House Education and Workforce Committee Advances WIOA Reauthorization Bill

Key Takeaways

On December 12, the House Education and Workforce Committee voted 44-1 to advance the bipartisan Stronger Workforce for America Act (H.R. 6655) to the House floor. The bill would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which is the primary federal legislation designed to strengthen our nation’s public workforce system.

Why WIOA matters to counties

• WIOA is the largest single source of federal funding for workforce development activities and helps counties tackle and overcome challenges facing job seekers and employers.  
• WIOA establishes the one-stop center delivery system, which provides convenient access to job search assistance, workforce training and career services to county residents across the country.
• Counties are involved in 90 percent of the country’s 550 local workforce development boards.
• Over $2.7 billion was allocated to state and local workforce development boards through WIOA in Program Year 2023.

What the bill does

• Dedicates 50 percent of the adult and dislocated worker funding toward upskilling workers through “individual training accounts” (ITAs) and on-the-job learning while redirecting an existing funding stream toward ITAs for displaced workers.  
• Provides eligible displaced workers with ITAs with a value of $5,000 to enroll in high-quality reskilling programs and reconnect with the workforce by repurposing existing resources at the Department of Labor.
• Streamlines the “eligible training provider list” (ETPL) to focus on outcomes and ensure eligible programs are aligned with the skill and hiring demands of employers.
• Provides greater flexibility to respond to local needs by requiring 65 percent of youth funds statewide be dedicated towards serving opportunity youth while allowing states to work with their local boards to determine the appropriate percentage for each local area.

Additional Resources

• NACo WIOA 101: Counties and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
• NACo WIOA Policy Brief
• NACo County Explorer: 2023 Statewide Adult WIOA Funding
• A Stronger Workforce for America Act: Bill Summary