The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), enacted in 2014 with bipartisan support, is the primary federal legislation that invests in workforce development programming. WIOA provides necessary funding to states and local areas to ensure that communities can support a demand-driven and coordinated workforce development system that meets the needs of job seekers and businesses. Authorization for WIOA expired in 2020, and Congress has extended its authorization through the annual appropriation process without meaningful updates.
Our surveys indicate that Local Workforce Development Boards, and by default the WIOA system, are one of the most critical partners for advancing workforce development issues for NLC’s members. We have seen this firsthand over the last year through the Good Jobs, Great Cities initiative with the U.S. Department of Labor. Here, cities worked as convenors, advocates and innovators to catalyze stronger collaboration among local governments, businesses, education and training providers, local Workforce Development Boards (WDBs), labor unions, labor-management partnerships, faith-based organizations, philanthropy and other community-based organizations.
In December, the House Committee on Education and Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) introduced their bipartisan A Stronger Workforce for America (H.R. 6655) legislation, which is the House’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) legislation. In April, this bill, which seeks to “expand the skills development provided under the law, strengthen the relationship between employers and the workforce system, and put more Americans on the pathway to successful careers,” passed the House with an overwhelming bipartisan majority (378 – 26) and has now moved to the Senate for consideration.
In July, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a draft bipartisan proposal of their version of the bill. While the Senate version mirrored many of the themes and programs of the House bill, there were additional considerations and improvements made in the Senate draft. NLC provided feedback on this discussion draft in collaboration with our local partners at the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), National League of Cities (NLC), National Association of Counties (NACo) and the U.S. Workforce Associations (USWA). Together with these same partners, NLC uplifted critical recommendations for the reauthorization of WIOA based on this draft.
As Senate Committee staff continues to negotiate provisions of the bill and we await formal bill text, now is the time to let your senators know it is imperative that the Senate bring the WIOA bill to the floor for consideration. TAKE ACTION through NLC or call your Senator directly. This legislation represents the only chance this congress has to address workforce policy. If enacted, the reauthorization would authorize WIOA through 2030. With the Senate set to recess at the end of the month, sights are set on the “lame duck” session between the election and the end of the year, so voicing your support of federal attention on workforce development programs today is essential.
State of the Cities 2024
In the State of the Cities 2024 report, mayors named economic and workforce development as their top priority.
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