Washington  -  A man in India is filling out I.R.S. forms for U.S. clients right now.  Like thousands of low-cost, specialized workers around the world, he is working at a job that used to be done in America.

Our country has reached a point in economic history when high-speed data transfer and a global marketplace present as many dangers for U.S. businesses as they do opportunities.  The result is telling in the numbers of Americans who are still out of work despite the recent resurgence of productivity, economic growth, and gains on Wall Street.  Many looking for work are frustrated, still more are discouraged.

Extended unemployment benefits should not be the core of the American dream.
 While economists and experts hem and haw about how to accelerate job creation to catch up to other economic trends, the effects of unemployment are debilitating to many Americans.

The problem, which is worse in rural America than it is in big cities, may not be solved overnight.  By setting strong economic policies for our nation now, however, we can ensure that gains in job creation will be lasting ones.

First, our efforts to rebuild the economy must focus as much on the American worker as they do on the American company.  I disagree with experts who think that the jobs associated with a short period of full-speed-ahead economic growth are going to be a large, long-term, stable source of jobs that Americans will be proud to work at. 

The workplace of the future, whether it is on the manufacturing floor or behind a desk, heavily involves new and changing technologies.  Job training and continuing education are important ways for American workers to hone their skills.  When you combine the exposure to digital technologies with the on-the-job knowledge most Americans who have held jobs already possess, you have a job candidate with a leg up on the competition.  President Bush and Congress must combine their efforts to make these learning opportunities affordable and easy to come by.  A central part of the solution can be found in our nation’s regional, technical, and community colleges.

We must also enable American workers to keep more of what they earn by keeping income taxes low.  American families with bigger paychecks should also have opportunities to save for their retirement, medical expenses, and children’s educations in tax-free or tax-deferred accounts.

By buying American, we can use the practice of “voting with our dollars” to keep American products, made by American workers, in high demand. 

A stronger defense of small businesses is necessary, too. There is much work to be done, from lowering costs of providing employee health insurance through Association Health Plans to creating initiatives for value-added products in rural America.  America’s 25 million small businesses employ more than half of the U.S. workforce and contribute more than 50 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.  In rural America, their economic significance is even greater.

Southern Missouri businesses export high-quality goods all over the world.  We have a tremendous and dedicated workforce.  But our good products cannot drive the economy without the transportation infrastructure to get them to the world’s markets.  Our highways and ports need structural and security improvements to reach maximum, long-term efficiency.  These projects, too, create jobs in our region.

Finally, we must have advocacy for American products at the federal level to create good jobs at the local level.

To that end, I have taken the Department of Agriculture to task in recent weeks for letting rice contracts in Iraq go to Vietnam rather than to able American producers.  After U.S. rice growers lost the world’s two largest markets for U.S. rice (Cuba and Iran), the USDA is about to let the third largest (Iraq) slip away.  I am happy to report we are making progress on this issue and opening the doors for other U.S. exports as the international reputation of our goods increases.  We continue to reopen Cuban agricultural markets, and, just last week, the U.S. sold 110 metric tons of wheat to Iraq.
 These are the initiatives I am fighting for in Congress to improve job prospects in Southern Missouri.  If we can successfully implement these practices, we can have more Americans filling out tax returns here at home.