WIA Re-authorization from John Twomey

WIA Reauthorization (a take as I walk out the NYATEP door tomorrow, by John Twomey)-

If you get WIA dollars today, you care about this because by 2013 if WIA is not reauthorized, there is significant risk to those funds.

If you don’t get WIA dollars today, you care because everyone who gets WIA dollars will jump into your pool if they are looking at losing that money.

But really, John, this isn’t going to happen in an election year, right?  I think it is a long shot but some recent action in the House leads me to think there is a 30% chance.

So, how many House WIA Reauthorization bills are there? Three, soon to be four.  On the Republican side, Congressman Buck McKeon (R- CA) , Subcommittee Chair Vivian Foxx (R –NC) and Joe Heck (R – Nevada) have introduced bills.

On the Democratic side, it is expected that within two weeks a George Miller (D-CA), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) and John Tierney (D- Mass.) WIA Reauthorization Bill will be introduced.  NYATEP will very shortly thereafter send you a side-by-side of those four bills.   None will be perfect, but they will lessen risk to the funding and are/ will be  workable.

Yeah, but again, How could they be enacted?  I think in areas where there is a Democratic Member of Congress a move would be afoot to ask members to sign on to Miller’s bill.  In Republican areas around the country, there will likely be a move to ask Republican members to sign on to McKeon.  If over 100 co-sponsors were rounded up, this could be done in 2012.

So, stay tuned.