House Republicans Introduce WIA Bill

Thursday, October 4, Republican members of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor introduced H.R. 3747, the Workforce Investment Improvement Act. The legislation builds upon reforms proposed by Republicans in recent years to strengthen and improve America’s job training system. The bill constitutes the first significant step Congress is taking towards reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). However, future steps will be impeded by the waning Congressional schedule and the focus on fiscal year 2008 appropriations and other higher priority issues.

The Workforce Investment Improvement Act would help improve job training opportunities for Americans striving to get back to work by streamlining unnecessary bureaucracy, increasing cooperation among workforce development partners, allowing faith-based service providers to participate in the job training system, and promoting the development of regional strategies to foster economic development, expand employment and advancement opportunities for workers, and promote the creation of high-skill and high-wage opportunities.

Although the Republicans made a big production over the bill’s introduction, the committee is neck deep in No Child Left Behind reauthorization at the moment. As such, movement on this bill is unlikely to come any time soon. Another factor in the bill’s movement is whether Democrats, and specifically Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), will support the bill. While the Democrats have not come out with their own detailed proposal, they will likely want to introduce their own bill. As such, H.R. 3747 will act as a platform for Republicans to push their own job training priorities, possibly working provisions from the bill into whatever legislation the Democrats introduce.

Resources:
House Education and Labor Minority Press Release: http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=264
Author: SAS