 An email bulletin on national issues, exclusively for NAWB
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Update: Congressional Budget Resolutions
In a big victory for domestic spending priorities, the Senate voted last Thursday 51-49 in favor of a budget resolution that essentially provides $16.5 billion more in discretionary spending than the President’s proposed cap of $873 billion. The resolution includes an amendment proposed by Senators Specter (R-PA) and Harkin (D-IA) that provides $7 billion in “advance” appropriations for Functions 500, 550, and 600 of the federal budget, which comprise all programs within the purview of the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee. That amendment was approved earlier in the day on a strong bi-partisan vote of 73-27. While the Specter-Harkin amendment does not technically add dollars to the budget cap, it has the effect of making room later in the appropriations process for increased spending in the Senate Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. Additional amendments to the Senate budget resolution that were proposed and approved added another $9.5 billion to discretionary spending, including $3.3 billion for low-income energy subsidies. Earlier in the day, the Senate narrowly approved by a 52-48 vote an increase of $781 billion in the federal statutory debt limit to nearly $9 trillion. On the House side of Capitol Hill, 23 moderate Republicans, in a letter to The Speaker of the House, said they would oppose the House budget resolution unless it includes an increase of about $8 billion for non-security discretionary spending. The House budget resolution is expected to go to the House floor sometime in April. The House also approved a FY 2006 emergency supplemental spending bill of $91.9 billion to provide funding for hurricane relief and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, discussions have continued on Capitol Hill around a number of other high-profile issues, including tax cuts, lobbying reform, earmarks in the appropriation process, and a proposed line-item veto power for the President. Unique Tools to Understand Federal
Budget Cuts Impacts The National Priorities Project (NPP) offers citizen and community groups tools and resources to shape federal budget and policy priorities which promote social and economic justice. (www.nationalpriorities.com) Its online tools include a database to create tables, graphs, and reports using state, county, and school district data and federal expenditures. Also find out how income tax dollars for all states and over 250 cities are spent (including how much goes to job training) using the Interactive Income Tax chart. Use this tool to present data on the impact of current federal spending policies for states, cities and counties, as well as the federal budget’s local impact on community needs. Find the just released report: The President’s Budget: Impact on States http://www.nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=186&Itemid=61. Charts on various aspects of the budget, including historical information on discretionary spending can be found at http://www.nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=107. Early Lessons from a Prisoner Re-Entry
Initiative Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) has just released a report on its prisoner re-entry demonstration project, Ready4Work. Seventeen lead organizations are participating, and many innovative and promising approaches to effective prisoner re-entry are emerging through the work being done at 11 adult sites and 6 juvenile sites. To view the report, click here http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/198_publication.pdf Applications Encouraged for 2006 “New
Freedom Initiative Awards” Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is calling upon non-profits, small businesses, corporations, and individuals to submit entries for the 2006 New Freedom Initiative Award. The award recognizes public-private partnerships and programs that have had a positive impact on the employment of people with disabilities through access to assistive technologies, the use of innovative training, and hiring and retention strategies. The deadline for receipt of nominations is May 31st. Click here http://www.dol.gov/odep/newfreedom/nfi06.htm for more information. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to non-profit, 501(c)(3) organizations within its 14-state region that generate high impact and measurable results through community-based programs, including pre K-12 education, workforce development, and economic development. Eligible states include Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Click here http://www.qwest.com/about/company/community/foundation/index.html for more information. To learn about more grant opportunities, be sure to review the GrantStation Insider, distributed to you via email by NAWB in cooperation with GrantStation. New Collaboration Will Focus on Age 50+
Workers NAWB and 21 other major industry associations and membership organizations, including AARP, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Society for Human Resource Management, have joined together to formally launch a collaboration that will help employers understand, plan for, and create workplaces that successfully engage and utilize the skills of the workers over the age of 50. The Alliance for an Experienced Workforce will also focus on ensuring that workers 50+ are prepared to accept the skills and jobs in demand as America competes in the global economy. Click here http://www.experiencedworkforce.org/ to learn more. JFF Surveys States' Higher Education Plans A new report from Jobs for the Future (JFF) entitled By the Numbers: State Goals for Increasing Post-Secondary Attainment addresses an important state-level approach to assessing—and increasing—the value of public higher education: setting and publicizing clear, numerical goals for expanding student access and success. The report is based on JFF’s 50-state survey of state higher education plans. The survey was conducted in 2005 to determine which states have set numerical targets for enrollment and completion, and how they set, measure, and publicize these goals to institutions, the public, and policymakers. By the Numbers was prepared for Double the Numbers, JFF’s national initiative to advance public policies that can significantly increase the number of young people who make it to and through college. For more information, click here. EDA to Sponsor Telecast on Growing Rural
Economies The Economic Development Administration (EDA), in cooperation with the International Economic Development Council and the National Association of Regional Councils, is sponsoring a telecast on Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovative Leadership. The telecast, to be shown on Tuesday, March 28th, 3:00-4:00PM Eastern Time, will examine: For more information, see http://www.narc.org/uploads/File/Second_02Mar28Telecast.pdf .
From the States
Florida Cities Rank High in Job CreationAccording to a recent item in the State Science and Technology Institute Weekly Digest, The Milken Institute has ranked a number of Florida cities very high in their ability to create and sustain jobs. The Institute looked at major metropolitan areas and small cities and identified the top performers according to an index that includes measures of job, wage and salary, and technology output growth over the past five years. High-ranking major metro areas in Florida included Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, and Naples-Marco Island. The top-ranking smaller city area was Florida’s Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin. For more information, see http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2006/022706.htm#Milke and http://www.milkeninstitute.org |
Vol VI Issue 5 IN THIS ISSUE:
 Remember to go to CapWiz to see if your Senators voted in favor of the Specter-Harkin Amendment. Thank them for their support and urge them to continue supporting the restoration of funding for the Workforce Investment Act and Employment Services during the upcoming appropriations deliberations. Have you invited your Members of Congress to visit your One-Stop during the Congressional recesses? Members will be in their home districts March 20-24 and April 10-21.
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