While Congress is in recess until September 5, they’re likely to move quickly on the appropriations process for the 2018 Fiscal Year (FY18) when they return. Read below to find out more about what’s on the agenda for Congress in September and new resources on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), including a report and three short videos.
House to Consider Omnibus Spending Bill After Recess
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to consider an eight bill omnibus appropriations bill when they return from recess the week of September 4. The bill will include the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies spending bill, which included level-funding for the FY18 allocation for Perkins Basic State Grants and National Programs. It will be bundled with seven other appropriations bills in H.R. 3354, the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, when it goes to the House floor. In addition, the appropriations process in the Senate is likely to pick up again in early September –  now is a great time to reach out to your members of Congress (thanks to our partners at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) for sharing their resources with the entire CTE community) to let them know that you support a strong federal investment in Career Technical Education (CTE)!
New Report on Importance of Partnership Between States and the Federal Government on Workforce Development 
The National Governors Association and the National Associations of State Workforce Liaisons and State Workforce Board Chairs just released a report, The Promise of the State-Federal Partnership on Workforce Development & Training, that outlines three cornerstones of successful state workforce development systems. One of these cornerstones is “Education Partnerships Align Education and Training with Skill Needs,” which calls for supporting and expanding opportunities for work-based learning and CTE (page 3). The report also highlights how WIOA and a continued federal investment in state workforce programs are key to growing state economies and provides seven recommendations for the Trump Administration.
Looking for Videos about WIOA Implementation?
Check out three new videos from WorkforceGPS, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, that were filmed during the 2017 WIOA National Convenings. In these short videos, attendees answered the following questions: “What is Innovation?“, “How Has WIOA Changed the Work You Do?” and “What WIOA Work Has You Excited?” and shared stories about their efforts to implement WIOA.
Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate for Federal Policy