Workforce Investment Act
Congresswoman
Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District participated in a field hearing for the
House Education and Labor Committee’s Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and
Competitiveness Subcommittee. The hearing, held at Nevada State College,
examined ways to improve the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in order to educate
and retrain workers. Below are her opening remarks as prepared. Testimony from
the witnesses is available here.
“Thank you, Chairman
Hinojosa, for calling for today’s Congressional hearing to explore new
innovations and best practices for the Workforce Investment Act. It is an honor
to host the Committee here in Henderson, especially on a topic that is so
critical to Nevadans.
“Since the economic recession
began in December of 2007, Nevada has endured a record number of foreclosures
and an unemployment rate that is now in the double digits – the highest it has
been in 25 years. This Congress inherited a deep economic crisis that will not
turn around over night. We have already taken critical steps to put our nation
on the path to recovery by passing a recovery package that will create or save
millions of jobs, including 34,000 jobs in Nevada. While recent economic
statistics provide a small glimmer of hope that we are getting close to the
bottom of this recession, with more than half a million jobs lost last month and
Nevada still facing record unemployment, our work is far from done. Creating
jobs in Southern Nevada remains one of my top priorities and this Congress must
take bold action to put Americans back to work.
“I am encouraged by the
enthusiasm with which the Education and Labor Committee has taken on the task of
reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act. This important legislation is one
of our many efforts to fix the economy, and I stand committed to work with my
colleagues on the Committee and in the spirit of bipartisanship to take Nevada
and our nation in a new direction.
“The Workforce Investment Act
was designed to consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training,
literacy, and vocational rehabilitation programs. It provides job training and
related services to unemployed and underemployed individuals and is the federal
government’s primary support for Americans seeking assistance to obtain, retain,
or change employment. Today’s hearing will explore many topics including clean
energy jobs, youth activities and services, training for health care
professions, and vocational rehabilitation, or job training and placement for
individuals with disabilities.
“Thank you to everyone
attending today’s hearing on the Workforce Investment Act; it is an honor to
have you here. Unlike many Nevada State Legislature hearings, at today’s
hearing we will not be able to allow public comment. However, for the Committee
to be successful in reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act, Members of
Congress must listen to a broad range of voices and ideas in addition to the
testimony of today’s expert witnesses. While those of you in attendance we will
not be able to provide public comment today, I would greatly appreciate your
input and will take your comments back to Washington and to the Education and
Labor Committee. Upon arriving today you should have received a handout with
instructions on how to provide your comments, and I will look forward to reading
your feedback.
“Thank you again to Chairman
Hinojosa, to those of you in the audience, and to our distinguished panel of
witnesses. I look forward to an insightful and thought- provoking discussion
today.”
Titus
Calls for More Assistance for Homeowners Under Water
Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District sent a letter to James
Lockhart, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, calling for more help
for homeowners who owe more on their house than it is worth. Titus is urging a
change to the Making Home Affordable Program so that people whose mortgages
exceed 105% of the value of their home could receive assistance as part of the
refinancing provision of the program.
Below is the text of
the letter:
May 22, 2009
James B. Lockhart III
Director
Federal Housing Finance
Agency
1700 G Street, NW
– Fourth Floor
Washington, D.C. 20552
Dear Director Lockhart,
I am
writing to urge your support for raising the loan to value (LTV) requirement in
the “Making Home Affordable” Program that would greatly increase the number of
families who could benefit from this program. I believe that this change is of
urgent need and should be made as soon as possible.
On
May 6, 2009, the Wall Street Journal featured an article by Ruth Simon and James
R. Hagerty entitled, “House-Price Drops Leave more Underwater” (copy
enclosed). In this article you are quoted as saying that you are “considering”
raising the loan to value (LTV) requirement for mortgage refinancing under the
“Making Home Affordable” program which, as you know, is currently set at 105%.
Many
homeowners across the county cannot qualify for this program because their LTV
is over the 105% threshold. As noted in the article, it is estimated that almost
70% of homeowners in Southern Nevada are “underwater.” Every day, my offices
receive phone calls from individuals who want to refinance as part of “Making
Home Affordable,” but their LTV is greater than 105%, therefore prohibiting them
from participating in the program. Increasing this threshold would offer
assistance to countless families in my district and across the country who are
looking for help to stay in their homes.
As you may
know, the average value of a home in Las Vegas has fallen almost $110,000 in the
last two years. Many people who purchased a home in the last few years have
found that, due to no fault of their own, they are in negative equity. They do
not want to walk away from their mortgages but have serious concerns about the
actual value of their homes.
By
enabling more families to refinance their current mortgage, we will not only
allow them to stay in their homes, we will take an important step toward ending
the current housing crisis. I respectfully request that you work to raise this
threshold as quickly as possible.
Thank you in advance for
your consideration.
Titus: TSA
Reauthorization Critical to Aviation Security and World-Class
Destinations Like Las Vegas
Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District spoke on the House floor in
support of H.R. 2200, the TSA Reauthorization bill, which will provide vital
safety training for flight attendants and support general aviation that is
critical to a world-class destination like Las Vegas. Below are her remarks as
delivered.
“Thank
you Mr. Chairman. I rise today in support of the TSA Reauthorization bill and
to thank Chairman Thompson for his leadership on this important issue. I also
would like to highlight two elements of the bill that I particularly support.
“It has
been over seven years since the attacks of September 11th and there
are still no guidelines for security training for flight attendants. H.R. 2200
requires that these individuals undergo mandatory and standardized security
training.
“Flight
attendants are the only working group in the cabin aboard every commercial
flight. They are literally on the front lines. They are an integral part of
air security. This legislation provides for meaningful training that will equip
these flight attendants with danger detection, self defense techniques, and
other important skills needed in the event of a crisis. This mandatory security
training, which is needed and wanted by flight attendants, is an important step
in ensuring our skies are as safe as they can be.
“The
second aspect of this legislation that I would like to address is general
aviation. In 2008, there were more than 400,000 general aviation flights from
the Las Vegas area, serving an estimated 1.3 million passengers. From our three
local airports, you can take one of these flights to view the grandeur of the
Grand Canyon and the desert which surrounds our city. General aviation flights
are also critical to supplying goods to Las Vegas, and they also are an
efficient means for businesses travelers to reach our great city, one of the
most popular business travel destinations. This is a vital industry to my
district and I will be a voice for it here in Congress.
“I am
hopeful that the TSA will involve this important industry in rule making and I
am confident that they will.”
Titus Announces an Additional $1.08 Million
for
Boulder City Airport Through Recovery Act
Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District announced today that Boulder
City will receive an additional $1.08 million grant to enhance the safety of
aircraft operations at the Boulder City Municipal Airport. The money, which
comes on top of $1.25 million that was announced in March, was released by the
Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration and was made
available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“With
more than $2.3 million set aside to improve the Boulder City airport, we will
put people to work in Southern Nevada while enhancing the safety of this
facility that is so important to the transportation needs of the community,”
Congresswoman Titus said.
“Federal funding
to improve the safety at the Boulder City Municipal Airport is always a welcome
addition to our limited City budget,” said Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler.
This new grant
money, a total of $1,084,625, will provide funding for the second phase of
improvements to the runway safety area and the construction of run-up aprons,
which will allow airplanes to safely hold short behind the runway safety area.
The first grant
for $1.25 million will be used to resurface the main runway, which will improve
safety and lengthen the life of the runway by about 15 years. The Boulder City
airport serviced an estimated 200,000 passengers in 2008, averaging about 300
flights per day.
