New House Bills Proposes Big Workforce Improvement Act (WIA) Overhaul

House Republicans have released two additional WIA reform bills they say will help guide their efforts to reauthorize WIA, the authorization for which expired in 2003.



The “Streamlining Workforce Development Programs Act” (HR 3610), introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), consolidates 33 government programs into four revenue streams:



·         The Workforce Investment Fund – provides job training services to adults, unemployed workers and youth seeking employment;



·         The State Youth Workforce Investment Fund – serves the nation’s disadvantaged youth, with a focus on school completion;



·         The Veterans Workforce Investment Fund – delivers employment and training services to America’s veterans; and



·         The Targeted Populations Workforce Investment Fund – continues assistance to special populations, including Native Americans and seasonal farm workers.





Foxx’s bill pushes much of workforce development activity to the states. Job Corps, for example, would become a state block grant system.

 



The bill aims to decrease waste and increase accountability and flexibility, requiring state and local leaders to submit statewide workforce development plans with performance standards. A goal, according to the Committee’s legislative summary is “providing administrative flexibility and ending the era of overly burdensome paperwork requirements.” It also calls for an independent review of Department of Labor programs every five years.



The Foxx bill includes specific language that would expand competition for one-stop operations.



The “Local Job Opportunities and Business Success (JOBS) Act” (HR 3611), introduced by Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), asserts that federal regulations have burdened local workforce investment boards, leaving them unable to address local employment needs.



Heck’s bill requires that 2/3 of a workforce investment board’s members be employers and encourages greater collaboration with the private sector, higher education institutions and economic development organizations to develop job training programs more focused to local employers’ needs.



Both bills were praised by Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.), author of the “Workforce Investment Improvement Act” (HR 2295), introduced in June to overhaul the entire workforce system. Committee Republicans indicated they will use all three measures in discussing WIA.



House Democratic counterparts panned the bill and said they are still working on their own WIA reauthorization language but provided no timeline for introduction.



A bipartisan WIA reauthorization compromise drafted in the Senate has stalled.



The CWS Washington Update will continue reviewing the new House legislation to provide additional analysis.

 



What They’re Saying: Foxx Bill Reaction

“Current federal workforce education programs are hopelessly redundant and expensive, offering up unnecessary confusion and bureaucracy across 47 separate programs. Americans are fed up with these endless layers of complexity in the federal government and this bill streamlines the byzantine workforce training system while making the programs more responsive and accountable to taxpayers.”-Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Chair, Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training



“My colleagues and I are committed to legislating commonsense, conservative solutions to our nation’s job crisis. These bills strengthen job training opportunities for workers and job seekers and build on reforms to improve programs and services to put Americans back to work.” -Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.)



“We cannot allow a burdensome bureaucracy to undermine support for workers, frustrate employers, and waste taxpayer resources. The committee has held numerous oversight hearings to determine the challenges facing workers and employers, and the proposals my Republican colleagues introduced reflect what we’ve learned.” -Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), Chair, Education & the Workforce Committee



“During these times of economic uncertainty, our nation’s workforce programs are essential to helping out-of-work Americans find jobs. Rather than turning our back on the millions of Americans seeking new skills and education, we should work together to design a modern public workforce system that both meets today’s challenges and tomorrow’s economic demands.” -Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), Ranking Member, House Education & the Workforce Committee



“I am deeply disappointed by the legislation introduced by Representative Virginia Foxx today. As a member of this committee, I welcome the opportunity to work in a bipartisan manner to improve and strengthen our nation's public workforce training and adult education system. Millions of American workers are struggling in this economy and need our help to acquire the education and workplace skills necessary to access good, family-sustaining jobs and get back on track.” -Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), Ranking Member, Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training





Appropriators Planning Weekend Work



House and Senate appropriators are running out of time to reach agreement on an omnibus spending bill with a continuing resolution that would fund government operations for the remainder of FY 2011. Because the nine-bill package touches a lot of policy areas, some lawmakers see it as a vehicle for riders, ranging from terrorist detainee provisions to environmental regulation rollbacks.



The current CR expires Dec. 16.





HELP Hears Unemployment Horror Stories



The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee heard testimony Wednesday at a hearing titled “Tales from the Unemployment Line: Barriers Facing the Long-Term Unemployed.”



A 58-year-old Arizona woman told the committee, chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), she has applied for 200 jobs and can only get seen for group interviews.



“Gone is the day when you could sit one on one with a potential employer and tout your strengths, your work experience and what an asset you would be for their company,” Donna Stebbins told the senators.



Video of the hearing can be viewed here: http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=f942564d-5056-9502-5d87-bc0b5cea77db.

 



House Leadership Plans Health Cuts to Fund UI, Payroll Tax



House Republicans proposed Friday to use cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and the new health care law to pay for extension of the payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits. The proposal extends UI benefits for one year but overhauls the program to cut back the maximum number of weeks benefits are paid.



In addition to the contentious “pay-fors,” House leaders still plan to tie the extensions to approval of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, further deepening the showdown with Senate Democrats and President Obama, who said Thursday he would veto the bill if Congress adds too many extra provisions.



“Rather than trying to figure out what can they extract politically from me to get this thing done, what they need to do is be focused on what’s good for the economy,” Obama said, adding he would cancel a planned vacation and the Congressional recess if an agreement is not reached.



 



The Week Ahead

Here are some things to look for in the coming days:



·         House and Senate Appropriations negotiators may release their omnibus conference agreement Dec. 12 or 13.



·         The House could vote Dec. 13 on the Republican package to extend the payroll tax cut and long-term UI benefits.



·         The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee holds a “Veterans’ Employment Challenges” field hearing in Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 12 at 9:30.



·         The House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access holds a field hearing in Woodstock, Ill., Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. The topic is “Is Uncertainty Contributing to the Jobs Crisis: The Views of Local Illinois Small Businesses.”



·         The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity reviews implementation of the new “Veterans Opportunity to Work” law in a hearing Dec. 15 at 10 a.m.