Issue Brief - 110th Congress: Workforce Investment Act

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) provides a framework for a national workforce preparation and employment system that features a “one-stop” delivery system that places career centers in workers’ neighborhoods where they can access employment services and get referrals to job training, education, and other services.

Issues

Access to Training

NASDCTEc supports the elimination of the artificial barriers that require individuals to receive services (core, intensive, and training) through the One-Stops in a prescribed progression that may not suit their needs.

One-Stop Funding

The current framework has been confusing and has led to troubling proposals to siphon off unlimited funding from partner programs, like postsecondary career technical education, in an effort to cover the costs of operating the one-stop centers. Career technical education’s strength as a One-Stop partner is in what the system has to offer—postsecondary programs and courses. Requiring funds to be redirected to administration of One-Stops would move away from the legislative intent of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act and diminish the ability of the postsecondary career technical education system to provide the resources most valued in the workforce development system—its programs and courses.

Reporting Requirements

NASDCTEc supports the modification of the current reporting requirements to remove the disincentive for training providers to participate in the WIA system, while still collecting the necessary data for a strong accountability system.

Youth Activities

NASDCTEc supports a continued focus within WIA on youth, both out-of-school and in-school youth, as well as the concept of Youth Councils, which are designed to serve as a tool to ensure that a focus on youth remains a significant part of the WIA system.

Membership on Workforce Investment Boards

NASDCTEc believes that postsecondary career technical education (CTE) is an important partner in our nation’s workforce development systems. WIA authorized the creation of state and local workforce investment boards as the system’s decision-making bodies, and it is important that CTE is part of the discussion as decisions on funding, focus, priorities and policy for the WIA system are made.

Current Status

Updated February 1, 2007
Because the law was not completed during the 109th Congress, the WIA Reauthorization process must be restarted from the beginning, as incomplete laws are not carried over into new sessions of Congress.

It is expected that the version the Senate passed during the 109th Congress (S. 1021) will be used as a blueprint for the new law, though the bill has not yet been introduced in either Chamber of Congress. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is leading reauthorization efforts in the Senate, and the House Committee on Education and Labor is leading reauthorization efforts in the House.

Legislative History in 109th Congress

House

• January 4, 2005 – Representative Buck McKeon (R-CA) introduced H.R. 27, the “Job Training Improvement Act of 2005”. H.R. 27 is very similar to current law with several changes designed to increase flexibility (including allowing for the consolidation of funding streams into a block grant), as well as increasing program accountability.
• February 9, 2005 – The House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness Committee passed H.R. 27.
• February 17, 2005 – The House Education and the Workforce Committee passed H.R. 27.
• March 2, 2005 – The House passed H.R. 27. The most contentious issue voted on was a defeated amendment that would have denied faith-based providers willing to help provide job training and other critical social services their rights under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Senate

• May 12, 2005 – HELP Committee Chairman Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced S. 1021, the “Workforce Investment Act Amendments of 2005”.
• May 18, 2005 – HELP Committee unanimously passes S. 1021.
  • S. 1021 contains the troubling infrastructure funding provision discussed above. If locals fail to reach a local cost-sharing agreement among partner programs within one year, the governor of a state would then have the authority to take a percentage of a state’s overall allotment for partner programs such as Perkins to fund one-stop infrastructure. The Senate bill caps this amount for Perkins at 1.5% of the state allotment, with the funds coming from administrative funds.
• June 29, 2006 - In a surprise move, the Senate passes S. 1021 by unanimous consent and without debate. The move comes as Senator Durbin lifts his hold on the bill, in hopes that this will spur new debate among House and Senate staffers. It still remains unlikely that the bill will be conferenced before the end of this Congress.

NASDCTEc will continue to be active during WIA reauthorization on behalf of its members. Career and technical education is an integral partner of the workforce development system, with the network of these education programs touching nearly every community in this country.

For further information on NASDCTEc’s positions, contact: Domenic Giandomenico, Director of Government Relations.