In the midst of the wrangling taking place over temporary spending for FY 2012, U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees that have jurisdiction over final FY 2012 spending measures are working on their respective bills. On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to provide FY 2012 funding for the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education. That bill proposes to provide $158 billion in discretionary funding for a wide range of programs including several programs that support local Goodwill agencies’ efforts to help people find jobs and advance in careers. The Senate FY 2012 Labor, HHS, Education bill would provide:

• Approximately $2.6 billion for the Workforce Investment Act’s Adult, Youth, and Dislocated Workers funding streams
• $100 million for a Workforce Innovation Fund, a decrease compared to approximately $124 million in FY 2011
• Nearly $450 million for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), the same amount provided in FY 2011
• More than $3.1 billion for vocational rehabilitation grants to states, an increase from nearly $3.1 billion in FY 2011
• Sufficient funds to maintain the maximum Pell grant award at $5,550.

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