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Posts Tagged ‘Congress’

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New National Campaign Launches, Calls for Greater Investments in the Nation’s Workforce

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

NASDCTEc is excited to announce the launch of the Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce (CIAW), a national effort calling for greater and more effective federal investments in our nation’s skills so more U.S. businesses can find the skilled workers they need to compete globally, and so all U.S. workers can share in and contribute to our country’s economic prosperity.

Comprised of over 35 national organizations, the Campaign calls on Congress and the Administration to commit to investing—more broadly and more effectively—in the skills of America’s workforce so that more people can develop the market-ready skills to meet the needs of U.S. industries and the larger U.S. economy.

Co-convened by National Skills Coalition and Jobs for The Future, the Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce was developed in response to the ongoing threat to the existence of workforce training and education programs that are critical to putting Americans back to work. Together we challenge policymakers to win the global skills race by investing comprehensively across targeted programs in order to strengthen our nation’s ability to compete in the global economy, help U.S. businesses grow and create jobs, support and leverage community resources, and help everyone to contribute to and share in our national prosperity.

NASDCTEc is proud to be a member of the Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce and we hope that you will join our call for greater and more effective federal investments in our nation’s workforce.

Learn more about the Campaign and what you can do to help spread the word.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By admin in News, Public Policy
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Check Out the Skills that Work Toolkit

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Many young people today struggle to connect their education and skills with the job market. That’s why Young Invincibles, a policy and advocacy organization, created the Skills that Work toolkit. It provides job market information for each state in a format to help young people understand their options.

These resources can also be shared with Members of Congress when advocating for Perkins and CTE. For example, the toolkit lists the top ten fastest growing jobs in your state over the next decade that require a 2-year or 4-year degree.  Follow the link to the Skills that Work Website to find out more.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Public Policy
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President Focuses on Education and Skills Training in State of the Union

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

In his State of the Union address last night President Obama called keeping the middle class alive “the defining issue of our time.” Throughout his speech, he set out proposals to foster an economy “built to last” predicated on education, a skilled workforce, high-paying jobs, energy independence and fairness that would help bolster the middle class.

The President highlighted the skills gap that exists in industries such as manufacturing, information technology and clean energy: “Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job.” In an effort to solve this problem, he called for a national commitment to train two million individuals with the skills they need to land a job, with a focus on partnerships between businesses and community colleges. The President is scheduled to release his FY13 budget on February 13. We hope that his commitment to address the skills gap and provide resources for unemployed individuals will be reflected in his proposal for Perkins Act funding.

President Obama also focused on the current job training system, saying that he wants “to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people…have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need.” His hope is that streamlining the system will get people back to work more quickly in the jobs that exist today, and better prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. While he does not mention the Workforce Investment Act specifically, the program has been due for reauthorization since 2003 and has been top priority for the both the House and the Senate this session. Given the President’s mention of the workforce system, we are hopeful that this signals a desire to reauthorize WIA in the coming year.

The President also touched on other education issues such as high school dropouts, calling on states to require students to stay in school until graduation or until they turn 18. In terms of college access and affordability, the President urged Congress to keep student interest rates low and extend the tuition tax credit. He also asked institutions of higher education to keep costs down and was blunt in his commitment to making postsecondary education more affordable, saying, “If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down.”

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Congress Returns, Bills Introduced

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Congress Returns to Work

The House returned to Washington this week, and the Senate is scheduled to return next week. First on Congress’ agenda is to begin negotiations to extend the payroll tax cut, TANF, unemployment benefits, and Medicare doctor reimbursements. The current two month extension of all of these provisions expires on February 29th.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee has made ESEA reauthorization one of their top priorities this spring. However, Senator Tom Harkin (IA) has said that he will not move the Senate’s ESEA bill to the floor until the House proposes a bipartisan bill. This deadlock makes it increasingly unlikely that ESEA reauthorization will happen this spring.

Congress will also get to work on their budget proposals for FY13 after President Obama releases his budget on February 6th. Many advocates are optimistic that the appropriations process will move more quickly and smoothly than in years past because of the caps set by the debt ceiling deal this summer. Much of the delay surrounding the appropriations process has been due to disagreements over the level of funding. Hopefully, the caps will provide a bipartisan starting point for appropriators.

Bills Introduced

America RISING Act

Rep. Laura Richardson (CA) introduced H.R.3748, the America Realizing the Informational Skills and Initiative of New Graduates (RISING) Act, which would provide grants to assist in the cost of compensation paid by employers to certain recent college graduates and to provide funding for their further education in subjects relating to mathematics, science, engineering, and technology.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By admin in Legislation
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Legislative Update: ESEA

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Congress is in recess and will return next week.

House Education Committee Introduces Two ESEA Bills

Members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee had been working behind the scenes on a bipartisan ESEA reauthorization bill, but have failed to reach agreement on key issues. As a result, Chairman Kline (MN) announced two partisan bills on Friday focused on teachers and accountability. These two bills, along with three other bills introduced last year, will make up Republicans’ efforts to reauthorize ESEA this year. However, Ranking Member George Miller (CA) has said that if the Chairman proceeds with a partisan bill, he does not believe ESEA will be renewed in 2012.

Student Success Act

The goal of the Student Success Act is to replace the existing federal accountability system with state-developed and implemented accountability systems. More specifically, the bill would:

Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act

According to the committee, the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act will “ support additional flexibility in the use of federal education funds, help provide better information to parents on teacher effectiveness, and increase school choice.” Some of the key elements of this bill include:

 Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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Legislative Update: ESEA, Balanced Budget Amendment

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

House Democrats Not Optimistic About ESEA this Congress

The House Education and the Workforce Committee has reportedly been working behind the scenes on a bipartisan reauthorization of ESEA, but have failed to reach agreement on key issues. As a result, Chairman Kline (MN) has said that the committee will introduce a series of Republican-only bills in the coming weeks. If the Chairman proceeds with a partisan bill, Ranking Member George Miller (CA) does not believe ESEA will be renewed in 2012. In a statement, he said:

“I have communicated to Chairman Kline my disappointment that he has chosen to go the partisan route. Partisanship means the end to NCLB reform in this Congress. Bipartisanship is the only successful way forward. The Senate has moved a bipartisan bill out of committee. The House could do the same if it had the political will to do so. Our nation’s children deserve a real process for achieving consensus, not partisan political games.”

Senate Votes Against Balanced Budget Amendment

Last week the Senate defeated two Balanced Budget Amendments to the Constitution – one offered by each party. The amendments would have prohibited Congress from spending more than it takes in a given year. Each failed to receive the two-thirds majority needed to send a constitutional amendment to the states for ratification.

Last month the House also rejected a Balanced Budget Amendment. The votes were required as part of the debt ceiling deal reached earlier this year.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By admin in Legislation
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Congress Passes Spending Bill

Monday, December 19th, 2011

This weekend Congress passed an omnibus appropriations package for FY12 that includes funding for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education programs. The bill includes a 0.189 percent across the board cut to all of these programs, including Perkins and Workforce Investment Act programs. However, because Perkins saw a 1.5 percent cut to advanced appropriations in October, this new bill will restore all of that funding to the states, except for 0.189 percent.

While any cut to Perkins is unwelcome news, we believe that in this fiscal environment a cut of less than one percent is better than it could have been. We have worked hard to maintain Perkins funding over that last several months and we thank you for all of your support and advocacy. Now on to FY13!

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

 

By admin in Legislation
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ACTION ALERT – Child Labor Laws Regarding Agricultural Labor

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued proposed regulations relating to the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which eliminate the student learner exemptions, particularly related to agriculture experiences. These changes would limit the opportunities for students to participate in hands-on learning experiences in agriculture programs. While the comment period on the proposed regulations has ended, some members of Congress are mobilizing to stop the changes from going into effect. But we need your help!

The National Association of Agriculture Educators has more information on how you can help by asking your member of Congress to sign on to a Dear Colleague letter. Information on the Senate letter is here; information on the House letter is here.

Please note, the timeline is very tight. The deadline to get your Representative to sign on Rep. Rehberg’s letter is close of business Thursday December 15, 2011. The deadline to get your Senator to sign on to Sens. Moran and Nelson’s letter is close of business Friday December 16, 2011.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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New Democrat Coalition Releases ESEA Framework

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

The New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate members of the House, released a framework for the reauthorization of ESEA. The framework stresses the need for a comprehensive approach to reauthorization, calling well-educated students “the foundation for a strong workforce, globally competitive businesses, and sustainable economic growth.”

Some of the principles outlined in the framework that are relevant to CTE include:

“These principles will guide us in promoting best practices learned from schools, including charter and magnet schools, and replicate in other schools for positive outcomes. We need to encourage non-traditional approaches to education, such as partnerships with the private sector, to encourage innovation in education. We then need to find successful ways to disseminate this information to discover innovative ways to improve educator effectiveness for better student outcomes.” said Rep. Susan Davis (CA), New Democrat Education Task Force Co-Chair.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By admin in Legislation
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Legislative Update: Appropriations, WIA, Job Training

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Perkins Funding Still in Jeopardy

The continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress last month is set to expire on December 16. Having passed three of the 12 appropriations bills, Congress must now pass the remaining nine bills or another CR. Their goal is to package all nine bills in an omnibus bill and pass it next week. However, if this does not happen, Congress can either pass another short-term CR to buy more time, or include all compromised bills in the omnibus and fund the remaining bills under a year-long CR.

Unfortunately, some of these bills, including Labor-HHS-Education, are so controversial that Congress may choose not work out a deal and instead will fund them under a year-long CR. If this happens, the 1.5% cut applied to Perkins Act advanced appropriations in a previous CR would remain. This would mean that states will not get that money back, and it would set the level for Perkins funding lower for next year. But, if a final Labor-HHS-Education bill is passed and it contains level funding for Perkins, then states will get that money back.

So, the fight is not yet over and we need your help! Call your Member of Congress today and encourage them to work to complete the remaining appropriations bills and to fund the Perkins Act at FY11 levels. You can reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators’ and/or Representative’s office.

Bills Introduced

Workforce Investment Act

House Republicans introduced two bills this week that will serve as the basis for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) reauthorization in the House.

Streamlining Workforce Development Programs Act

Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC) introduced H.R. 3610, the Streamlining Workforce Development Programs Act, which would consolidate 33 of the 47 job training programs identified in a 2011 report by the Government Accountability Office as duplicative into four flexible Workforce Investment Funds. These funds would focus on adults, youth, veterans and special populations. This bill would also require states and locals to set common performance measures for all employment and job training programs.

The Streamlining Workforce Development Programs Act also allows states to submit a unified plan encompassing two or more job training and related programs. Both Perkins secondary and postsecondary programs are eligible to be a part of a state’s unified plan.

Local Job Opportunities and Business Success (Local JOBS) Act

Rep. Joe Heck (NV) introduced H.R. 3611, the Local Job Opportunities and Business Success (Local JOBS) Act. The goal of this bill is to ensure that the nation’s job training system can effectively provide workers with the skills necessary to compete in the local workforce. To that end, the bill would require that two-thirds of workforce investment board members be employers; that a portion of resources (as determined by the local WIB) be spent directly on training; and that local boards partner with higher education institutions and economic development organizations to better develop job training programs that address the needs of area businesses.

Bipartisan Jobs Creation Act

Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Claire McCaskill (MO) this week announced the Bipartisan Jobs Creation Act legislation which is aimed at creating jobs by cutting taxes for businesses, investing in transportation infrastructure, and consolidating federal job training programs. The bill would be paid for by a surtax on taxpayers earning more than $1 million per year and ending subsidies for oil companies. This bill includes two areas of interest:

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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