Congress: The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) should Work for the People

June 1, 2012

The Honorable John Kline
Chairman
Committee on Education and the Workforce
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable George Miller
Ranking Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Kline and Representative Miller,

As communities of faith united by our common religious traditions and values of justice and compassion, we write to you today with concerns about the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 4297) introduced in late March by Representatives Virginia Foxx, Joseph Heck, and Howard McKeon. The bill consolidates a number of national and state-administered workforce programs, including those for low-income adults, dislocated workers, and youth, in a way that would allow funds and services to be steered away from these still-vulnerable populations and into a new Workforce Investment Fund that would be distributed by formula to states and local areas. This change greatly concerns us considering the unemployment rate is still 8.2% and vulnerable communities who could benefit from specialized programs are still suffering from the recession at a disproportionate rate.

H.R. 4297 eliminates the current priority of service for low-income adults and those with barriers to employment. Without priority, dislocated workers, youth, older workers, and those in areas of highest unemployment would continue to be at a disadvantage. Low-income adults now represent only about half of those receiving intensive services or training services with adult employment and training funding, despite their increased rates of unemployment. Elimination of the priority of services, including necessary supportive services like child care and transportation, would further weaken access to these services to low-income adults and youth.

Rather than cutting back on the range of services needed by low-income individuals, low-wage workers, and those with barriers to employment, our interfaith community would prefer to see job training and job creation programs focus specifically on low-income communities and vulnerable populations. Unless special and specific efforts are made to include them, certain distressed communities with disproportionately high unemployment or low earnings will be left out of the mainstream economic recovery. Properly crafted WIA reauthorization legislation must consider populations with unique needs— such as people of color, displaced workers, workers with disabilities, older workers, low-income youth, and people with limited-English proficiency—by providing worker retraining, education assistance, job placement and other job related services.

Our common scriptures present a vision of shared responsibility, commanding that we care for the vulnerable among us, and also endows the notion of work with an inherent dignity. Right now, it is imperative that our nation’s leaders keep our economy on the pathway to a healthy recovery. And we believe you can do so by crafting a more comprehensive Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization that takes the needs of low-income workers into special consideration.

Sincerely,

Disciples Justice Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of Jewish Women
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness
Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team
Union for Reform Judaism
The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
The United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society