Washington Update - National Skills Coalition

December 2014
WASHINGTON UPDATE
In this Issue
113th Congress Comes to a
Close…1
Congress Finalizes FY 2015
Spending Bill…3
DOL Announces American
Apprenticeship Grants…5
Commerce Seeks National
Partner in New Regional
Partnership Program…6
Youth Performance Pilots
Announced…7
DOL Announces WIOA Transition
Funds…8
What the 2014 Elections Mean
for Skills…9
113th Congress Comes to a Close
On December 16, the Senate adjourned for the year, marking the end of the
113th Congress. The past two years has been a period of major progress and
sizeable challenges for the workforce development field. Most important,
Congress in July 2014 passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA), legislation to modernize our nation’s public workforce system.
Following months of bipartisan negotiations, WIOA was passed on an
overwhelmingly bipartisan basis—415-6 in the House and 95-3 in the Senate.
WIOA’s passage came 16 years following passage of its predecessor, the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The law reflects a number of the best
practices that have been developed in the field over the past 16 years that
NSC and our partners have long promoted and advocated for, including
industry-led sector partnerships, career pathways, cross-program data and
measurement, and job-driven investment. As states move to implement the
law, these core strategies and practices are certain to stand out.
The 113th Congress also saw a number of vigorous debates over federal
funding. Sequestration took effect in March 2013, triggering $85 billion in
automatic, across-the-board spending cuts. Months later, following a 17-day
October 2013 government shutdown, Senate Budget Committee chair Patty
Murray (D-WA) and House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI)
crafted a bipartisan budget agreement, the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA),
which set topline spending levels for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, and
provided $63 billion in sequester relief over two years. FY 2014 also marked
the first time since 2012 that Congress was able to pass a Labor-HHSEducation funding bill, signaling a return to the normal appropriations
process. Following the 2014 elections, Congress was able to pass an FY 2015
spending bill to fund the vast majority of the government through the end of
the fiscal year. NSC weighed in with policymakers frequently during these
federal funding debates.
In early 2014, Congress passed a Farm Bill that included significant new
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resources to expand the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Employment & Training (E&T) program. NSC worked closely with
congressional staff to help expand the program, as well as with the Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS) to implement the law. Congress also waded into
comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), with the Senate passing bipartisan
legislation in June 2013. National Skills Coalition weighed in with
policymakers on CIR, proposing a skills strategy for comprehensive reform.
The past two years have also been critical for Administrative action on skills.
During his January 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama called
for action to “empower all Americans with the skills needed for in-demand
jobs.” The President’s skills strategy included an across-the-board review of
federal job-training programs, which was helmed by Vice President Biden.
The Administration’s Job-Driven Training Action Plan, released over the
summer, will bring to bear significant new resources and a new focus on jobdriven training across federal agencies.
“There will be opportunities to
work with Congress to ensure
that WIOA is funded at a level
that ensures its successful
implementation.”
Looking ahead to the 114th Congress, there is still much to be done to
strengthen our nation’s investments in skills. The Senate Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions committee will have new leadership in presumptiveChairman Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and presumptive-Ranking
Member Senator Patty Murray, and the House Committee on Education &
the Workforce will have a new Ranking Member, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)
(Rep. John Kline (R-MN) will continue his tenure as chairman). Congress
may attempt to reauthorize the Perkins Act, which funds career and technical
education, as well as the Higher Education Act (HEA), and with it the Pell
Grant program. Reauthorization of these pieces of legislation and others
could provide opportunities to improve cross-program alignment and make
federal investments more effective for U.S. workers and employers. There
will also be opportunities to work with Congress to ensure that WIOA is
funded at a level that ensures its successful implementation, as well as new
opportunities to work with the Administration to implement its job-driven
action plan and promote and expand job-driven strategies such as
apprenticeship and industry partnerships.
Federal funding is certain to be a prominent issue in the 114th Congress as
well. The BBA will have expired, meaning that absent congressional action,
sequestration will return in FY 2016.
National Skills Coalition looks forward to working on these and other critical
issues with the Administration and the 114th Congress in the new year.
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Congress Finalizes FY 2015 Spending Bill
On December 16, the President signed the fiscal year (FY) 2015 Consolidated
and Further Continuing Appropriations Act “CRomnibus” spending bill,
H.R. 83. The measure was narrowly passed by the House of Representatives
last week by a margin of 219-206, and was approved by the Senate on
December 11, 56-40.
The CRomnibus follows weeks of negotiations between leaders of the House
and Senate Appropriations committees. The bill was termed a “CRomnibus,”
because it funds the majority of government operations through the end of
the fiscal year – as a typical omnibus spending bill does – while funding the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through February 2015. The
decision to extend DHS funding through February is related to President
Obama’s recent executive action on immigration. Passage of the CRomnibus
avoids a damaging government shutdown, or another continuing resolution
(CR), which would essentially allow the nation to run on auto-pilot, and
could have resulted in funding cuts later in the fiscal year.
“National Skills Coalition
strongly supports the abilityto-benefit provision as a
means to improve the
economic mobility of lowskilled adults and youth
seeking postsecondary
credentials to increase their
jobs prospects.”
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The measure, which sets overall funding for the federal government at the
level established by last year’s Bipartisan Budget Act, $1.1 trillion, makes
small increases in funding to several workforce development programs.
National Skills Coalition wrote to members of the Senate urging passage of
the legislation.
Importantly, the CRomnibus partially reinstates the “ability-to-benefit” (AtB)
provision of Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA). This provision
allows students lacking a high school diploma or its equivalent to access
federal financial aid if they are enrolled in an eligible career pathway
program and can demonstrate college readiness. AtB was previously
eliminated as part of the FY 2012 omnibus spending law as a cost-saving
measure. The new measure retroactively applies to students who first
enrolled in an eligible program of study on or after July 1, 2014, and allows
those students to receive up to $5,730 in Pell grants, the maximum award.
However, students who enroll in an eligible program on or after July 1, 2015
may only access up to $4,860 in Pell, the amount available through
appropriations. The maximum Pell grant available to all other students in
2015 will be $5,830. National Skills Coalition strongly supports the ability-tobenefit provision as a means to improve the economic mobility of low-skilled
adults and youth seeking postsecondary credentials to increase their jobs
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prospects.
Several other federal education and training programs, including programs
authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
received slight funding increases, or were funded at FY 2014 levels. One
notable exception was the Workforce Data Quality Initiative, which saw onethird of its funding eliminated.
Department of Labor (DOL):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
WIOA Adult: $776,736,000 ($10.7 million above FY 2014)
WIOA Youth: $820,430,000 ($11.4 million above FY 2014)
WIOA Dislocated Worker: $ 1,015,530,000 ($13.9 million above FY
2014)
WIOA Governor’s reserve (set-aside): 10 percent (up from 8.75% in
FY 2014)
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker program: $81,896,000 (level
funded)
WANTO: $994,000 (level funded)
Native American programs: $46,082,000 (level funded)
YouthBuild: $79,689,000 ($2.2 million above FY 2014)
Ex-Offender programs: $82,078,000 ($2 million above FY 2014)
Workforce Data Quality Initiative: $4,000,000 ($2 million below FY
2014)
Department of Education (ED):
•
•
•
Career and Technical Education: $1,117,598,000 (level funded)
Adult Education State Grants: $568,955,000 ($5 million above FY
2014)
Pell grants: $5,830 maximum award (up $100 from FY 2014)
The CRomibus also extends authorization for the Trade Adjustment
Assistance (TAA) for Workers program through 2015. Authorization for TAA
lapsed on December 31, 2013 and the program has been operating under the
2002 amendments to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act for the past year.
Had Congress not extended the program, it would have fully lapsed at the
end of 2014.
While the CRomnibus does make important increases to several workforce
development programs, funding for these programs remains below pre-
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sequestration levels.
“…workforce development
programs could again be
exposed to significant funding
cuts.”
Soon after the new Congress is seated next month, the House and Senate
Budget committees will begin work on the FY 2016 budget. Unlike in FY 2014
and 2015, when topline spending levels were set by the Bipartisan Budget
Act, there is no agreement in place to reduce the impact of sequestration or
the budgetary caps in FY 2016. As a result, workforce development programs
could again be exposed to significant funding cuts. Last month, National
Skills Coalition wrote to the Shaun Donovan, Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, urging the Administration to ensure that its FY
2016 budget request includes adequate investments in job training and adult
education programs. National Skills Coalition will provide updates on the
budget process as it moves forward.
DOL Announces American Apprenticeship Grants
On December 11, the Department of Labor announced the availability of $100
million in American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) grants to support the
development and expansion of apprenticeship programs.
The grants will support activities to develop registered apprenticeship
programs in high-growth occupations and industries for which employers
are using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers, including IT, advanced
manufacturing, health care, and business services.
AAI grants will fund approximately 25 public-private partnerships that:
support the expansion of quality and innovative apprenticeship programs in
high-growth occupations and industries; create career pathways that
encompass apprenticeship and align with other postsecondary educational
offerings; use strategies to significantly increase apprenticeship opportunities
for workers and jobseekers, particularly for women, minorities, and other
populations underrepresented in apprenticeship; and leverage and develop
public policies that increase demand for apprenticeship and support
sustainability. Grant awards will range from $2.5 million to $5 million.
Successful applicants will incorporate the following elements into their
projects:
•
•
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Promoting apprenticeship to employers, workers, and other key
stakeholders;
Increasing apprenticeship opportunities for all apprenticeships;
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•
•
•
•
•
Promoting career pathways and aligning apprenticeship with
institutions of higher education and workforce investment systems;
Sector focus and employer commitments;
Innovative public policies and public-private partnership models;
Planning for a sustainable expansion; and
Program evaluation.
Allowable activities include on the job learning (OJL), job-related technical
instruction (RTI), pre-apprenticeship training, and other activities, including
the development of sector strategies and career pathways, partnership
building activities, provision of skill and prior learning assessments, and the
provision of supportive services.
Eligible primary partnerships must include at least one public and one
private sector entity. Eligible public sector entities include the workforce
investment system, public education or training providers, and DOLrecognized state apprenticeship agencies. Eligible private sector entities
include businesses, consortia or businesses, business-related non-profit
organizations, or private organizations functioning as workforce
intermediaries.
Applications are due April 30, 2015.
Commerce Seeks National Partner in New Regional Partnership
Program
In November, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)
announced a Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO), seeking a national partner
to help lead its new Accelerating Industry-Led Regional Partnerships for
Talent Development program.
The Accelerating Industry-Led Regional Partnerships for Talent
Development will establish a learning exchange to identify, promote, and
expand upon best practices for building local and regional job-driven
industry partnerships. Along with the national partner, EDA will: convene
and facilitate learning across regional partnerships with demonstrated
success in addressing the skilled workforce needs of business and industry;
identify the characteristics of successful industry-led partnerships and the
barriers to success at the local and regional level; and develop best practice
reports, learning tools, and case studies within and across regions to build,
sustain, and scale existing and new regional partnerships. National partners
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will be responsible for:
•
•
•
Developing selection criteria and administering a competitive
selection process to identify participating regions;
Administering a learning exchange, including convening
participating regions at a national level to learn about best practices,
and visiting participating regions to facilitate development and
adoption of best practices; and
Devising ways to disseminate guidance on best practices to regions
not participating in the learning exchange.
This effort incorporates elements of the Job-Driven Training Checklist, which
was developed as part of the Administration’s Job-Driven Training Action
Plan.
State, local, and tribal government entities, as well as institutions of higher
education, and public or private non-profit associations are eligible to apply.
Applications are due by January 9, 2015.
Youth Performance Pilots Announced
“The grants will allow states,
localities, and tribes flexibility
in the form of blended funding
and waivers of certain
programmatic requirements
to test innovative strategies to
improve outcomes for
disconnected youth.”
In late November, the Department of Education issued an invitation for
applications for new Performance Partnership Pilot (P3) grants, which will
enable up to ten pilot sites to test strategies to improve employment and
educational outcomes for disconnected youth.
The Performance Partnership Pilot program is a joint effort of ED, the
Departments of Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Corporation for
National and Community Service, and the Institute for Museum and Library
Sciences. The grants will allow states, localities, and tribes flexibility in the
form of blended funding and waivers of certain programmatic requirements
to test innovative strategies to improve outcomes for disconnected youth.
Pilots are required to:
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•
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Conduct a needs assessment to identify the pilot’s target
population;
Use data and evaluations to determine the most effective strategies
for serving the population;
Propose which funding streams to blend to support the strategies
identified;
Identify the flexibility (both federal and non-federal) needed to
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•
implement the strategies; and
Enter into a performance agreement with a lead federal agency and
pilot partners that specifies goals, outcome measures (including
interim indicators), accountability and oversight mechanisms, and
responsibilities of each entity involved.
The agencies will award successful applicants start-up grants ranging from
$400,000 to $700,000. State, local, and tribal government entities, represented
by a chief executive, are eligible to apply for the P3 grants. Eligible applicants
must apply as a partnership that involves public and private entities,
including non-profit, business, industry, and labor organizations.
The invitation for applications includes a number of examples of potential
pilots, including pilots that would help create a more integrated and effective
system to provide job-driven training. Potential strategies include developing
career pathways, work-based learning opportunities, and engaging
employers.
The grants, authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, were
originally proposed by the Obama Administration as part of its FY 2013
budget request.
Potential applicants must file a notice of intent to apply by January 8, 2015.
Applications are due March 4, 2015.
DOL Announces WIOA Transition Funds
The Department of Labor in October announced that Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) funds may be used for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA) transition activities. In an October 28 Training and Employment
Guidance Letter (TEGL), the DOL Employment and Training Administration
(ETA) advised that two percent of WIA program year (PY 2014) funds, or
about $51.4 million, will be available to states to support transition activities.
Local areas must receive at least 50 percent of the total transition amounts
allocated to states.
Funds available for transition activities must be used to support activities
relating to WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs. States and
local areas are permitted to blend together the transition funds available
under each funding stream. The TEGL also goes on to state that other
programs authorized under WIOA Title I, including the Indian and Native
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American program, the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker program, and the
YouthBuild program may also use WIA funds for transition activities
(though the two percent limitation does not apply to these programs).
The TEGL also lists a series of priority activities where states could benefit
from early planning, including: identification of contracts, subgrants and
other agreements that will need to be modified or replaced; activities relating
to state unified planning or combined planning; activities relating to new
requirements for co-location of American Job Centers and Wagner-Peyser
Employment Services; activities relating to new program requirements for
Title I formula programs, including the increased emphasis on career
pathways, sector strategies, and work-based training opportunities; and
updates to workforce information technology systems.
Provisions of WIOA take effect on July 1, 2015, the first day of the next
program year. However, state unified plans and performance accountability
measures will not take effect until 2016. Visit DOL’s WIOA page for more
information on WIOA transition.
What the 2014 Elections Mean for Skills
“…workforce development
continues to hold sway as a
campaign issue with appeal
on both sides of the aisle,
particularly in local and state
elections…”
On November 4, 36 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2014 midterm
elections resulting in what some have called a red wave. In Washington,
Republicans flipped the Senate and increased their majority in the House. In
the states, Republicans increased their hold on Governor’s mansions with a
net gain of two, bringing their total to 31. Likewise, Republicans gained
majorities in 11 state chambers, for a total of 68. The red wave has definitive
implications for some issues that served as political markers for candidates –
particularly issues like healthcare, the minimum wage and K-12 education.
But what do these election results mean for less divisive issues like workforce
development?
NSC’s analysis suggests that workforce development continues to hold sway
as a campaign issue with appeal on both sides of the aisle, particularly in
local and state elections where policymakers are grappling with the day-today impact of the skill gap on the unemployed and on industry. In
Washington, the successful bipartisan effort to reauthorize WIOA could
foreshadow easier times ahead for career and technical education and
possibly for higher education reauthorizations in comparison to more
politically charged issues facing the next Congress.
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While workforce training appears to have bipartisan support, there are some
indications that both congressional Republicans and some Republican
governors may be developing proposals to make job training a mandatory
requirement for recipients of a range of public benefits, a move that has in
the past been used to sanction people off of essential safety net programs.
There is also likely to be some pushing for work requirements for public
benefits that focus on short-term placement as opposed to long-term
attachment to career path employment. And ongoing debates in Washington
over federal funding will continue to pose a threat to all discretionary
programs, including human capital programs.
In the States
Creating a skilled workforce is an issue that has been embraced by
Republican and Democrat governors over the last five years as part of an
economic growth and opportunity agenda. Earlier this year, during the stateof-the-state address season, more than a dozen governors announced new
legislative and budget proposals to support workforce development efforts
in their state. As state budgets recover from the recession, these governors
targeted middle-skill training for increased investments, including proposals
to provide support for employer-led sector partnerships, to align the state’s
workforce system, to make technical and community college affordable, and
to assist the long-term unemployed back to work.
This year’s election proved that workforce development’s bipartisan appeal
continues to hold for state leaders. A number of governors ran – and won –
on platforms that prominently featured workforce training. In her acceptance
speech to supporters, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley indicated that
during her second term she would focus on workforce training. A number of
other victorious Republican gubernatorial candidates spoke of workforce
training on the campaign trail and in their acceptance speeches, including
Governors Baker(MA), Branstad (IA), Kasich (OH), and Snyder (MI).
Victorious Democrats also gave attention to the issue on the campaign trail,
including Governors Hickenlooper (CO), Raimondo (RI), and Wolff (PA).
This attention to workforce development as an economic growth strategy
creates an opportunity for local advocates to weigh in on their governors’
agendas, particularly new governors working on transition plans.
While the attention to workforce development in gubernatorial races is
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“In the past…mandatory
training [has been used] as a
way to move large numbers
of people off of essential
safety net programs as
opposed to helping to move
them to self-sufficiency…”
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encouraging, there are indications that some Republican governors
championing workforce training may make job training a mandatory
requirement for recipients of public benefits. In the past, such proposals have
used mandatory training as a way to move large numbers of people off of
essential safety net programs as opposed to helping to move them to selfsufficiency. Governor Walker has indicated that he wants to tie receipt of
public benefits in Wisconsin to drug tests and mandatory job training.
Governors Brownback (KS) and Mead (WY) have indicated that they would
like to tie Medicaid expansion to “workforce development” requirements. In
addition, some governors appear to be in support of imposing work
requirements for certain federal benefits, despite eligibility for waivers that
would allow recipients of these benefits to participate in employment
focused adult basic education and job training programs.
Workforce advocates will need to weigh in with their Governors and state
legislatures to ensure that workforce and education programs are not being
used to sanction people off of support service programs but instead that
these programs are working together to help more people achieve career
path employment. The forthcoming implementation of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act will provide an opportunity for states to
better align human capital programs and support services. States have the
choice of submitting a unified plan that addresses the four titles of WIOA, or
submitting a combined plan that also includes operational plans required by
Career and Technical Education (CTE), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T), Temporary Assistance to
Needed Families (TANF), and others.
In Washington
If there is anything to take from the divisive partisan gridlock of the 113th
Congress, it’s that workforce development can be a bipartisan issue. The
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act – sponsored by Senators Murray
(D-WA), Harkin (D-IA), Alexander (R-TN), and Isakson (R-GA), along with
Representatives Kline (R-MN), Foxx (R-NC), Miller (D-CA), and Hinojosa (DTX) – passed the Senate on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, 95-3 and the
House, 415-6. There are few issues that have received this kind of bipartisan,
bicameral support in the current Congress.
With the flipping of the Senate to Republican control, Senator Lamar
Alexander (R-TN) will likely assume leadership of the Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, which is tasked with overseeing the
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reauthorization of two major pieces of legislation of significance to those in
the workforce development world – the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical
Education Act and the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). It’s
possible that these bills will be lost in the shuffle as the committee tackles
two of the most politically divisive issues under its jurisdiction – the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and repealing the
Affordable Care Act (ACA). Senator Alexander has been outspoken about his
desire to reverse the President’s K-12 reforms (particularly Common Core
and use of Race to the Top funds) and Congressional Republicans have
identified repeal of ACA as a top priority in the next Congress.
“the new WIOA authorizes
specific funding levels for
each fiscal year from 2015
through 2020…getting those
authorized amounts
appropriated in a climate of
continued budget cutting will
require concerted
advocacy.”
However, it’s also possible that the inevitable gridlock over these two high
profile issues will create the desire to move less politically charged
legislation. Perkins and HEOA could fit the bill, although HEOA is likely to
draw partisan debate over certain issues. Within the context of these bills,
data and accountability continue to be an area where Republicans and
Democrats could come together. NSC’s Workforce Data Quality Campaign
has put forward recommendations — for Perkins and HEA — that would
support better data for accountability, transparency, and program
improvement.
On the funding side, workforce development advocates will likely continue
to have considerable work to do to advocate for adequate funding levels and
to protect programs from threatened cuts. Unlike its predecessor WIA, which
simply specified that the program would be funded by Congress using “such
sums as necessary,” the new WIOA authorizes specific funding levels for
each fiscal year from 2015 through 2020. But getting those authorized
amounts appropriated in a climate of continued budget cutting will require
concerted advocacy.
Beyond WIOA, the workforce field will probably see a return of budget
proposals from Senate and House budget chairs to curtail other skill
programs including Pell grants for working adults. Past Republican budgets
have proposed eliminating Pell grants for part-time students, calling for Pell
to be “reserved for students with a larger commitment to their education.”
Low-income working adults trying to re-skill or up-skill at local community
colleges would be most impacted by such cuts. It will be essential that the
workforce field, including local employers, weigh in on these funding
debates and educate policymakers about the impacts these programs have on
local economies. It will be particularly important for Congress to hear from
small and mid-sized employers who rely on their partnership with federally
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funded human capital programs to train their workforce.
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