Incidentally, when I was appointed to this Commission by the President, some of my friends said, "Oh, this is just an honorary committee appointment you have and the Commission won't do any work." However, my friends do not know your very able chairman, Congressman Ken Gray, and they do not know Congressman Schwengel, Mr. Cramer, and your distinguished friend that just left, Mr. Pickle, from Texas. These men worked so long, so very, very hard, and spent so much time and effort, let me say to you that the Nation is deeply grateful for all their work.

I am very pleased to be here today to testify on behalf of and in favor of an Orientation and Education Center for visitors to our Nation's Capital. I have the feeling that you have heard so much on so many aspects of this project that you feel there may be very little more to add; but I do think I have a viewpoint which, while not unique, has not yet been applied in this hearing to express one of the real needs for the National Visitor Center.

You represent people from all over the country. Your constituents come to visit Washington, the world's capital, by thousands each day, as you witness running back and forth, the clusters of people.

When your constituents come, they bring their children, so that their children can learn and participate in the great history of our country.

I strongly believe, Mr. Congressmen, that you owe your constituents an opportunity to enjoy a visit to Washington, to have an easy experience, instead of a frustrating experience, in Washington.

I am sorry if I have not told you of the millions of dollars spent in Washington and the millions more that this means in taxes; but I see a National Visitor Center as a living historical and educational experience with a meaningful' sense of orderliness and direction for parents leading their children into the complexities of the history and the education, and even the glory of the city which means so very much to our country. You have the responsibility to your constituents.

As a member of the President's Commission, I can attest that we have exhaustively studied every possibility for a National Visitor Center. Under the direction, again, of your very able chairman, Congressman Ken Gray, I can tell you that we have gone through every nook and cranny in the District of Columbia to locate the proper site for the Center. We feel that we have located a great facility in which we can pour all of the ingredients for a very fine project.

Perhaps there is one other point that I feel might have been overlooked, too. I have worked with many corporate organizations that have generous hearts and a genuine wish to participate in national historical and educational projects. I am certain that, if an opportunity to duplicate some of the magic things that I saw at Montreal, at Expo 67, were properly offered, our national corporate leaders would happily and freely help furbish our National Visitor Center. I am so certain of this, I would like to offer my own humble efforts to enlist their participation.

Gentlemen, I support the farsighted and far-reaching program to convert Union Station to a National Visitor Center, and I thank you for this opportunity to appear before you.

Mr. GRAY. Well, at the expense of being repetitious, I am going to say, once again, how delighted I am that you would come, particu

larly after the many, many meetings you attended as a member of the Commission and to reaffirm and restate your great interest in this national proposal.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. GRAY. Are there any comments or questions?

Are you not glad you waited, gentlemen?

Mrs. COOPERSMITH. May I tell you what Congressman Pickle said? He said, "I surely hope they get this done right away. Hurry it up.” Mr. GRAY. Next Tuesday and Thursday.

Thank you very much. We deeply appreciate it.

We have one concluding witness. If we can hear him, we will be able to wind up the public hearings after 4 days of testimony.

Is Mr. John Troutman, Director for Plans and Programs, National New Career Center, here?

Mr. TROUTMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. GRAY. Mr. Troutman, I want to apologize for the fact we have been running behind schedule; but, as you know, having sat here for several days, some of these problems have been gone into in great detail. We appreciate your patience and appreciate your coming.

You can either read the statement or submit it for the record and summarize, or proceed in your own fashion.

STATEMENT OF JOHN TROUTMAN, DIRECTOR FOR PLANS AND PROGRAMS, NATIONAL NEW CAREER CENTER, WASHINGTON,

D.C.

Mr. TROUTMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, I am John E. Troutman, Director of Plans and Programs of the National New Career Center.

I have no formal prepared statement which I would like to read to you. I do, however, have a small brochure, which I think covers in fairly good detail the purposes of the National New Career Center. Mr. GRAY. Without objection, we will enter your entire statement in the record at this point.

(The document referred to follows:)

THE NATIONAL NEW CAREER CENTER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

PREFACE

In our society today as never before, the freedom of vocational choice is a vital and pervasive concern to all of us. Although a great deal of information designed to assist our young people in making the right choice is prepared by many sources, in both the public and private sectors, it is not always available to the many who need it, and particularly to those who need it the most-the youth, their parents, the counselors and the teachers of far too many of our nation's rural and inner-city communities.

To cope with this long standing and serious problem, in an effective manner, it is proposed that representatives of government, business, industry, organized labor and the many community groups be brought together on a voluntary and cooperative basis, to establish and support a permanent National New Career Center. The purpose is to provide, through the use of well prepared multi-media materials and dynamic physical displays, both an academic and physical panorama of the many diverse and often exciting carrer available within our free enterprise system.

To provide the best possible visibility for this important program, it is proposed that a permanent Career Center facility be established in the Washington area.

Not only will this approach help to simplify the matter of coordinating the many nationwide requests for available information on careers and on the related physical displays, but equally as important, it will represent a readily accessible and centrally located entity to be visited by countless thousands of youth and their peers who come into Washington every year, whether from nearby communities or from throughout the nation.

Although the task confronting the nation in bringing the National New Career Center into being is great, the seemingly perpetual and all too often overwhelming task of reclaiming many of the usually uniformed, often ignored, sometimes aggressive and visibly disillusioned youth of today is far, far greater. The establishment of the National New Career Center, therefore, is essential to the proper and continuing development of our youth and certainly vital, in the long term, to both our nation's economic and social well being.

Why the Career Center.

Who will the Career Center serve.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Who will support the Career Center.

How will the activities of the Career Center benefit those who support it.
The Career Center development program.

The National New Career Center is being developed to serve as a catalyst and focal point for

The acquisition and distribution of all currently available career planning information and related data, from whatever public or private source.

Coordinating and assisting with the efforts of many diverse kinds of organizations, in both the public and private sectors, in the development of new and more dynamically oriented career planning information, and specifically as such relates to new or entry level careers.

The development of both fixed and mobile displays and exhibits which will dynamically depict new career opportunities and fields, for use in both the National New Career Center in the Washington area and throughout the nation.

The interchange of both new concepts and programs relating to the most effective utilization of the available career planning information and exhibits, by both professional school and employment service counselors as well as many other interested users.

Among many others, the end products and services of the National New Career Center will be available to

All high and vocational-technical school students, in both the public and private schools and systems.

The high and vocational-technical school drop-out.

The high school aged youth or other young adult enrolled in any one of our nation's several on-going special, complementary or supplementary education and training programs, such as those currently sponsored by either community or nationally based poverty oriented institutional or other types of organizations.

The college drop-out.

The unemployed young adult and older worker.

The underemployed or underutilized worker, of whatever age or educational achievement level.

The junior high school student, as the concept for providing career information at an even earlier age than at present, becomes more widely accepted. The counselors, teachers, parents, employers or others who are responsible for either advising or working with, or on beholf of, those noted above. The National New Career Center will be developed and supported on a strictly cooperative and voluntary basis by

The government, at both the Federal, state and local level.

Organized labor.

Both business and industry.

Other diverse kinds of organizations concerned with a wide range of both social and economic development activities, at both the national and local level.

All of the above, in the manner deemed most suitable by the individual organization or group which is concerned, whether through the offering of resource materials, exhibits, personnel, financial support or through or by whatever means.

The National New Career Center will benefit those who will support and use it, in many ways.

For the various governments, an opportunity to

Provide, through a single, effective, non-partisan and centralized entity, information on the many diverse kinds of careers which are available within its many individual and collective entities, at the Federal, state and local level.

Assist other public and private organizations in the conceptualizing or development of their own career planning information, in those areas where the utilization of government expertise, by such outside organizations, is based on a direct and continuing relationship.

Utilize career information from many other sources to supplement internally generated career information and to thus provide truly broad spectrum data, for use at the many excellent Government sponsored national and community oriented youth centers.

For business and industry, an opportunity to

Provide comprehensive information on a wide variety of existing careers, with particular emphasis directed at the lower entry level and sub-professional levels.

Provide comprehensive information on the availability of the many new and often exciting careers which are either imminent or are just emerging, as such are based on new technological developments or advancements in the state-of-the-art.

For organized labor, an opportunity to

Make known, in specific terms, the advantages of entering apprenticeship or other union related education and training programs and of the opportunities for continuing career development, under union sponsorship.

Make known to many, often for the first time, the important role of the labor unions in our vast economic system and in particular, of their increasing interest in all programs relating to the general welfare of the community. For the community oriented organizations, an opportunity to provide, again often for the first time, information on the many existing, new and rewarding careers which have come into being in the usually less well known, but equally important community oriented organizations. Of particular importance, is that information relating to careers which are associated with our nation's Great Society educational and social development programs.

For the professional counselor and educator, an opportunity to

Obtain, on a dynamic, continuing and relatively short term basis, comprehensive information on the broadest possible spectrum of new careers which are currently available.

Utilize this great wealth of available career information as an invaluable aid in the development of comprehensive career plans or programs for the youth or others which they continually advise and serve.

Utilize this same comprehensive career information as the basis for either the revision of existing curriculum or for the generation of new curriculum, not only for the usual recipients of such information but also for the professional counselors and teachers themselves, by institutions of higher learnings, as may be required.

THE CAREER CENTER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

To ascertain the most effective way of developing the National New Career Center concepts and ultimately, the permanent physical facility, a planning phase is now underway which will continue for approximately one year. During this period, a number of diverse activities will be sponsored by the currently retained, but limited, Center staff, working in close cooperation with key representatives from business, industry, organized labor, counseling and education, Federal, state and local governments and from a variety of community groups.

As currently programmed, the principal efforts of this varied task force will be directed toward making a determination of

1. The overall management philosophy, which must necessarily reflect the requirements and interests of each representative group, including those who both support and use, or need, the services of the Center.

2. The staffing pattern philosophy, including the roles of both the paid and contributory personnel.

3. The services to be offered by the Center including, ultimately, multimedia materials production and distribution, both fixed and mobile exhibits, career counseling research and development, staff training (of both the inservice and out-service varieties), visitor and referral testing and evaluation services, career planning, interviewing, monthly and quarterly reporting and activity journals, automated data services (on both a local and national basis) and others.

4. The optimum type of physical facility which will be required, when taking into account, 1) all of the above referenced types of activities, 2) the vast numbers of youth and others who will physically visit the Career Center in the Washington area, and 3) the extensive demands which will be placed upon the services of the Center, by those located throughout the rest of the nation.

5. The best method of funding the Center, both on an initial and continuing basis, including considerations of the non-profit or foundation approach, self-perpetuation through investment return upon initial investment, a yearly participant subscription approach, a tax credit allowance approach and others. Whatever approach does evolve, however, all supporting organizations and groups will share the costs which are involved, on an equitable basis.

To accomplish the above objectives within the given time frame, two major approaches are being taken. The first approach, through a series of regional conferences to be held in the East, Mid-West and the Far-West, will bring the Center planning staff together with key representatives from the proposed organizations, to discuss all facets of the overall Career Center program and to determine what additional services the Center can provide each such group or organization.

The second approach, is to establish an interim Advisory Council which will be comprised of prominent executives and administrators from the many major career fields which constitute our nation's free enterprise system. As such, the Council will be responsible for 1) organizing the various ad hoc national and community oriented Career Data Development Councils which are needed to assist in the development of the overall program, and 2) reviewing and acting upon the recommendations of the various Councils, relative to the finalizing of the detailed plans and programs needed to bring the National New Career Center into being as a physical, workable entity.

To assist the various national and local Councils and organizational representatives in their task force efforts throughout the coming year, a very comprehensive planning manual which will serve as a program development "guide,” has been developed by the Center's current staff. Copies of this manual are available to all who need them and they may be obtained by writing to Mr. John E. Troutman, Director, Plans and Programs Division, The National New Career Center, Room 315, 1145 19th Street NW., Washington, D.C.

Mr. TROUTMAN. I will allude to this as we proceed.

I know there is a time factor involved here, so I will keep my presentation as short as possible.

The National New Career Center is an organization that has been established as of July 1, of this year. It is a very small organization at the moment, myself and one staff person. We are looking into the matter of how best to provide career information that can be used by the guidance counselors, professional employment service counselors, and others throughout the United States. This is our objective.

We are devoting a year, effective as of July 1, to conducting a feasibility study to determine how best to get this kind of information together, where it should be deposited, what else can be used to supplement this kind of information, to make the matter of career development by the various counselors more effective within their schools and operating entities.

We feel and have known for a long time and I am sure all of you are aware of this that the role of the guidance counselor, whether professional or in the school system, is a very difficult one. The rate of