Letter to Tom Cole, Chairman of Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Rosa DeLauro, Ranking member of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee - Funding for Job Training
Letter
March 25, 2015
Dear Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro:
As you develop the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 appropriations bill for the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, we urge you to ensure that the final bill includes adequate investments in job training and adult education programs so that U.S. workers and businesses have access to the skills they need to grow the economy and maintain our nation's competitive edge.
By 2018, nearly two-thirds of all job openings are projected to require at least some postsecondary education or training. However, the 2013 U.S. Survey of Adult Skills showed that approximately 36 million adults have low basic literacy and numeracy skills. Expanding access to job training and postsecondary and adult education programs is imperative to ensuring that all workers can obtain the skills and credentials required to get and keep well-paying jobs.
Last year, Congress demonstrated broad bipartisan support for training and skills by passing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The law outlines a vision for a more demand-driven workforce system that is responsive to the needs of employers and can more effectively help workers access middle-skill jobs and credentials. WIOA's passage alone however, will not effectuate change. States and localities must be equipped with the resources necessary to fully realize Congress's vision for WIOA.
Building off of WIOA's passage, the President's FY2016 budget requests new investments in training that we strongly urge you to support as well -- the American Technical Training Fund and the Apprenticeship Training Fund. The proposed American Technical Training Fund (ATTF) would build off of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants (TAACCCT), supporting up to 100 partnerships at community colleges and other institutions with strong employer partnerships to help low-wage workers move into middle-skill jobs. The administration has proposed funding the program through a new CTE Innovation Fund as part of a reauthorized Carl D. Perkins Act. We strongly urge you to support the ATTF while at a minimum, maintaining current funding for the Perkins state formula grants. The Apprenticeship Grants would expand apprenticeships by supporting efforts to engage, recruit, and connect under-represented populations to apprenticeship.
We look forward to working together to prioritize investments in the skills of the U.S. workforce. Specifically, we urge you to:
* Fund WIOA Title I programs -- including state formula grants under Title I-B -- and Title II adult education programs at the authorized levels. At a minimum, we must maintain current funding levels for these programs and reject any proposals to reduce WIOA funding;
* Provide $400 million in supplemental funding for the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service (WIOA Title III) as outlined in the President's budget request to support intensive reemployment services for dislocated workers; and
* Provide new funding to support two initiatives included in the President's FY 2016 budget request: $200 million for the American Technical Training Fund and $100 million for the Apprenticeship Grants.
Thank you for your attention to these critical issues. We look forward to working with you to ensure that our investments in the U.S. workforce are sufficient to meet the needs of America's workers and businesses.
Source