Major Reductions in Workforce Funding Proposed by House

By Mitch Coppes, Federal Government Affairs Manager, Goodwill Industries International

This week, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. The annual spending measure proposes funding levels for many of the federal workforce development programs that help support the training and employment services offered by local Goodwill organizations.

The bill proposes to fund the U.S. Department of Labor at $9.6 billion for FY26, a 28 percent reduction below the current FY25 enacted level, and from that amount would allocate funding to key workforce programs.

• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Programs: The bill allocates $1.8 billion for WIOA Adult, Youth, and Dislocated Worker Employment and Training programs, which is a $2 billion decrease from the FY25 level. Notably, the bill eliminates funding for WIOA Youth Activities and rescinds $712 million in WIOA Adult Employment and Training funding from FY25.
• Senior Community Service Employment Program: All funding for this program is eliminated, a $405 million reduction from FY25.
• Reentry Employment Opportunities Grant: Funding for this program is also eliminated, cutting $115 million from the current level.
• Registered Apprenticeships: The bill maintains funding at $285 million, equal to FY25 levels.
• YouthBuild: Funding remains steady at $105 million, the same as the current level.
• Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program: The program continues to receive $65 million, matching the FY25 level.

In contrast, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY26 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill in July, which includes more funding for workforce, education, and other domestic priorities than the House version. The significant gap between the House and Senate funding proposals is expected to complicate efforts to finalize full-year funding bills before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. Due to these substantial differences, Congress will likely need to pass a stopgap Continuing Resolution to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month.