House Committee Holds Hearing on Unleashing America’s Workforce and Strengthening Our Economy, Announces WIOA Hearing for Wednesday, March 5

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February 26, 2025 — This morning, the House Education and Workforce (E&W) Committee held a hearing focused on ways to strengthen the economy through various federal policies. The hearing began with Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) laying out his view that federal regulations imposed on employers have harmed the economy and that deregulation is a key strategy to strengthen it in the future. He also strongly endorsed President Trump’s and Congressional Republicans’ plans to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as an additional way to spur economic growth. In his opening remarks, Ranking member Bobby Scott (D-VA) noted that the House’s recently approved budget resolution—a key procedural step in the wider budget reconciliation process that was passed along party lines late last night—calls for at least $330 billion in funding reductions from the E&W Committee, and that these potential cuts will harm the American workforce.

Several recurrent themes emerged during the hearing, including persistent workforce shortages in key sectors of the economy, the impact of ongoing inflation, and the role immigration, including guest worker programs, have in supporting economic growth.

Witnesses included Rosanna Maietta from the American Hotel and Lodging Association who noted that the hotel industry has roughly 200,000 job openings to fill. Dr. William Beach, senior fellow in economics at the Economic Policy Innovation Center and former director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, suggested that regulatory relief and tax relief would lead to increased productivity, as would addressing the federal budget deficit. Dr. Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, expressed grave concerns about how pending budget cuts would affect workers. Elizabeth Milito from the National Federation of Independent Business’s Small Business Center highlighted that small businesses have faced many challenges including COVID, supply chain interruptions, and regulatory burdens (at a cost of $1.8 trillion to small businesses, she noted). She advocated for policies to broadly provide more certainty for the business community.

Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) noted several steps that would unleash the workforce, including providing access to needed skills, reauthorizing WIOA, and updating federal job training programs. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the former committee chair, expressed that regulations could be even more impactful than tax cuts, and Dr. Beach agreed. Foxx also emphasized her view that a lighter federal regulatory burden would affect worker upskilling and education. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) expressed significant concern about high prices, inflation, and barriers to employment. As chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, he said he is eager to focus on workforce issues, including how to create a skilled workforce, emphasizing that there are many pathways toward family-sustaining employment. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) shared her concerns about the House’s recent budget resolution that would likely cut programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and Head Start.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) discussed the importance of workers having multiple pathways to workforce. He voiced concern over government assistance programs creating disincentives for participation in the labor force. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) noted that low wages lead many Americans to rely on public assistance and that cutting these programs would be counterproductive. She voiced support for an increase in the federal minimum wage. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) raised significant concerns over treatment of the federal workforce and whether Americans’ private data is still secure amid ongoing activities spearheaded by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) expressed her concerns about firings at wage and hour offices around the country. Shierholz responded that a lot of sensitive personal info has been compromised, and that unemployment claims and OSHA cases are at risk due to these disruptions.

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) focused his remarks on the importance of supporting business franchising, the growing role of independent contractors, and the need to teach the power of entrepreneurship. Owens also defended efforts to “rightsize” the federal government, as is often done in the private sector. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) expressed concerns about recent events concerning the National Labor Relations Board and that the agency’s independence has been compromised with recent executive actions taken by President Trump. DeSaulnier also expressed concern about workforce development tools for disabled people and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act if the U.S. Department of Education were to be eliminated. Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH) raised the issue of tax-free tips and asked if this policy change would help with employee retention.

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) raised concerns about a bill to eliminate OSHA and how heartbreaking it has been to lose workers on the job (which he noted has happened twice in his career). Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) noted the vital nature of the Sec. 199(a) small business deduction, and urged its renewal. Rep. Robert Onder (R-MO) expressed strong support for the H2B guestworker visa as essential. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) highlighted concerns about tariffs, noting that the price of steel has already increased since the November elections. He also noted that Farm Bureau and National Association of Home Builders are both sounding the alarm about tariffs and rising costs due to these policies. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) highlighted that veterans are disproportionately employed by the federal government and noted that an estimated 6,000 veterans have been terminated in recent weeks as part of aforementioned efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce.

Chairman Walberg closed the hearing by noting that the Committee is committed to “considering legislative solutions to improve the standard of living for American workers, reduce the burdens on business, and strengthen the economy, and that includes WIOA reauthorization and Workforce Pell.”

Shortly after the hearing concluded the E&W Committee announced a new hearing, specifically focused on WIOA, has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 5. NAWB will continue to share more information about these efforts as they become available. In the meantime, we urge you to continue making the case for WIOA funding to federal policymakers, especially if your member of Congress serves on the House E&W Committee and the vital role workforce development boards play in WIOA implementation.

A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA) Hotline Process

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Dec. 11, 2024 — As you are aware, a bipartisan, bicameral agreement, known as A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA), was announced by Congressional leaders just before Thanksgiving. We have previously highlighted that while there are elements of this legislation that are aligned with NAWB’s vision for the public workforce system, our members continue to raise serious concerns regarding specific aspects of this agreement. These concerns continue to be centered around ASWA’s proposed training mandate, increased allowance for state-level Title I reservations, and the wider process for redesignation of local workforce areas—areas of the legislation we highlighted explicitly last week.

At the time of this writing, ASWA is still being considered by the Senate via a “hotline” process which requires the consent of all 100 Senators. There remain several holds on this hotline process, from both Democrats and Republicans, on a range of issues including the concerns raised by NAWB and its members. This process is still ongoing and remains extremely fluid.

Another possible path forward for ASWA is attaching it to another “must pass” piece of legislation under consideration in the current Congress. While these options are limited and have other associated challenges outside of the current hotline process, the need to fund the federal government beyond December 20, 2024 via an extension of current federal funding (known as Continuing Resolution, or “CR”) remains a key outstanding issue that lawmakers must address by next week.

While it remains unclear whether ASWA can be advanced via either of these paths in the coming days ahead, we are continuing to reiterate these concerns directly to lawmakers. Concessions have been made already in certain areas; we remain hopeful that additional improvements to the legislation can be made at this late stage in the reauthorization process.

Updates on WIOA Reauthorization

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As we reported on November 27, Congressional committee leaders have reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to reauthorize WIOA. Since that time, NAWB, as well as partners from our local coalition, have been actively engaged with committee staff on aspects of the bill which stand to jeopardize the ability of local boards to fulfill their mission.

Through all these conversations, we have reiterated the importance of local boards being empowered to serve those individuals seeking paths to employment and businesses needing to hire that talent. Local boards are best positioned to understand economies on the ground, talent needs in their region (which could include training but should not be unnecessarily required), and build strategies to address those needs and connect people with work.

The bill’s training mandate, redesignation, and the additional state set-aside provisions as currently constructed threaten a local board’s ability to meet that objective and would severely limit its ability to be demand-driven. By directing a majority of a local board’s resources to be used for explicit and limited purposes, tens of thousands of employers will no longer be effectively served by the American Job Centers. More job openings will remain unfilled and the system will add fewer new workers to our nation’s tax base.

There are currently a handful of Senators who have placed a hold on the bill, which stops it from moving. The deadline for the hotline process on the Republican side is Thursday, Dec. 5 and the Democratic side is Friday, Dec. 6. As we continue to have ongoing discussions with Senate and House Committees on ways to refine and improve the agreement in the areas of greatest concern to our membership, we urge you to contact your Senators and ask them to place a hold or to continue their hold on ASWA to prevent these harmful provisions from impacting your board’s operations. Please free to share these perspectives and also connect them with NAWB directly for any questions regarding these efforts.

NAWB Issues Statement on WIOA Reauthorization

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NAWB President and CEO, Brad Turner-Little, made the following statement in response to the Congressional committee leadership’s bipartisan, bicameral agreement to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

The new bill, which we provided an initial summary of, is currently being considered on a fast-track procedure in the Senate.

“Since WIOA’s reauthorization in 2014, workforce development boards (WDBs) have sought to meet the evolving needs of employers, jobseekers, and the local communities that they serve. It is laudable that lawmakers have reached consensus on legislation to make significant updates to the nation’s public workforce development system, including improvements that recognize the vital role that WDBs play in strengthening local economies.

Since the initial release of a new bicameral and bipartisan WIOA reauthorization agreement last week, A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA), the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) has spent time analyzing this proposal and engaging with our members to understand how the bill would affect ongoing operations, service delivery, and the ability of WDBs to serve jobseekers and employers alike throughout the nation. Through these discussions, it has become clear that there are aspects of this legislation that conform with NAWB’s vision for the future of the public workforce system, while there are other significant components of this agreement that will be challenging to implement at best and could undermine WBDs’ ability to meet their mission.

ASWA would renew the law for five more years, sending a powerful signal that the public workforce system authorized by this legislation is critical to wider efforts in preparing and sustaining the skilled workforce needed for America’s wider success. NAWB is pleased to note that many of the organization’s recommendations have been incorporated into this legislation. These include clarifying local WDBs’ authority over local budgets; increased flexibilities to serve incumbent workers; improvements to cost-sharing requirements for one-stop centers, including flexibilities for the sharing and pooling of these resources; increased professional development opportunities for local staff; allowing for marketing and outreach efforts on behalf of the system; allowing WDBs to serve as one-stop operators when meeting certain conditions; a new emphasis on skills-based hiring; and dramatic improvements to data collection and subsequent reporting to make the public workforce system more transparent and responsive to the needs of workers and employers.

While NAWB appreciates these and other aspects of the agreement, the legislation unfortunately continues to advance provisions that our organization does not support, including a new systemwide mandate for training and an overly prescriptive work experience requirement for youth funding which we believe runs counter to local autonomy and flexibility. While we appreciate the agreement’s recognition of the important role supportive services play in the success of worker skills development, we continue to call on Congress to ensure that any new requirements reflect the realities facing the populations WIOA is structured to prioritize.

NAWB’s members have made clear that increased state-level set-asides will mean fewer resources will be available to local WDBs to implement these and other aspects of this legislation with fidelity. In conjunction with the proposed local workforce area redesignation provisions, NAWB’s members have also made clear that there is a strong potential that aspects of the public workforce system will need to close, staff laid off, and business services significantly curtailed under these new operating constraints.

Taken together, we remain deeply concerned that these aspects of the agreement will make it more difficult for the public workforce development system to serve jobseekers and employers alike moving forward.

We are grateful to have heard from so many of our members who provided thoughtful and meaningful perspectives as part of NAWB’s analysis of this legislation. They are the true experts, working every day with local community partners, elected officials, businesses, and jobseekers. We recognize the extremely challenging environment that workforce boards will be in whether this bill is enacted during the final days of the 118th Congress or if current law remains in place for the time being.

In either scenario, NAWB remains committed to working closely with the incoming administration and new Congress to ensure that the public workforce development system is responsive to the needs of workers, learners, and businesses, and can fulfill the significant workforce development needs of our nation now and in the future.

This will certainly be among our top priorities during Workforce Advocacy Day, scheduled for April 1-2, 2025 in Washington, DC. NAWB members need to share their expertise with members of Congress to ensure that the workforce system has the necessary resources to serve their local communities.”

Learn more about NAWB’s work on WIOA.

House and Senate Reach Agreement on WIOA Reauthorization Bill But Concerns Remain

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On Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, leaders of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced that they have reached a bipartisan and bicameral agreement on legislation to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) for the next five years.

Details, including legislative text, have not yet been made public. However, committee leaders provided a high-level initial briefing earlier today highlighting some of the major components of this proposal. The new bill largely appears to build on the House bill, A Stronger Workforce for America Act (HR 6655), about which we expressed significant concerns when it was passed by the House earlier this year.

Similar to H.R. 6655, the bipartisan agreement would maintain a narrowly defined 50% training mandate for Title I Adult and Dislocated Worker funding streams. The emerging agreement would, however, allow for up to 8% of this required training services expenditure to be used for supportive services—a small departure from this provision in the House’s earlier WIOA proposal.

Details regarding state-level set-asides remain unclear, but committee leaders have indicated that these funds would support statewide initiatives similar to the House and Senate’s proposals regarding critical industry skills funds and sector partnership efforts. It also remains unclear how local workforce area redesignation efforts, another area of significant concern for NAWB and other local partners, would be structured in this agreement.

NAWB Board Chair Submits Testimony to House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development

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Official Testimony

My name is Lisanne McNew, and I am the owner and CEO of SAFE Engineering in Monument, Colorado. Additionally, I serve as the Board Chair of the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), Immediate Past Chair of the Colorado Workforce Development Council, and Past Board Chair of the Pikes Peak Workforce Development Board in Colorado Springs.

I appreciate the opportunity to testify today about the vital role of small businesses in workforce development and the support provided by workforce boards.

In Colorado, the Pikes Peak Workforce Development Board and our Workforce Center connect businesses with work-ready job seekers and employer-driven services. We assist residents of El Paso and Teller Counties in navigating career transitions—whether they are unemployed, underemployed, or facing other barriers. Our clients range from entry-level to professional, including youth, adults, returning workers, and those overcoming employment challenges. We offer job search and training opportunities, including 20 free job seeker workshops annually, as well as the largest virtual and in-person job fairs in Southern Colorado.

I’d like to share a few key initiatives that highlight our collaboration in small business development:

  • Incumbent Worker Training (IWT): We actively engage with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to promote our programs, including the popular IWT (Employee Development Fund). Recently, five childcare businesses collaborated with an SBDC to apply for IWT grants, resulting in three businesses receiving $15,157 to upskill 38 employees—crucial for sustaining our local childcare workforce. With more resources, workforce boards could expand these efforts significantly.
  • Veterans: We participate in the SBDC’s Veterans Conference to assist veteran-owned businesses in attracting and retaining talent. We provide guidance on skills-based hiring, job descriptions, and other support to help them grow. Our Workforce Development Board is proud of this commitment.
  • Cybersecurity: As cybersecurity becomes increasingly critical for business success, we connect small businesses with high-quality training and resources. We are developing specific training on cybersecurity best practices for small businesses and regularly participate in cybersecurity initiatives to link workers with employers in this vital sector.

The potential for greater integration between workforce boards and small businesses is significant. Earlier this year, NAWB and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) to enhance collaboration and resource access.

The SBA is an ideal partner for NAWB, representing nearly 600 Workforce Development Boards that collaborate with education and economic development stakeholders to deliver regional workforce programs tailored to job seekers, businesses, and communities. Workforce boards manage over 2,300 American Job Centers and partner with various organizations to serve both businesses and job seekers effectively.

By providing SBA-sponsored assistance through its resource partners, we can better address the challenges of training and support services for small businesses, increasing awareness of available resources.

I hope my testimony illustrates the opportunities for workforce boards to bolster small businesses. Thank you for allowing me to share these insights with the Subcommittee.