Workforce Committee Leaders Introduce Legislation to Strengthen & Improve America's Job Training System

Workforce Committee Leaders Introduce Legislation to Strengthen & Improve America's Job Training System

Washington, Jan 4 - House Education & the Workforce Committee leaders, led by 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) and Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH), today introduced the Job Training Improvement Act, legislation that would strengthen and improve America's job training system to help states and communities ensure workers get the training they need to find good jobs. Through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) system, job seekers have access to job training, job counseling, and labor market information to help them get back on their feet. The proposal is similar to a bill passed by the House in 2003.

"Improving the nation's job training programs is critical to our ongoing effort to equip Americans with the resources and skills they need to find a new job and be successful in today's changing economy," said McKeon. "This bill will provide job-seekers with the tools and flexibility they need, while reducing unnecessary duplication and inefficiency, to ensure that job training programs are responsive and effective in helping Americans find a new job and make a quick return to work."

"I look forward to moving the bill through the House early in the 109th Congress and am committed to ensuring we enact job training reforms in this Congress," McKeon added.

"Strengthening job training programs and reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act is a top priority for our Committee this year," Boehner said. "Despite the roadblocks set up by Senate Democrat leaders last year to block job training reforms from being enacted, Republicans will continue to focus on the needs of job-seeking Americans and move forward with reforms to strengthen our job training programs."

In the 108th Congress, a conference on job training reform was stalled by Senate Democrats who refused to allow House-Senate negotiations to move forward. The House passed its version of the job training reform bill on May 8, 2003, and the Senate passed its bill on November 14, 2003. The House moved to go to conference and appointed conferees on June 3, 2004. On July 14, 2004, Boehner and McKeon sent a letter to then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) urging him to allow the Senate to appoint conferees, but Sen. Daschle did not responded to the request. Moreover, on September 22, 2004, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) moved to appoint conferees but was blocked by Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid (D-NV) - the latest in a long series of obstacles thrown in the path of the job training reauthorization process by Senate Democratic leaders. As a result, job training reform was not enacted in the 108th Congress.

The Job Training Improvement Act would build upon the significant reforms made in the bipartisan Workforce Investment Act (WIA) that was enacted in 1998. While those reforms have helped provide workers with the resources and tools necessary to rejoin the workforce or retrain for better jobs, areas of inefficiency and duplication remain. Duplication of services under the current WIA system reduces the amount of money that could be used to efficiently provide employment and training services to individuals seeking jobs. Overlap in training programs under the current WIA law has contributed to the growth of a confusing patchwork at the state and local level. Governors and state and local officials need the flexibility to target these resources toward the unique needs of their communities.

The legislation introduced today would help improve job training opportunities for Americans striving to get back to work by streamlining unnecessary bureaucracy, increasing cooperation among workforce development partners, protecting the rights of faith-based service providers participating or seeking to participate in the job training system, and authorizing personal reemployment accounts of up to $3,000 to help unemployed Americans purchase job training and other key services. While the introduced bill does not include President Bush's proposal to expand the role of community colleges in job training efforts, Republicans plan to incorporate it into the bill at some point during the legislative process

http://mckeon.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=6551