President Obama has said the nation’s workforce development system is a "maze of confusing training programs." But words alone can’t describe how convoluted the system has become – the following infographic reveals the true size of the bureaucracy standing between workers and the skills they need to find a job: In total, the federal government administers more than 50 different programs across nin... Read more »
Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans, led by Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), today released a comprehensive proposal to reform federal job training and employment assistance. The Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act, which will be formally introduced on February 25, streamlines federal programs and cre... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: Roughly 12 million Americans are unemployed and searching for work, yet the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports millions of job openings remain unfilled. One reason for this startling fact is a broken workforce development system. Despite a multi-billion dollar annual taxpayer investment in federal job training programs, employers continue to struggle to find workers with skills neces... Read more »
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) today released the following statement in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act: Signed by President Clinton two decades ago, the Family and Medical Leave Act enables workers to keep their jobs while they care for themselves or a loved one facing a serious medical condition. The law has... Read more »
U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) have launched a comprehensive review of the federal Job Corps program. In response to ongoing reports of financial challenges, the committee seeks information from the Obama administration, operators of Job Corps centers, and the Natio... Read more »
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) this week released a report titled “The Imperial Presidency” that highlights the Obama administration’s pattern of executive overreach. “The president’s disturbing track record of legislating by executive fiat is simply unacceptable. I applaud Majority Leader Cantor for compiling this report to show the American people the lengths to which the Obama adminis... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), along with Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Representative Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) today renewed a request for documents and communications related to the development of guidance concerning sequestration and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. In a letter to Labor Secre... Read more »
Dear Secretary Solis: On August 2, 2012, we contacted you to share our concern regarding misleading and incomplete guidance from the Employment and Training Administration relating to the applicability of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) to potential sequestration-caused layoffs. The letter also requested related information, documents, and communications no later ... Read more »
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) released the following statement on President Obama’s failure to comply with the Sequestration Transparency Act: Forty-three straight months of unemployment above 8 percent is a difficult reminder of President Obama’s failed economic policies. Now more than ever, job creators need certainty in order to invest in their b... Read more »
Republican leaders on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce sent a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis requesting documents, communications, and information on the Labor Department’s contract with McNeely, Pigott, & Fox Public Relations, LLC. In 2009, the Labor Department reportedly awarded nearly half a million dollars from the taxpayer-funded stimulus package to McNeely, Pigott, &... Read more »
