ACCT Legislative update, new workforce funding developments

[from ACCT] December 8, 2011 - Today, the Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee introduced two workforce training reform bills.  Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) introduced the first bill, H.R. 3610, the Streamlining Workforce Development Programs Act, which consolidates 33 workforce training programs into 4 funding streams.  The second bill, H.R. 3611, the Local Job Opportunities and Business Success (JOBS) Act, introduced by Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV), addresses workforce investment boards.  The bill removes many federal directives regarding board makeup and requires that at least two-thirds of each board is comprised of business representatives.  It also strikes provisions that require board representation from community colleges and other educational entities.

The House and Senate are currently conferencing the nine remaining FY 2012 appropriations bills into a larger omnibus.  With many hurdles facing remaining for the Labor-HHS-Education bill, a year-long continuing resolution for that bill remains probable.  With a $1.3 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program, indications are that negotiators will seek to make Pell eligibility changes within a continuing resolution to address the shortfall.  Thus far, FY 2012 continuing resolutions have addressed the shortfall through an across-the-board cut of all Labor-HHS-Education programs.  Negotiators appear less likely to accept an across-the-board-cut scenario to protect Pell in a year-long continuing resolution. 

Today, the White House hosted the first board meeting of the Startup America Partnership, where board members announced $1 billion in private sector investment to assist startups over the next three years.  This meeting came as part of a larger announcement focused on job creation and entrepreneurship. The White House announced its continued commitment to entrepreneurial education and transformation through the new National Education Startup Challenge and the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum.  The National Education Startup Challenge, invites middle school, high school, and college students to develop an innovative solution to an education problem and prepare a business plan for a new company or non-profit organization to deliver that solution.  The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is launching the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum, through which community college presidents make specific commitments to advance entrepreneurship and the impact these colleges have on the economic well-being of their communities. Over 100 community college presidents have signed on at launch.