House Committee Clears Bipartisan Workforce Development Legislation

This week, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed two key workforce development bills on a bipartisan basis. The more sweeping measure would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which is the central statute in federal law that underpins all of our country’s workforce development programs. That bill—H.R. 6655 A Stronger Workforce for America Act—seeks to upgrade employee skills by dedicating 50 percent of the adult and dislocated worker funding towards upskilling workers. It would also place emphasis on employer-led initiatives that equip workers with the skill sets necessary to fill jobs that local employers are looking to fill and help the currently employed workforce upskill to avoid displacement and advance their careers. Finally, it ensures workers displaced from their jobs through no fault of their own can access robust skill development services, including through “individual training accounts.”

The legislation passed the committee on a 44-1 vote and heads to the House floor which will take up the measure when Congress returns in January.

The second is H.R. 6585, the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act. As we noted last week, this bill would–

• Help students participate in short-term programs to move into a job quickly.
• Create a quality assurance system for Workforce Pell Grant programs—allowing any institution of higher education to take part as long as they meet all the requirements.
• Ensure all programs provide education aligned with requirements of in-demand industries, meet employers’ hiring requirements and provide students with relevant skills necessary for employment.

This legislation also passed on a bipartisan vote of 37-8 and heads to the House floor.

This is a positive development for our workforce policy agenda as it finally shows some momentum and will put pressure on the Senate to move a bill in 2024.

NDAA 2024: Key Provisions for Wood Manufacturers

This week the Senate and then the House approved Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) text that carries some important provisions for wood building material manufacturers. One would require the Secretary of Defense to consider all types of building materials for any design-bid-build military construction project before proceeding beyond the 35 percent design phase and contract award. What typically occurs now is that projects default to a check list that is decades old and does not account for innovative building materials like mass timber that save money and are more efficient and sustainable.

The second calls upon the Secretary of Defense to establish a continuing education curriculum for instructional purposes for sustainable building materials such as mass timber and project designs that feature mass timber in order to improve military installation resilience.

The legislation is on its way to the President who will sign it.