Senate FY 2008 Budget Resolution Approved in Committee

The Senate Budget Committee approved by a vote of 12-11 (along party lines) its proposed FY 2008 budget resolution. The resolution is scheduled for debate on the Senate floor this week. Senate Republicans are expected to oppose the bill on grounds that it contains large spending increases and would eventually eliminate many of the tax cuts that were enacted during President Bush’s first term.

The resolution would cap total outlays at $2.93 trillion and discretionary spending at $1.13 trillion. It includes $16 billion more in domestic discretionary spending than the President’s proposed budget, including $6.1 billion more for the Department of Education (primarily for No Child Left Behind and for Pell Grants) and $3.5 billion more for veterans’ care.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) says that the resolution will result in a budget surplus by 2012. It would provide relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for 2007 and 2008, and allows for the extension of expiring tax provisions “if the cost of these measures is offset.” Chairman Conrad further states that most of the additional revenues could be obtained by closing the tax gap (i.e., collection of taxes not being paid, curtailment of tax havens and tax shelters), a claim disputed by some Republican opponents and Administration officials.

More information on the budget resolution is available on the Senate Budget Committee’s website at http://budget.senate.gov/.

Minimum Wage Hike/Small-Business Tax Cuts Attached to Defense Supplemental

The House Appropriations Committee has added the House version of the minimum wage hike/small-business tax cut bill to the Committee’s FY 2007 defense supplemental appropriations bill, apparently in an attempt to resolve the standoff between the House and Senate over differences in the size of small-business tax cuts that would likely be included as part of any combined minimum wage hike/small-business tax cut legislation. The $124 billion defense supplemental bill, which includes other provisions not related to defense spending, was reported out of Committee yesterday on a vote of 36-28. House Republicans charged that the non-defense measures are pork-barrel provisions intended to boost support for passage of the bill. Notably, the defense supplemental bill also includes a controversial timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Over the past few weeks, several NAWB members contacted Advocacy Committee Co-Chair Ross Jackson to express interest in participating in a new year-round Advocacy Task Force. Unfortunately, Mr. Jackson’s files were destroyed due to a computer failure last week. So, if you are interested in the Task Force, please fax your contact information, along with the Advocacy Task Force Questionnaire to NAWB’s Mark Schultz at 703/778-7901. We appreciate your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience.

GAO Report Addresses Workforce Development Challenges

In a recent report, Human Capital: Federal Workforce Challenges in the 21st Century (GAO-07-556T), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) addresses four workforce challenges facing the federal government due in part to long-term fiscal constraints, changing demographics, evolving governance models, and other factors. These challenges include: (1) Leadership, (2) Strategic Human Capital Planning, (3) Acquiring, Developing, and Retaining Talent, and (4) a Results-Oriented Organizational Culture. GAO notes that “federal agencies do not consistently have the modern, effective, economical, and efficient human capital programs, policies, and procedures needed to succeed in their transformation efforts.” The report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07556t.pdf.

ITIF Assesses State Economies According to “New Economy Index”

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), in a report sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, employed 26 indicators to assess the extent to which state economies are structured according to the tenets of the New Economy. “The changing economic landscape requires state economies to be innovative, globally-linked, entrepreneurial and dynamic, with an educated workforce and all sectors embracing the use of information technology.” The report provides extensive recommendations for the next generation of innovative state-level public policies needed to meet the challenges of the New Economy and boost incomes of all Americans. For more information, see the report at http://www.itif.org/index.php? id=30.

JFF Says U.S. Must Sharply Increase College Degree Attainment Levels

Jobs for the Future (JFF), in its new report Hitting Home: Quality, Cost, and Access Challenges Confronting Higher Education Today, states that our nation’s colleges and universities will need to increase the number of people earning degrees each year by more than 37 percent between now and 2025, in order to remain competitive and to close the degree attainment “gap” between the U.S. and other developed nations. According to the report, the “gap” threatens America’s ability to maintain its economic competitiveness, build a labor force ready to take on high-skill jobs, and close racial and ethnic disparities in earnings and academic success. See the report at www.jff.org.

Wisconsin

In the past three years, paper manufacturer Georgia-Pacific has been modernizing its equipment and reducing staff. The public workforce development system has been providing transition and retraining programs for its laid-off staff.

In exchange, Georgia-Pacific has donated $25,000 to the Bay Area Workforce Development Board in Wisconsin in order to assist in setting up videoconferencing stations around the Board’s 10-county region. This will enable individuals to sit at computers and interact with case managers at regional job center offices or “attend” a workshop at a remote location.