HOUSE
LABOR-HHS SUBCOMITTEE * MARKS UP FY 07 BILL
House
Labor-HHS markup held today
This morning
the House Labor-HHS Subcommittee completed a brief mark up of its FY
07 bill. No amendments were offered at the request of Chairman
Regula, who asked that amendments wait until full Committee
consideration next week. The bill is currently scheduled to receive
floor action the week of June 19th. Senate action on the bill is not
likely to commence until the fall.
The House
Labor-HHS mark contains $4.1 billion more than the level requested
in the President’s budget, but it is still 1.9 billion below last
year’s funding level when program transfers and earmarks are
included. Democratic Members told NWA after the markup that they do
not believe that the bill in its current form can be passed on the
House floor, as it contains too many funding cuts and not enough
funding for key programs. However, Republican Members have expressed
some confidence that they will have the votes to pass the bill on
the floor, which will be a major test of Chairman Lewis’ and
Majority Leader Boehner’s leadership.
Bill
protects WIA FY 07 funding – but includes a
rescission
Chairman
Regula’s bill rejects the bulk of the Administration’s proposed
funding cuts for WIA in FY 07. WIA formula program funding is kept
at last year’s level, with a $15 million increase for Dislocated
Workers, $10 million cut to the Adult formula, and a $5 million cut
to the Youth formula. Funding for the Employment Service is cut by
$34 million. The Administration sought a $597 million cut in these
formula programs.
While the
Subcommittee’s overall funding in the bill for WIA is listed as a
$275 million cut below last year’s level, in reality it is a much
smaller than it appears. This is due in large part to a $125 million
one time emergency funding increase last year to the Secretary’s
National Emergency Grants to assist Katrina victims. The NEG
increase was not renewed in the bill this year. The House bill also
includes its annual elimination of two Senate priorities, the Youth
Offender and Prisoner Reentry grants. These two programs will likely
be restored in the House-Senate Conference Committee
Report.
Carryover a rationale for
rescission
Even though the
Chairman’s FY 07 mark leaves WIA funding relatively intact, a more
in detailed analysis of the mark reveals a rescission of $325
million in funding from the PY 06 formula accounts. This rescission
reflects Secretary Chao’s assertion that there is over $1 billion in
carryover funding, which can be cut without impacting service
delivery. Chao’s carryover argument is making an impact this year
with some Appropriators, despite efforts from senior Members,
including Education and Workforce Chairman McKeon, who refute the
Administration’s carryover argument and have argued for additional
funding.
Most
importantly for the workforce system, the House mark reinforces the
need to educate Members of Congress about WIA and to rebut the
Administration’s assertion of excess system carryover, as there will
be a fight in the House- Senate Conference to get the House
rescission removed.
Mark your
calendar for the Fifth Annual NWA Conference!
Saturday,
December 2 - Tuesday, December 5, 2006
We are putting
together quite a line-up! The whole event kicks off with a
Pre-Conference co-sponsored by USAWorks. NWA CEO David Bradley will
be leading a full day workshop on the outcome of the Mid-Term
Congressional Elections! This is a great opportunity to collaborate
with leading Directors from all over the country as a precursor to
the Conference which opens on Sunday December 3.
Please remember
that now is the time to act and save on the conference registration
fee. Our early bird reg fees expire on July 1, 2006. Visit our
website at: ww
w.nwaonline.org to obtain more information on our conference as
well as a registration form.
