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PA Partners promotes the interests of the workforce development system in the Commonwealth and serves as a liaison between workforce development professionals and state and federal government agencies. The Association also communicates the policy concerns of workforce development professionals to members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Congress and serves as a point of contact for the local workforce system and technical resource to elected officials and government agencies.

As an integral part of the federal and state public workforce system, local Workforce Investment Boards are subject to state and federal laws and regulations, and the programs they administer are financed primarily with federal and state funds. Consequently, it is critical for workforce professionals to keep informed about legislative and regulatory actions that affect them and be active in building relationships with public officials and the legislators who represent their local areas.

The following tools may be useful in these efforts:

Legislative and Policy News

Current Issues

Reauthorization of Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA)-Updated 1.23.12

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) released discussion drafts of five titles of a bill to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). PA Partners and the PA Association of Workforce Investment Boards prepared comments for Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), who is a member of the Committee. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) filed the bill on June 23, and the HELP Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation in the near future. In the U.S. House another version of a WIA reauthorization bill was introduced by Representative "Buck" McKeon (R-CA). On December 8, 2011, two bills amending WIA were introduced in the House. These bills are intended to streamline workforce programs and funding, and update WIA to better serve the business community.  Action by the House Education and Workforce Committee is expected in the spring.   (For more specific information, please see the links below.)

Pennsylvania Reapportionment Panel Proposes New Congressional Map-Updated 2.16.12

Based on the 2010 decennial census, Pennsylvania's congressional delegation was reduced to 18 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. As required by the Pennsylvania Constitution, a state commission was appointed to prepare a new congressional map. State Senate districts were re-drawn as well. The plans were subsequently approved by the PA Senate and House. Update: On January 26, 2012, it was reported that the PA Supreme Court was rejecting the new plan, and on February 8, a U.S. federal appeals court judge upheld the decision.  The Commission will need to revise the plan based on the Court's decision.  (To review what had been planned prior to the Court decisioin, please see the following links:)

2012 Workforce Appropriations--Updated 12.19.11

On September 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved S. 1599, a bill to appropriate funding for the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. Reports indicate that workforce programs included under the bill are funded at approximately the same level as the 2011 appropriations. In the House, the Appropriations Committee released a draft Labor-HHS Appropriations bill that cuts Department of Labor funding about 22%. It also proposes to change the funding cycle from the current program year to the fiscal year, causing an additional loss of financial support. The House Appropriations Committee has taken no further action on the bill. It is anticipated that neither the House or Senate proposals will be passed individually by their respective chambers. Negotiations between the House and Senate have begun to combine the remaining 9 appropriations bills--including Labor-HHS appropriations--into an omnibus bill. The House and Senate both approved H.R. 2055, the omnibus appropriations act of 2012 and the Senate adjourned for the year. (For a summary of the Labor-HHS provisions, please see below.)

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Policy Statements

Pennsylvania State Government

Federal Government

National Workforce Associations

  • NAWB - The National Association of Workforce Boards
  • NWA - National Workforce Association
  • NAWDP - The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals
  • NASWA - The National Association of State Workforce Agencies
  • NNSP - The National Network of Sector Partners
  • NSC - National Skills Coalition