By Laura Walling, Senior Director of Government Relations, Goodwill Industries International
Congress reached a bipartisan agreement to extend government funding from February 18 to March 11. The stopgap funding measure gives appropriators more time to draft and enact a final omnibus government funding bill for FY 2022 which began last October and ends September 30, 2022.
Some are optimistic that an omnibus bill can be passed in the next three weeks and will include all 12 appropriations bills. Alternatively, a cromnibus may be passed which could include many of the 12 bills at new funding levels and a continuing resolution for those appropriations that are more controversial. The “most complicated bill” of the 12 is the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, according to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), ranking member of the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee. Several months were spent by the negotiators coming up with the top-line spending allocations, and a framework agreement was only reached last week. The funding allocation given to Labor-HHS-Education is smaller than what House Democrats originally proposed, thus making it challenging to include all of the priorities, including investments in workforce development.
Goodwill Industries International is collaborating with partner organizations to request Congress invest at least $40 billion in workforce development, as passed by the House in the Build Back Better Act, to ensure workers have the skills necessary to access and succeed in good jobs that businesses need filled. This type of investment is critical to preparing the workforce needed to improve the nation’s infrastructure.
A skilled workforce is a prerequisite for building and modernizing the physical and digital infrastructure, which serves as the foundation for the wider American economy. The system to reskill, upskill, and train workers to build and improve upon this foundation is already in place. Local Goodwill® organizations around the country are proud to play a role in the workforce development system, operating American Job Centers and career centers that prepare job seekers for in-demand careers by guiding and supporting them in learning new skills, earning credentials, creating resumes, and preparing for interviews.
By making critical investment in workforce development, this system can reach even more Americans and help them find rewarding careers.
Join us in our outreach to lawmakers and help ensure that robust federal funding for workforce development is prioritized in any future recovery package. Click here to take action via GII’s Legislative Action Center and contact your members of Congress today.
