Date: 1982-09-16
Speaker: VANDER JAGT (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I want to commend my colleague from California for her leadership in bringing employment and jobs issues to the forefront of debate in this body. Her deep concern over economic and employment problems is indicative of the seriousness that Republican leaders have in getting the economy moving. and giving American workers the opportunity for meaningful employment. When President Reagan took office last year. he clearly made the economy his No. 1 priority. His actions once in office reaffirmed that commitment as he wasted no time in pushing hard for policies to set the stage for economic recoverywith budget and tax reductions as his centerpiece. In his inaugural speech. President Reagan warned that it would not be easy to get the Nation back on course. that recovery would not come overnight. There has been great progress in controlling the runaway inflation we faced just 2 years ago. and there Is considerable basis for optimism that the recession has finally bottomed out. with good prospects for a healthy recovery over the next few months. And. while the unemployment rate is still highfar too highthere are some optimistic indicators as well. The employment rate among the U.S. working age population is high. 57.5 percent in June. That is a statistic frequently overlooked and overshadowed by the unemployment rate. but is perhaps a better indicator of the health of the economy. That 57.5 percent of the working age population is employed is important. That is an employment rate higher than 1972 by 1/2 percent. and 2/ percent higher than in 1960. In fact. the employment rate has seldom been higher. But. rather than arguing about one statistic or another. we should really be talking about what we can do to make the economy stronger. to put even more Americans to work in productive jobs. That is where we must have better ideas. to look forward to our needs and goals. rather than turning to the past and repeating our mistakes. I am proud that Republicans do have better ideas. that we are looking forward and not resorting to the same wornout ideas that have not worked before. With the unemployment rate at 9.8 percent just 8 weeks before election day. it is easy to call for a budgetbusting program to create makework Government jobs. but that will not help the problem. I The ultimate solution is revitalizing the private sector. to create new jobs that will give a worker an opportunity for a productive career for years to come. That has been the focus of the Reagan economic program. and that is the focus of legislative initiatives I have taken during the past 2 years. One of the most significant contributions I have made during my service in the House came last year during action on the tax bill with the new incentives for industrial research and development. The tax incentives included in the 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act have already encouraged American industries to undertake more R&D activities. and that effort will translate into higher productivity. more innovative products. greater competitiveness in the future and new Jobs. American business must be innovative and productive to successfully compete in the international markets of the future. and the R&D undertaken today will contribute to the success of the future. Another legislative effort in which I have been deeply involved is the targeted jobs tax credit. This mechanism provides a tax credit to employers who hire workers from certain target groups. including lowincome youth. veterans. and the handicapped. I worked this year to develop legislation. H.R. 6700. to expand those categories to include unemployed workers who have exhausted their extended unemployment benefits. or who qualify for Trade Adjustment Assistance and have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits. This tax credit would help unemployed workers who have been out of the work force for an extended period or have been displaced by imported products get rehired by another employer in the private sector. I am convinced that this would be an effective way to get workers off the unemployment and welfare rolls. and on tax rolls as a productive worker. And last. I want to recognize the important initiative taken by the President in cooperation with many of my colleagues in developing the urban enterprise zone legislation. This is the kind of innovative approach we need to solving the problems of our aging urban areas. to restore economic vitality and employment opportunities in areas that have been left to waste. I have been proud to join as a cosponsor of that legislation. H.R. 6009. and I look forward to its serious consideration in the Congress later this year or during the 1983 session. We must continue to look forward. to plan for the economy of the eighties and nineties. not look back on the programs of the thirties. Innovation. productivity. and competitive aggressive American industries will be the strength of our economy. and we must develop programs which will accelerate that progress. not impede it.e