The Senate today passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), finally bringing an end to a decade-plus wait for congressional renewal of the nation’s preeminent job training legislation.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives where the expectation is that the bipartisan, bicameral agreement will smooth the way for its final passage in July.
Key improvements in the Senate bill include its heightened emphasis on meeting the education, skills and employment needs of the millions of individuals who are unemployed or under-employed and face multiple barriers to employment, as well as a laser focus on urban youth and youth of color who are out of school and/or have been subject to any stage of the criminal justice process.
To reach these populations, the WIOA is designed to allow national intermediaries and local community-based organizations committed to urban communities an opportunity to better serve them. The National Urban League has worked tirelessly with Senate lawmakers, especially Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, to ensure that a successful programmatic vehicle – the provision for the Reintegration of Ex-offenders – received full consideration as the bill was being crafted.
Once the bill is signed into law, the Washington Bureau will provide detailed guidance on the key provisions of the bill, especially those that pertain to the work of our Affiliates in workforce training.
