On Thursday, April 18th, Goodwill leaders, employees, board members and program participants from across the country will travel to Capitol Hill to advocate for the issues that matter most to local Goodwill organizations and the people they serve. You can help amplify our advocacy.
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Many people who have been involved in the criminal justice system, particularly those reentering their communities after a period of incarceration, will face challenges securing safe housing, enrolling in education and training, accessing basic services, and getting a good job.
After months of contentious negotiations and multiple short-term extensions, Congress has finally completed its work on Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) funding. The federal government had been operating under a series of stopgap continuing resolutions, the last of which was set to expire on March 22.
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue their work to finalize federal funding for the current fiscal year, the Biden Administration is pushing forward with its plans for FY25 funding with the release of the President’s annual budget request to Congress. The White House touted the $7.3 trillion budget plan as a continuation of the Administration’s efforts to lower costs for families, protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security, and reduce the budget deficit by $3 trillion over the next ten years.
President Biden recently delivered his State of the Union remarks before Congress. Among the special guests invited to attend the speech was Ariel Clarke who works as a Senate custodian through Goodwill of Greater Washington’s participation in the AbilityOne program. AbilityOne empowers nonprofit organizations, including many local Goodwill® organizations, to provide employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities to deliver a range of contract business services to government agencies.
It is a leap year which means we have an extra day on the calendar. Congress is grateful as it gives them another day to negotiate fiscal year deadlines and avoid a government shutdown.
For more than 12 million secondary and postsecondary students across the country, career and technical education (CTE) programs provide pathways to continued education and good jobs. Programs of study in CTE combine academic instruction with hands-on learning and occupational skills training for careers in in-demand fields like health care and information technology.
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More than half of the governors of states, territories and commonwealths have outlined their priorities for 2024 in state of the state or commonwealth addresses, as well as inaugural addresses for new and re-elected governors, with several more anticipated over the next few weeks. The nation’s governors are nearly evenly split between the two parties, with 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats holding office as of January 8, 2024. Eleven states will hold gubernatorial elections this year. Read more about the themes of interest to Goodwill and the people we serve.
Congress averted a partial government shutdown again, and this time we have mother nature to thank in part. With a snowstorm in the DC area impacting lawmakers’ ability to return home, the Senate and House passed a stopgap funding measure on the same day, pushing the January 19 and February 2 shutdown deadlines to March 1 and 8.
Congress returned from the holiday recess and attempted to pick up where they left off, focusing on measures to fund the government with deadlines fast approaching.
READ MORE from Congress Returns with a Short Window to Accomplish Goals
As the first year of the 118th Congress comes to an end there have been numerous reports highlighting that this Congress has been on a sluggish pace in passing legislation and has been the least productive since the Great Depression. In this polarized environment it can feel at times that our advocacy efforts are not making an impact.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee recently took a significant step toward reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) with the introduction of the A Stronger Workforce for America Act. The bill is the product of months-long bipartisan negotiations in the committee on an update to the primary federal workforce development law for the first time since 2014.
READ MORE from House Committee Pushes for Bipartisan Update to Workforce Law
