Henry Cuellar for Congress | Proven Leadership for Texas

Under former State Representative Henry Cuellar's leadership, legislation passed in Texas restructuring its approach to developing and educating its workforce. As a co-author of HB 1863, Henry Cuellar helped consolidate twenty-seven different job-training programs that were scattered among six agencies into the new Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The administrative efficiencies from this consolidation saved taxpayers millions of dollars per year. Most of the millions of dollars per year in job training services were block granted to the new regional workforce development boards that allow for maximum local input.

As a co-author of the legislation that created the Local Workforce Development Areas (LWDAs) Henry Cuellar has been a champion of the following workforce services: (a) Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA),

(b) Employment Services (ES),

(c) Choices,

(d) Child Care Services (CCS),

(e) Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSE&T),

(f) Welfare to Work (WtW). TWC allocations for the border counties have increased from $228 million in 1998 to $251 million in 2001 for a total $998 million for that period. Henry Cuellar was the pioneer of welfare reform in Texas by passing welfare reform legislation in 1991, 1993 and in 1995. Under Henry Cuellar's leadership, Texas enacted comprehensive, pro-family welfare reforms that are based on the twin pillars of work ethic and individual responsibility. HB 1863 placed strict requirements on welfare recipients while allowing them to retain personal dignity through work programs and education. The welfare reform increased measures meant to curb fraud; limited time spent on welfare rolls, and required job training and education. The results have been tremendous. Texas' welfare rolls are down, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. These former welfare recipients are on the road to interdependence instead of being stuck for generations on government dependence.

Henry Cuellar’s team efforts and bi-partisan approach created more jobs in the 1990’s in Texas -a state that rose to become one of the fastest growing and strongest economies in the nation. But we can do better.

A good job for everyone with a living wage and decent benefits - and the opportunity for everyone to share in the gains and profits from productivity - is the measure of a strong economy. But, recently we are in a slow growth economy - where layoffs are spreading, unemployment is rising, wages are losing value, families are struggling to maintain health care benefits, deficits have returned and the Social Security Trust Fund is being used for other programs. In less than three years we have gone from a full employment economy to one of slow growth, rising unemployment and deficits projected for years. America’s economy is the strongest in the world, but we have many Texans struggling to find work and keep good jobs. We can turn around our economy. Henry believes in growth economics to create jobs.

To help the economies of each community in the district to grow and provide good paying jobs Congress should follow three major policies as called for by leading economists: (a) Invest in knowledge-Economists have agreed for a long time that technology is the most important engine for economic growth. We must increase technological innovation and invest in research and development in the public and private sector. We must increase the education and the skills of the workforce and the ability of firms to use those skills.

(b) Promote competition and innovation - Economists have long agreed that competition keeps prices down and innovation provides better benefits to consumers. We should focus on economic competition through expanded fair trade, reasonable deregulation, and promotion of e-commerce competition. In international trade, we must protect American companies from unfair foreign trade practices and we must level the playing field for American companies.

(c) Maintain fiscal discipline-We should increase investments in education and skills, science and technology but we should maintain fiscal discipline and continue to pay down the debt. When we accomplish this, we will get lower interest rates enabling more investments, more growth, and more surpluses to pay off more of the debt. We must operate our government on a “Pay as you go” basis. Henry Cuellar’s advocacy for workforce development and economic growth has been recognized by the Texas Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Colleges and Technical Educators, the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Career Institute, the City of Laredo and Cigarroa High School Arts Tech Program, the Laredo Association of Human Resource Management, Texas A&M International 5th Annual Conference Western Universities, the Laredo Business and Professional Women’s Association, the Texas U.S. Customs Brokers Association, the Free Enterprise Public Action Committee and Free Market Committee, the Laredo Development Foundation, the Texas Association of Mexican American Chamber of Commerce (TAMACC), the Texas Economic Development Commission, and the Laredo Mexican American Chamber of Commerce.