DOL Allotment TEGL 23-07

Allotment TEGL 23-07 was released by U.S. DOL-ETA earlier today and is now available online at the following link: DOL Allotment

Also please click here (DOL Down Load) to access and download WORD maps which depict the allotment by major funding streams.

Please remember that NWA would like to hear from you about how this TEGL will effect your local operations.

NWA Asked to Help with Cantwell Collins Letter

NWA Needs your help!

There are two ways in which you can be helpful. First, the Cantwell/Collins WIA Dear Colleague letter will be circulated shortly and we will send a copy to you. We will need your help to secure your state's Senators signatures due by the first week of April.

Second, please send the letter at this link to your House Member this week, requesting him or her include WIA funding in their FY 09 "program letter" to the Appropriations Committee. Each Member of Congress submits a program letter to the Committee (Members letters are due to the Appropriations Committee by March 19th) outlining their funding priorities for the upcoming year. The program letters are important tools that Committee Members use to judge the support a program has in Congress. These letters can lead to increased funding if strongly supported. Up until this year, WIA has had few mentions in Members program letters and we are seeking to increase this level of support.

Labor – HHS Appropriations

We anticipate that the Appropriations Committees will move the Labor-HHS bill and other Appropriations bills through committee this year, with little chance of final passage for non-defense related bills until after President Bush leaves office in January. Senior Appropriators told us this past week that they expect to have a continuing resolution in place through February of 2009.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao testified before the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee this past week, defending her proposed budget request that reduces funding for WIA by $500 million this year along with the elimination of the $700 million Employment Service. Chao argued that participants receiving services from Employment Service (ES) could easily be assisted through the One Stop system. However, several Democrats questioned her notion that money for ES could be eliminated along with large cuts to WIA without dramatically impacting service delivery efforts to program participants.

Labor-HHS Appropriations

Key Democratic leadership officials met with USA Works! this past week and outlined their FY 09 agenda, which will be very limited agenda on the appropriations front this year. Appropriators have no intention to allow President Bush to veto their spending bills once again. The plan at this juncture is to only allow defense related bills to be passed before the election, with a continuing resolution through February for the rest of government. The remaining bills under this plan will be resolved under a new President, presumably a Democrat.

The remaining appropriations bills, including Labor – HHS, are expected to move through Committee, but are unlikely to receive floor time this year. While the bills will not be completed this calendar year, markups of the bill will occur in Committee and we will continue to press funding for WIA.

There are two ways in which you can be helpful. First, the Cantwell/Collins WIA Dear Colleague letter will be circulated shortly and we will send a copy to you. We will need your help to secure your state’s Senators signatures due by the first week of April.

USA Works has asked all local Workforce Board's to send the a letter to all House Members, requesting him or her include WIA funding in their FY 09 “program letter” to the Appropriations Committee. Each Member of Congress often submits a program letter to the Committee. Members letters are due to the Appropriations Committee by March 19^{th ...} outlining their funding priorities for the upcoming year. The program letters are important tools that Committee Member use to judge the amount of support any program has in Congress. These letters can lead to increased funding if strongly supported. Up until this year, WIA has had few mentions in Members program letters and NWA and USA Works are seeking to increase this level of support. Please act today.

BUDGET COMMITTEES MARKING UP AND PROTECTING WIA

FY 09 House and Senate Budget Resolutions

The House and Senate Budget Committees mark up their FY 09 budget resolutions today. Both the House and Senate budget resolutions proposed significant increases in domestic discretionary spending above the President's request. Senate budget resolution includes $18 billion more for domestic discretionary spending in the President's budget. The House budget resolution requests $25 billion more than the President's budget domestic spending. The Democrats additional funding for domestic programs has already resulted in a veto threat from the Administration, which is unprecedented at this stage in the process.

USAWorks has been working with senior Budget Committee members in both the House and the Senate on behalf of the WIA funding and reports good news for WIA. While the details of the budget resolutions are not yet public, we are told that there will be a significant increase in the Senate budget resolution for WIA, as much as from $390 million above current levels. Senator Patty Murray has championed this effort on behalf of WIA funding and spoke passionately in the Committee markup today about the need to restore WIA's funding, indicating that we could face as many as 1.7 million job losses this year. On the House side, Chairman Spratt has ensured that current services levels for Function 500 (which includes WIA) will be included in the House budget resolution.

The resolutions are expected to reach the floor next week in both the House and Senate and conference negotiations to begin at the staff level over the Easter recess, which begins the following week.