Senate Passes Murray's Historic Bipartisan, Bicameral Deal to Improve American Workforce Development System with 95-3 Vote

Press Release

Today, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) a bipartisan, bicameral bill authored by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and seven of her colleagues, Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate. The bill, which now heads to the House of Representatives for approval, would modernize and improve existing federal workforce development programs, help workers attain skills for 21st century jobs, and foster a modern workforce that evolving American businesses rely on to compete.

"Today's overwhelming, bipartisan vote is proof that Congress is still capable of working across party lines to break through the gridlock and invest in American workers and the economy," said Senator Murray. "I've seen firsthand that federal workforce programs can change lives, boost our economy, and get people back to work, but we can't expect to adequately train Americans for jobs at Boeing or Microsoft with programs designed in the 1990s. With the global economy changing faster than ever, we need to make sure that when new, 21st Century jobs are created, we have Americans ready to fill them. I'm thrilled Republicans and Democrats in the Senate stood together today, and I fully expect the House to do the same and send this bill to the President's desk."

The bill, which was introduced by a bipartisan group of leaders from the House and Senate in May, would improve federal workforce development laws that have been overdue for reauthorization for over a decade. Dozens of labor, business, and workforce development leaders and advocates have endorsed the legislation and urged Congress to pass it promptly. See the current list of supporters here.

The legislation represents a compromise between the SKILLS Act (H.R. 803), which passed the House of Representatives in March of 2013, and the Workforce Investment Act of 2013 (S. 1356), which passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee with a bipartisan vote of 18-3 in July of 2013.

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