News From Congresswoman
Nydia M. Velázquez
Representing New York's 12th Congressional District - Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens
Ranking Democratic Member, House Small Business Committee

For Immediate Release
November 10, 2003

CONTACT: Wendy Belzer, Kate Davis, 202-225-4038

Velázquez: Bush Policies Needed to Keep Jobs Here
Administration's economic initiatives fail to address job training, monetary and trade issues

WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee, called President Bush's latest speech at the German-owned BMW automotive plant in Greer, South Carolina on the economy "an attempt to cover up the Bush administration's continuous poor job creation record and to overshadow the ongoing struggle of South Carolina textile workers."

"Our manufacturing sector is at its lowest level in 40 years - the cornerstone of the American economy is experiencing its worst recession ever with 2.7 million jobs lost," Congresswoman Velázquez said. "This is largely due to the failed trade, tax and monetary policies of the Bush administration - all of which create tremendous burdens for this vital sector. Much of the decline in the manufacturing base, especially in South Carolina's textile industry, is due to an array of these policies that have encouraged U.S. companies to ship jobs overseas and monetary practices that have driven up the cost of American products while flooding domestic markets with cheap foreign items."

In South Carolina, 6.6 percent of the manufacturing jobs have been lost over the past year and 2.3 percent of its nonfarm jobs have been lost - both exceeding the national average. Thousands of jobs in the textile industry have been lost in this state as well.

"The job loss that we are seeing both in South Carolina and nationwide are not just a result of tough economic times," Congresswoman Velázquez said. "We are losing good paying jobs because of the Bush administration's emphasis on policies that put Wall Street over Main Street. Far too many American jobs are now gone forever."

In addition to failed policies, funding for critical job training programs are also being cut under the Bush administration. One such casualty is the One Stop Career Centers program, which offers small business assistance from initial placement of a job announcement to the final interview process. The One Stop Career Centers have experienced a dwindling budget since Bush took office, with another $12 million reduction in 2004.

Bush also proposed a $60 million cut to adult job-training programs, and a $307 million cut to vocational and technical education grants. These job training programs are vital in getting jobs back for the economy. Even more so, small businesses, the drivers and creators of new jobs, rely on these programs to get the skilled employee pool they need for start-up and growth. Job training programs are essential nationwide, and particularly for the small business sector, in order to ensure economic growth and expansion.

"Compounding the drastic job loss in the manufacturing sector is the failure of the Bush administration to implement job recovery efforts, and to fund existing job training programs that could have put workers in closed industries back to work," Congresswoman Velázquez said. "It is apparent that from taxes, to trade, to job training - the issues most important to small businesses and the manufacturing sector - these have not been priorities to President Bush."

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