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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 24, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I am pleased that the House of Representatives has moved quickly to pass a bipartisan compromise to address a shortage of skilled workers, while providing new training and protections for U.S. workers. To address that shortage and maintain America's competitive edge, we must give U.S. workers new opportunities to train and to learn new skills. This legislation helps us meet that challenge by providing up to $250 million over 3 years in new funding to educate and train Americans for the jobs of the future.

This compromise institutes new reforms to ensure that employers do not replace U.S. workers with temporary foreign workers and requires employers to recruit U.S. workers. In short, it contains new investments in training, tougher enforcement, and new protections for U.S. workers. I look forward to Congress sending me a bill that is consistent with our bipartisan agreement.

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