new economy can look forward,to a future in which
they can achieve the American dream for themselves and their families.
Mr. Chairman, Mario Argueta is a young man pursuing that dream. He
wrote the following letter about how the Youth Community Technology
Program has changed his life for the better and which I now submit for
the Record.

The Way My Life Is Going Now Is Just Perfect

(By Mario Argueta, participant in the Youth Community Technology
Program)

My name is Mario Argueta. I was born in the city of Chicago
during the summer of 1985. When I was 2 and a half months old
my mother sent me to live with my grandmom in Guatemala. I
grew up over there and did pretty well in school. I completed
eighth grade, then my mom decided to bring me back to the
United States.
I came back to the Chicago to live with my mom, when I was
13 years old. Because of language problems, I had to repeat
the 8th grade. I attended Irving Park Middle School for 4
months. I graduated from eighth grade, then I started going
to Edwin G Foreman H.S. It was difficult for me, because I
did not speak English and could hardly understand. I was
doing really badly, my grades were very low, and I had a lot
of problems at home. I dropped out of high school because 1
got desperate and felt that I could not improve. But I knew I
was a good kid with no bad habits. I was smart and also
respectful to people. I realized that I needed some help.
Someone told me about Antonia Pantoja Alternative High
School. I applied, passed the entrance test, and started
attending that school. My grades started to improve because
of all the help I was getting. There were a lot of people
helping me in class, after school, during lunch, and
sometimes on Saturdays. I accepted the help because I wanted
a good future. My social worker at Antonia Pantoja told me
about Youth Community Technology Program (YCTP). When I got
in touch with them, I found out that my old English teacher
at Antonia Pantoja was working as the education coordinator
at YCTP.
After being accepted into the program, I went to YCTP after
school, four days a week, for about three months. I had a
good time, and learned a lot about computers. After teaching
me how to build computers and maintain operating systems,
YCTP matched me with an internship. Right now, I am working
on the internship at a non-profit agency called ``Computers
For Schools''. So far, everything is going great. While
working there I have gained a lot of skills in different
areas, especially in hardware. Sometimes we work on machines
that need network cards, sound cards, or video cards.
Sometimes we have to ``ghost hard drives,'' which means copy
an operating system to them, or sometimes wipe the hard-
drives. I have fixed more than 25 machines. I work with a
variety of systems. Now, I can understand a lot of things
that I wouldn't have even imagined before. I have work
experience to put on my resume, and am also giving something
back to the community.
My long-term goal is to get a degree from a college and
make the rest of my life comfortable. I still attend Antonia
Pantoja right now and will graduate in two more semesters,
but I'm close enough to feel like a winner already. Even
though I am still learning a lot of things, the way my life
is going now is just perfect.

____________________