Legislation Would Help Workers in Defense Layoffs

Congress is considering legislation to help defense-industry workers who are laid off because of cost-cutting in Congress and the defense industry:

* House Bill 3999, introduced by Rep. Mary Rose Oakar (D-Ohio), would provide about $200 million for programs including more unemployment benefits for defense workers, educational grants for retraining, and reimbursement money for job-search and relocation expenses. The program also sets aside funds for entrepreneurs who want to market their defense-industry know-how in the private sector. The bill would create an administrative staff, but not a new bureaucracy, Oakar said at a public hearing in Paramount on Monday. She said the policy-making committee would include the heads of already-existing departments, such as the Labor Department, Defense Department and Small Business Administration.

* House Bill 5327, authored by Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae) and introduced last Friday, would return 10% of defense cuts to the communities affected by the loss of these federal funds. The secretary of labor would determine which areas would be eligible. Cities could use the money for job training or other needed programs. Her bill also penalizes contractors that relocate, requiring them to leave behind 20% of their contracts’ value when they move their facilities and leave employees behind.

Boxer has also introduced legislation she said will help communities recover from the closing of military bases, which is another aspect of defense cutbacks. One bill provides financial incentives to federal employees who accept early retirement. Another gives military employees first crack at federal jobs when their base is taken over by another agency. A third bill mandates 60 days’ notice when the government eliminates jobs at a military base.

These bills remain in various congressional committees. Oakar’s bill, more than three years in the making, could be voted on this fall. Boxer’s legislation faces a more uncertain fate. Tens of thousands of aerospace workers will have already lost their jobs by the time any of this proposed legislation would take effect.