By Johnson H.C.R. No. 66 74R3045 CCK-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The demands of the global marketplace require that 1-2 the United States have a trained and efficient workforce to compete 1-3 effectively in a growing international economy; and 1-4 WHEREAS, Toward that end, the federal government now spends 1-5 more than $25 billion annually on federal programs and grants to 1-6 the states for workforce development and assistance; and 1-7 WHEREAS, These funds are divided among 154 programs overseen 1-8 by 14 federal departments or agencies, creating duplication of 1-9 effort and wasting untold millions of dollars on administration and 1-10 compliance as opposed to actual results; and 1-11 WHEREAS, The programs vary in target populations, eligibility 1-12 requirements, legal definitions, documentation standards, 1-13 administrative dictates, program years, reporting periods, 1-14 performance measures, and other arbitrary distinctions and 1-15 differences; and 1-16 WHEREAS, This bureaucracy discourages participation by 1-17 employers, thwarts access by the unemployed and undertrained, and 1-18 loses other potential clients because of their failure to fit 1-19 narrow eligibility categories; and 1-20 WHEREAS, The goal of the nation's workforce development 1-21 efforts should be to have a market-driven system characterized by 1-22 universal access, informed customer choice, and accountability at 1-23 every level; and 1-24 WHEREAS, The current state of federal workforce development 2-1 programs makes these goals virtually unattainable and begs for 2-2 solutions to maximize employment and promote this nation's 2-3 international competitiveness; now, therefore, be it 2-4 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-5 hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to 2-6 consolidate federal workforce development programs and to provide 2-7 workforce development assistance to the states in the form of block 2-8 grants rather than categorical funding; and, be it further 2-9 RESOLVED, That a comprehensive labor market information 2-10 system be available to serve local, state, and federal needs, and 2-11 that eligibility standards for participants be redefined to allow 2-12 anyone seeking job training, education, or placement to have access 2-13 to services; and, be it further 2-14 RESOLVED, That the workforce development system preserve a 2-15 strong role for the private sector at all levels of government, and 2-16 that the consolidated program be subject to consistent measures of 2-17 accountability; and, be it further 2-18 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-19 copies of this resolution to the speaker of the house of 2-20 representatives and president of the senate of the United States 2-21 Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to the 2-22 congress, with the request that it be officially entered in the 2-23 Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United 2-24 States.