WIA Reauthorization Hearing

On Thursday, June 28, the House Education and Labor Committee held its first hearing in a series on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), “Recommendations to Improve the Effectiveness of Job Training.” Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Chairman Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) was joined by fellow Democrats John Tierney (MA), John Yarmuth (KY), and Bobby Scott (VA), and Ranking Member Ric Keller (R-FL) and, briefly, Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA).

The panelists included:
• Dr. Sigurd Nilsen, Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues Government Accountability Office (GAO);
• Dr. Rachel Gragg, Federal Policy Director, The Workforce Alliance;
• Ms. Evelyn Ganzglass, Director, Workforce Development Center for Law and Social Policy;
• Dr. Sandra Baxter, Director, National Institute for Literacy;
• Mr. Wes Jurey, President and CEO, Arlington Texas Chamber of Commerce;
• Mr. Bruce Ferguson, Jr., President and CEO, Worksource.

The entire panel endorsed the critical role of the law’s training services in the emerging global economy, but recognized that the law required improvement. Three corrective themes were common. First, and possibly most important, the reauthorized law must have data that are more accurate about the enrolled job seekers. As stated by Mr. Nilsen and detailed in the June 28 GAO report, Workforce Investment Act: Additional Actions Would Further Improve the System: “We have little information at a national level about what the workforce investment system under WIA achieves.

Outcome data does not provide a complete picture of WIA services.” Second, there should be less focus on infrastructure funding and more on training, and the law should provide more flexibility regarding the sequence of training and the ability to target funds on programs that are specific to particular regional industry needs. Third, WIA’s funding should be simplified and more flexible in order to create more innovative practices and to promote the sharing of successful practices among the training centers.

The hearing was the first in a series of House hearings scheduled for July. The remaining dates are not yet scheduled. We will continue to monitor WIA reauthorization as it progresses.

Resources:
“Workforce Investment Act: Recommendations to Improve the Effectiveness of Job Training,” U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor, Hearings, June 28, 2007, http://edworkforce.house.gov/committee/hearings.shtml.
Author: DAD