This week, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers announced they have reached a deal on advancing legislation that would reform the workforce development system. The bill, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIO),represents a compromise between the SKILLS Act (H.R. 803), which passed the House in March 2013 on largely Republican support, and the Workforce Investment Act of 2013 (S. 1356), which passed through the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee with bipartisan support.
It is possible that the new legislation will be considered by the Senate in the coming weeks. It would then have to pass the House in order to become law. Information on the newly released bill includes:
- A one-page summary of the legislation
- The statement of managers, including a section-by-section summary of the legislation
- A summary of key improvements WIOA makes to current workforce development programs
- The text of the bipartisan, bicameral agreement