FY11 CR passes; FY12 budget advances.

On April 14, Congress voted to approve H.R. 1473, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 continuing resolution (CR), which funds the federal government through the end of September. The CR, which was the product of intense negotiations between the White House and congressional leaders, includes $38.5 billion in spending cuts compared to last year’s funding levels, including about $1 billion in cuts to job training programs under the Department of Labor. (View a detailed table and brief summary of spending cuts and other workforce provisions included in the final bill.)

With the FY 2011 appropriations process now complete, Congress immediately turns its attentions to the FY 2012 budget process, which promises to be far more contentious politically – and potentially far more dangerous for workforce development programs.

The House voted today to approve its FY 2012 budget resolution, which establishes overall funding limits for each the twelve House appropriations subcommittees as they begin developing their FY 2012 spending bills. The resolution represents a dramatic attack on the federal social safety net, proposing an estimated $4.3 trillion in cuts to federal spending over the next decade, including $2.9 trillion in cuts to programs that assist low- and moderate-income individuals.

While the budget resolution itself lacks the force of law and cannot directly make changes to existing laws, it can significantly impact the policy debate in Washington by providing the blueprint for annual funding decisions and providing recommendations or instructions for authorizing committees as they consider new legislation. The budget resolution contains particularly damaging recommendations relating to training and education programs. Among other things, the resolution calls for:

• Consolidating “a complex maze of dozens of job-training programs" into 'career scholarships,' though it provides few details on which programs would be targeted or how career scholarships would function. The resolution indicates that it will achieve $6.2 billion in savings in FY 2012, and $61.5 billion in savings over the next decade, through this consolidation of training programs and the repeal of unobligated discretionary funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which suggests dramatic funding cuts compared to current levels;
• Reducing the maximum Pell Grant award by as much as 60 percent compared to current levels, eliminating eligibility for less-than-half-time students and students qualifying for the minimum award, and reducing lifetime eligibility from 18 semesters to 12 semesters;
• Effectively rescinding $1.5 billion in FY 2012-2014 appropriations for the TAA Community College and Career Training Grant (TAACCCT) program, which supports partnerships between community colleges, employers, and other stakeholders to provide skills training in trade-impacted communities;
• Block granting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – formerly Food Stamps), reducing funding for the program by $127 billion over the next ten years.

Although the Democratically-controlled Senate will not agree to the budget measure as passed, it is widely expected that congressional Republicans will insist on a spending cap aligned with the levels in the House resolution as their price for supporting legislation to increase the federal debt ceiling, which will likely be required as early as next month. Workforce advocates should weigh in with policymakers today and urge them to oppose the dramatic cuts to training and education programs proposed under the House resolution, and to ensure that the final FY 2012 budget includes investments in job training and education that will accelerate our economic recovery and contribute to our long-term fiscal integrity.