Enacted in 1998, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is long overdue to be reauthorized. Once Congress reconvenes on May 4, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce is expected to consider two bills, a Republican version – H.R. 4297; and the Democrats’ alternative – H.R. 4227, that propose to reauthorize the 14-year-old law.
READ MORE from Goodwill® Remains Hopeful about Bipartisan Job Training Bill
On Tuesday, April 14, the House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing to explore the merits of recently-released bills that would reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act. The hearing occurred on the very day that approximately 200 representatives from local Goodwill® agencies across the country met with more than 320 congressional offices to urge Congress to provide adequate funding for job training programs while improving existing job training programs by reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act.
READ MORE from House Workforce Legislation Would Consolidate Training Programs
Goodwill Industries International (GII) is looking forward to conducting its sixth annual advocacy day on Tuesday, April 17, as part of the GII Spring Conference. Nearly 200 Goodwill advocates from around the country will visit Capitol Hill to advocate for federal funding for programs that leverage Goodwill and benefit the people we serve, and for
READ MORE from Join the Goodwill® on the Hill – Virtual Advocacy Day!
As the economy slowly recovers, governments at both the state and federal levels are hard pressed to stretch limited resources to cover an increasing number of priorities. Squeezed between the proverbial rock and a hard place, government officials are not only looking for programs that they can eliminate or scale back, but new sources of revenue.
READ MORE from Tight Government Budgets Make Nonprofit Sector a Tempting Revenue Source
Today, Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), and Joe Heck (R-NV), all members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce introduced The Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 . While Goodwill is still analyzing the bill’s details, it proposes to consolidate 27 programs into one Workforce Investment Fund. The new proposal is based upon on previous bills introduced last year by the three representatives.
READ MORE from Employment-Boosting Legislation Introduced in House of Representatives
This week, House Republicans unveiled a $3.5 trillion spending plan that proposes to reduce the national debt. The proposal, which aims to balance the budget by 2040, relies heavily on significant spending reductions for a number of popular social programs including Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps. Education and job training programs would also be consolidated.
READ MORE from House Bills Unveiled This Week Have Implications for Job Training
Goodwill Industries International, Inc. (GII) is looking forward to conducting its sixth annual Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, April 17. As Congress considers what can be accomplished before the elections, GII is working to ensure that our elected leaders recognize the resources that Goodwill’s enterprise, comprised of 158 community-based organizations, brings to the
Federal spending is under an intense microscope this year. Unless Members of Congress hear clear support for the workforce system from stakeholders and others that support job training, it will likely be a tempting target for federal budget cuts. Spending and deficit reduction will likely be fiercely debated during this Congressional session, dominated by election-year
READ MORE from Action Needed to Demonstrate Support for Job Training
In 2010, Goodwills provided services to nearly 160,000 people who received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and received over 112,000 referrals from TANF agencies. With the number of families living in poverty at an all-time high, Goodwill actively seeks opportunities to educate Congress and the public about our programs that assist this vulnerable population.
READ MORE from New TANF Provision to Address EBT Card Abuse Draws Praise, Raises Concerns
The administration’s budget request, released last week, outlines a plan that proposes to avoid the automatic spending cuts required by the Budget Control Act that Congress passed last year. Under the proposal, the automatic cuts – some of which would affect federal investments that support local Goodwill agencies’ efforts to help people find jobs and advance in careers – would be avoided by cutting mandatory spending, and increasing tax revenue.
READ MORE from Deficit Reduction Has Implications for Goodwill®
This week, the Obama administration unveiled its budget request for FY 2013. Goodwill® is pleased to report that proposed federal funding remains steady for programs that support our mission. Read more about our priority issues below and click here (PDF) to view ourside-by-side comparison of FY 2012 appropriations to FY 2013 proposals. American Jobs Act (AJA) Obama’s plan proposes
READ MORE from Goodwill® Programs Fare Well under Federal Spending Plan
Numerous times over the past several years, policymakers have considered proposals to drastically reduce or eliminate investments that help educate and train people to improve their skills, find jobs, and advance in careers. In anticipation that this trend will continue, a new effort was launched last week by 35 national organizations including Goodwill Industries®. Called the Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce, the initiative engages a diverse coalition.
READ MORE from Goodwill® a Founding Member of Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce
