2019 Legislative Priorities Announced
Media Contact
Michelle Marshel, Director, Communications & EventsPhone: (202) 999-0168 | Email: mmarshel@naswa.org
WASHINGTON – Today the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) released its 2019 legislative priorities. NASWA’s legislative priorities highlight initiatives focused on ensuring states’ workforce development efforts meet the needs of employers and improve the overall skill level of workers across the nation. NASWA’s legislative agenda is comprised of five main categories with 10 specific points for Congressional action.
“These priorities represent a roadmap for Congress to utilize in making practical workforce development investments that maintain and build upon our economic prosperity,” said Scott B. Sanders, Executive Director of NASWA. “Employers are working diligently to find and cultivate skilled workers in a historically tight labor market. It is crucial for Congress to invest in the public workforce system to keep our nation’s economic engine churning.”
NASWA’s 2019 Legislative Priorities include:
ENSURE SUFFICIENT, FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT
- Provide no less than FY 2020 authorized funding levels for workforce and training programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and no less than FY 2019 funding levels for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Wagner-Peyser Act.
- Maintain investment for governors’ statewide workforce innovation needs at 15%.
- Increase flexibility and programmatic alignment for maximum utilization of investment.
REFORM UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (UI)
- Rebuild support for UI programming to reflect modernized service delivery.
- Bolster the integrity of the UI program.
CONTINUE SUPPORT FOR REEMPLOYMENT SERVICES AND APPRENTICESHIPS
- Invest in baseline Reemployment Services programming at no less than $175 million.
- Invest in Apprenticeships at no less than $160 Million.
IMPROVE THE DISABLED VETERANS OUTREACH PROGRAM (DVOP)
- Provide improved services to veterans and military spouses by expanding the Significant Barriers to Employment (SBE) categories.
ENSURE SUCCESSFUL WIOA IMPLEMENTATION
- Enhance successful connections between WIOA programs with education, vocational rehabilitation and human services providers.
- Encourage real-time, integrated data sharing and invest in research capacity.
To view NASWA’s agenda in its entirety, visit 2019 Legislative Priorities
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