House releases FY 2012 Labor-HHS draft.

Last Thursday, the House appropriations committee released a draft bill providing Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS). The proposed bill would make devastating cuts to federal workforce and education programs—including more than $2 billion in cuts to programs under the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA)—sending a clear message that fiscally conservative lawmakers continue to specifically target workforce as part of broader efforts to reduce federal spending.

According to a press release issued by the committee, the bulk of the savings under ETA would be achieved by aligning funding for job training programs with the federal fiscal year—most programs are currently funded according to a program year—and eliminating $2.4 billion in “advance appropriations,” funds that Congress includes in the spending bill for one fiscal year but which are not made available until the subsequent fiscal year. Specifically, the bill would:

• Reduce overall funding for the WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs by approximately $1.9 billion compared to FY 2011 enacted levels. Rather than providing appropriations for the Adult and Dislocated Worker programs in two allotments—a “base” allotment available from July 1-June 30, and an advance allotment available October 1-June 30—all funding for these two programs would be made available for the period running from July 1, 2012-December, 2012. Funding under the Youth program would be available from April 1, 2012-December 31, 2012;
• Eliminate funding for the newly-created Workforce Innovation Fund, and rescind $125 million in FY 2011 appropriations for this program; and
• Significantly reduce funding for a range of national programs under ETA, including YouthBuild, Native American and migrant and seasonal farmworker programs, and state Employment Service grants under the Wagner-Peyser Act.

The bill would maintain the state set-aside under WIA at 5 percent for funds provided under the FY 2011 CR—due to a drafting error, there had been some confusion about whether the reduced set-aside applied to the Adult and Dislocated Worker advance appropriations under that measure—but would increase the set-aside to 10 percent for funds under the FY 2012 bill (previously the state set-aside was 15 percent, as specified by WIA).

Under the Department of Education, the House bill would maintain the current maximum Pell Grant award of $5,550 per year, but would make a number of structural changes to the program that would dramatically reduce eligibility for non-traditional students, including eliminating eligibility for less-than-half-time students and students without high school diplomas, reducing lifetime eligibility from 18 semesters to 12 semesters, lowering the income level at which the expected family contribution (EFC) is automatically assumed to be zero, and sharply reducing income protection allowances that limit the amount of household income considered when determining financial need.

The bill would provide level funding for state formula grants for career and technical education (CTE) and adult education. It also includes language prohibiting the use of agency funds to administer or implement the recent “gainful employment” regulations, which target the use of federal student assistance for occupational training programs, primarily at for-profit institutions.

The committee has not scheduled a markup of the bill, and with Congress expected to roll all of the FY 2012 spending bills into a single omnibus package late this year or early next year, it is not clear that the committee will officially take up the bill before then. However, the measure does provide a clear signal of the committee’s priorities heading into negotiations with the Senate over final spending levels. The Senate appropriations committee marked up a Labor-HHS bill earlier this month, which largely maintained current funding levels for workforce programs; to view a chart comparing the House and Senate levels, please click here.

In the face of these latest assaults on federal training and education programs, is critical that workforce development advocates weigh in with their members of Congress to educate them on the value these programs provide for U.S. workers and businesses, and to urge lawmakers to reject any further cuts to workforce in FY 2012.  National Skills Coalition will continue to monitor developments relating to this issue, and provide additional updates as new information becomes available.