Washington Roundup March 7, 2003
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This week the Senate HELP Committee's Employment, Safety and Training Subcommittee held a hearing on the Administration's plan for the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The authorization of appropriations for the Act expires September 30, 2003. The hearing was conducted by Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Subcommittee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, and attended by Senator James Jeffords (I-VT). Testifying on behalf of the Administration's reauthorization proposal was D. Cameron Findlay, Deputy Secretary of the federal Department of Labor.

The need and availability of services for individuals with criminal records and treatment for individuals with alcohol and other drug addictions who enter the "one-stop delivery system" for job training and skill development were not specifically addressed, although the need to address barriers to training generally was mentioned. The Workforce Investment Act was signed into law as Public Law 105-220 in 1998 and replaced the Job Training Partnership Act. The Act authorized money for the creation of workforce investment systems that would provide services through "one-stop delivery systems" to unemployed or underemployed individuals. The Administration's WIA reauthorization proposal addresses five key areas of reform. These areas include:

$ Creating a more effective governance structure.
$ Strengthening the One Stop Career Center System.
$ Delivering comprehensive services for adults.
$ Creating a targeted approach to serving youth.
$ Improving performance accountability.

During the hearing, Senator Murray (D-WA) raised concerns about FY '03 funding cuts to the WIA budget and stated her support for the need to eliminate barriers to training and employment. Senator Jeffords (I-VT) expressed his concern for the WIA program's shift in focus from in-school to out-of-school youth and the proposed elimination of the Reintegration of Youthful Offenders Program. His remarks emphasized the importance of such youth programs in Vermont, where 1 in 7 males between the ages of 18 and 25 are incarcerated.

Deputy Secretary Findlay responded to these concerns by stating that funding for WIA remains adequate regardless of the cuts, especially when including the $3.6 billion in additional resources to states to fund the Personal Reemployment Accounts in FY 03. Recipients of these funds will be able to use the funds to purchase intensive reemployment services, such as counseling and case management, training, and supportive services such as transportation and child care available through either the One-Stop Career Center system, from other sources outside the One-Stop system, or in combination. In rsponse to the shift in youth programming, Deputy Secretary Findlay stated that the population most in need of WIA services are out-of-school youth, which includes youth who have dropped out of school and youth in the juvenile offender system or those youth who are most likely to end up there. He also commented that the shift would still allow for in-school youth to be served in out-of-school programs.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce also recently held a hearing regarding the reauthorization of WIA at which the Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, testified on behalf of the Administration's proposal. The Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness is scheduled to hold another hearing next week regarding the Workforce Investment and Rehabilitation Acts.

House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Holds Hearing on Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Reauthorization: ONDCP Director John Walters Testifies

This week, the House Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources held a hearing about the reauthorization of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which Congress currently is considering. The hearing was convened by Subcommittee Chairman Mark Souder (R-IN) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD), with several other Republican and Democratic members of the Subcommittee in attendance. John Walters, Director of ONDCP, was the sole witness to present testimony at the hearing.

In his testimony, Director Walters,

$ Explained the goals of Drug Strategy, which include: 1) stopping drug use before it starts (prevention); 2) healing America's drug users (treatment); and 3) disrupting the market (interdiction).

$ Reported on the downward trends of youth drug and alcohol use reported this year by the Monitoring the Future Survey.

$ Stated the need for ONDCP's reauthorization.

While members of the Subcommittee questioned Director Walters about many reauthorization issues, both Congressmen Souder and Cummings highlighted the issue of reduced resources for drug and alcohol prevention services. They expressed their concern that the Administration is proposing prevention program cuts at a time when the Administration is expecting more and better performance from these programs. The Administration's FY 04 budget proposes a $50 million funding cut for both the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the State Grants's Program portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program, two programs that support and provide technical assistance to community-based prevention programs, while for treatment the Administration has proposed an additional $200 million for the new drug treatment voucher initiative.