Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act of 2004

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Service Workers Fairness Act to provide aid for American workers facing a disturbing new trend: the offshore outsourcing of service jobs.

Congress first established Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in 1962, in recognition that international trade can harm our workers. The program was overhauled in 1974, and since then, it has offered extended unemployment compensation benefits and job training for workers who lose their manufacturing jobs due to import competition.

Over the past decade, Congress has shown its willingness to adapt to increasing globalization by modernizing TAA. For example, in 1993, with the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement, we added a provision to offer those same unemployment and job training benefits to workers whose manufacturing jobs were relocated to Canada or Mexico. Most recently, when the program was reauthorized in 2002, we expanded eligibility once again. The program now includes workers whose manufacturing jobs have been relocated to certain countries other than Canada or Mexico. It also now provides assistance to certain secondary workers who have lost their manufacturing jobs as suppliers or downstream producers to firms that have been affected by trade or plant relocation.

Despite these changes, one factor has remained constant: Trade Adjustment Assistance is only available to workers in the manufacturing sector. If a service sector employee's job has been outsourced to a foreign country, he or she is not eligible for TAA because the performance of services is not considered production of an ``article,'' as required by the law.

I can understand why the law was written that way--until recently, we believed that our service jobs were not put at risk by international trade. But now, unfortunately, we know this is no longer the case. Hundreds of thousands of service sector jobs already have been outsourced to other countries, including China and India. A report by Forrester Research predicts that 3.3 million service jobs will be outsourced by the year 2015--and some economists believe that forecast is conservative. Last fall, the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, estimated that more than 14 million service jobs are ``at risk to outsourcing''--that is 11 percent of all jobs.

That is the outer limit of service jobs at risk, but it demonstrates that this issue will reach far beyond the software programmers and call centers that are receiving attention today. The Fisher Center report notes that the jobs being created in India and elsewhere also include the following service sectors: geographic information systems services for insurance companies; stock market research for financial firms; medical transcription services; legal online database research; data analysis for consulting firms; and payroll and other back-office related activities.

In fact, the offshore outsourcing of service jobs likely will grow at a much

faster rate than the manufacturing outsourcing we have witnessed over the past two decades because there is an enormous cost differential in the wages of well-educated workers here and abroad. For example, the hourly wage for telephone operators in the United States is $12.57, while it is less than $1.00 in India. The hourly wage for legal assistants and paralegals in the United States is $17.86, compared to $6.00 to $8.00 in India. Accountants in the United States earn $23.35 per hour, while those in India earn $6.00 to $15.00 per hour. Finally, financial researchers and analysts in the United States earn $33.00 to $35.00 per hour, while those in India earn only $6.00 to $15.00 per hour.

The offshore outsourcing of service jobs already is having an impact on our economy. For example, it may be one reason that the recent increase in the unemployment rate is larger for highly-educated workers. From 2000 to 2003, total unemployment for workers with at least a bachelor's degree increased by 95 percent, compared to a 40 percent increase for workers with a high school diploma or less. Statistics for long-term unemployment--representing workers who have been unemployed for more than six months--are similar. From 2000 to 2003, long term unemployment for workers with at least a bachelor's degree increased by 299 percent, compared to an increase of 156 percent for workers with a high school diploma or less.

The offshore outsourcing of service jobs also may help explain why the few jobs that have been created since the recession officially ended in November 2001 have been primarily in low-paying sectors.

The question before us today is: How should Congress respond to this new facet of globalization and how can we aid these hundreds of thousands--and eventually millions--of service workers whose jobs have been outsourced?

Although there are broader trade issues that we should examine over time, there is one thing we can and should do now, and that is extend Trade Adjustment Assistance to these service employees. The service- providing sector provides more than 86 million jobs and accounts for more than half of our total GDP. We must extend the same helping hand to these men and women when their jobs are outsourced as we do to workers in the manufacturing sector.

Trade Adjustment Assistance not only provides additional unemployment compensation benefits. Just as importantly, it provides training to help workers find jobs at a similar or higher skill level, including classroom training, on-the-job training, and customized employer-based training. TAA also provides reemployment services, including employment counseling, case assessment, job development, and supportive services.

The bill I am introducing today, the Service Workers Fairness Act, would provide TAA eligibility to laid-off service workers whose firm shifts the work for the same or directly competitive services to a foreign country. It also would cover contract service workers whose contracts have been shifted overseas. Finally, my bill would extend the current provisions for adversely affected secondary workers to those who provide services.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted that ``rigorous education and ongoing training'' are critical in ensuring that as many Americans as possible can benefit from increased globalization.

My bill would provide this education and training to service workers whose jobs are outsourced abroad. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important legislation.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation to reauthorize the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route on behalf of myself and Senator Corzine. This bill makes a number of important changes to legislation that was enacted in 1988 and reauthorized in 1994 and 1999.

The original legislation, which I co-sponsored, called for a route that links nationally significant natural and cultural sites associated with the coastal area of New Jersey. The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail runs south for nearly 300 miles from Perth Amboy along the Atlantic Ocean to Cape May, then west along the Delaware Bay to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Along the way are sites like the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen's Museum, the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, and the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

Five theme trails, of which three are open, are planned to showcase different aspects of New Jersey coastal life: maritime history, coastal habitats, wildlife migration, historic settlements, and relaxation/ inspiration. The Trail is operated by a partnership that includes the National Park Service, the State of New Jersey, local communities, and private non-profit organizations. Fifty percent of the funding for the Trail is provided from non-federal funds.

My legislation raises the funding authorization for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail to $8 million, doubling the current authorization of $4 million. The legislation also: extends the deadline for project completion by 5 years to May 4, 2009; allows funds to be used for grants in addition to technical assistance; and requires the National Park Service to prepare a strategic plan for the long-term maintenance of this coastal route. A companion bill, H.R. 3070, has been introduced in the House by Congressman LoBiondo, with cosponsorship by the entire New Jersey delegation.

New Jersey has a long shoreline of which we are extremely proud. This bill will provide the necessary resources and strategic planning to ensure that the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail fulfills its promise to the people of my home State and to visitors from around the world. The additional funding authorized in this bill will support: 1. Creation of a long-term strategic plan on the roles of the National Park Service and other Trail partners; 2. Development of two remaining theme trails (historic settlements and relaxation/inspiration); 3. Development of interpretive media such as videos, brochures and exhibits; 4. Technical assistance for the State park system, wildlife management, and historic and cultural sites; 5. Construction of a New Jersey State Park Service facility on the trail at Double Trouble State Park in the Barnegat Bay Region; 6. Continuing work on a welcome center at Sandy Hook; and 7. Construction of a welcome center in the Absecon region.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which is needed to assure that funding for this valuable undertaking will continue to be authorized after May 2004.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, every year, Americans commemorate the birthday of America's greatest civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Last year I was pleased to introduce legislation to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to recognize Dr. King's contribution to the people of the United States. Revenues from the surcharge on the coin would go to the Library of Congress to purchase and maintain historical documents and other materials associated with the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I had hoped that this bill could have been enacted last year on the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's ``I Have a Dream'' speech, but we were unable to do so. Today, I would like to reintroduce the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Coin Act of 2004, to have the coin minted in 2009 in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Dr. King's birth. Dr. King's significant contributions and his message should live on for future generations. America should remember him as a national hero and a pioneer.

In recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, it is important that we continue to learn from his actions and words. When I was a young girl in Louisiana, I learned from Dr. King that the struggle for civil rights and racial equality was more than simply changing the law, it required changing our hearts as well. Dr. King recognized that the civil rights movement presented Americans with a choice. We could choose hate and fear, or we could choose love and understanding. Dr. King believed that when Americans choose love in their hearts, peace and equality would follow. Dr. King offered us a peaceful way to reach equality through non-violent protest and action. I believe that this should continue to be a fundamental moral challenge for our country. In his famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech, Dr. King said, ``I have a dream that one day, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.''

I would also like to take the time to thank my good friends on both sides of the aisle for supporting this important legislation. I urge others to join us in remembering the selfless deeds of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by cosponsoring this bill.

Mr. President, every year, Americans commemorate the birthday of America's greatest civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Last year I was pleased to introduce legislation to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to recognize Dr. King's contribution to the people of the United States. Revenues from the surcharge on the coin would go to the Library of Congress to purchase and maintain historical documents and other materials associated with the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I had hoped that this bill could have been enacted last year on the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's ``I Have a Dream'' speech, but we were unable to do so. Today, I would like to reintroduce the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Coin Act of 2004, to have the coin minted in 2009 in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Dr. King's birth. Dr. King's significant contributions and his message should live on for future generations. America should remember him as a national hero and a pioneer.

In recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, it is important that we continue to learn from his actions and words. When I was a young girl in Louisiana, I learned from Dr. King that the struggle for civil rights and racial equality was more than simply changing the law, it required changing our hearts as well. Dr. King recognized that the civil rights movement presented Americans with a choice. We could choose hate and fear, or we could choose love and understanding. Dr. King believed that when Americans choose love in their hearts, peace and equality would follow. Dr. King offered us a peaceful way to reach equality through non-violent protest and action. I believe that this should continue to be a fundamental moral challenge for our country. In his famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech, Dr. King said, ``I have a dream that one day, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.''

I would also like to take the time to thank my good friends on both sides of the aisle for supporting this important legislation. I urge others to join us in remembering the selfless deeds of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by cosponsoring this bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.