Re-Authorization: Frustration, to say the least, is the word here in DC as we see WIA's mark-up delayed yet again. Final confirmation was received of what we had been hearing for the last few days from Members - the anticipated August mark-up for the Senate draft will not happen. It's not just us that gets frustrated, though. We heard directly today from one of the key Senators negotiating the bill on the HELP Committee about his frustration regarding the latest wrangling over the bill's language. Apparently the major issue is a new twist on a long running feud; labor -v- business. In the current scenario, the disagreements are over the composition of the state WIBs. Not sure when we might expect some resolution to the issue, but it has delayed the markup three times already with no imminent solution. Few Republicans on the Committee are supportive of the bill at this point and it is absolutely essential that it is viewed as a bipartisan bill in order to gain Senate floor time, a prospect that has dimmed considerably over the last few weeks.

Debt Ceiling Debate: Senator Reid and Speaker Boehner both offered proposals this week that were not that far apart on specific spending cuts to help resolve the debt ceiling crisis. While these leaders are currently tweaking their proposals to gain greater support and it is certainly not great news to anticipate cuts, appropriators tell us the initial plans would have frozen overall spending for the next two years at roughly current levels and provided spending caps that at least offer more certainty about the overall level of funding for domestic programs than the yearly scramble we have seen lately. No one knows the extent of the expected cuts at this point since both sides are working to re-craft their proposals after the Congressional Budget Office estimated that neither achieved the overall dollar for dollar savings necessary to increase the debt limit, but we expect the total discretionary cuts to reach just over $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

Budget: While the debt ceiling discussions are underway, looming is the October 1 for the FY 12 appropriations bills. Both the House and Senate are behind their normal pace in moving appropriations bills and both have chosen to delay taking up the Labor-HHS bill, the largest domestic spending bill which happens to fund WIA, until at least the fall, if they mark it up at all. The House allocation for the Labor-HHS bill is $30B less than this year, but again, no one yet knows the particulars and we've had more than one Member tell us they need the debt agreement to really have an idea of how much funding they will have available for the FY 12 appropriations bills. Expect the potential for another round of partisan fighting over the FY 12 appropriations bills.

What to do?: The next 6-7 weeks are critical. Congress is set to recess early in August providing a prime time for you to have conversation with them and to get them into your WIB meeting or to the one-stop so they can discuss and see the impact of the continuing jobs dilemma.

BUT, you need data:

What numbers are you seeing at the one-stop?

What is your job order volume?

What is your market penetration in your driver industries for their hiring needs? How many go to work?

What wages are they making? How many stay at work?

I was at a meeting of major foundations last week where the workforce system was chastised by a Fortune 100 CEO for not having any data on how many places job seekers are retained in the labor market. We know that number, or shame on us if we don't. We've had more than one Member of Congress mention that they visited a one-stop and no one could tell them the performance numbers. Everyone in our organizations should know the performance numbers.

Nationally everyone banters about the "fact" that there are millions of jobs that go unfilled every day. Many seemingly not really aware of or acknowledging the enormous chasm of transportation, lack of appropriate skills and/or an inability to move, and the affect that these factors have on a dislocated worker filling that vacancy. Not to mention, Monday's New York Times article that openly talks about employers' aversion to interview or hire the long-term unemployed.

We have been silent too long about re-authorization and about budgets. Now is not the time to sit back. There are millions of Americans who are trying to find work and employers who are frustrated by an inability to hire the skills they need. The good news is that we can bridge this chasm. This is what we do. We collect and analyze labor market data. We convene employers and others to better understand the data's meaning and the trends that might be hidden. We communicate to the workforce system what we know about the market so people can make informed decisions about the training they might need to pursue and we help them figure out how to afford it. We partner with local Chambers of Commerce, economic development agencies, educational institutions, community-based and faith based organizations and a host of others to effectuate changes and secure supports necessary to advance our employers and our job seekers. We then evaluate the investments being made and make judgments on the efficiency and effectiveness of those investments. We are at the heart of the jobs issue.

BUT if we don't show and tell policy-makers this is what we do and this is how well we are doing it in the labor market environment we are in, which we can explain to them through data, then who will? YOU have the power to make change in Washington. If you wait for the "national" folks in DC to make it happen, I have great fear it won't. We can't be everywhere and we can't contribute to every campaign and we can't vote everywhere. You are, you do, and you will. WIB members participate in the political process and the people we serve all live where votes matter. We can support your efforts here in DC by reinforcing the message of what you do and demonstrate the national data and impacts, but without your efforts, it is for naught. The reauthorization of WIA is irrelevant if there is no funding to provide for workforce programs. Now is the time to tell our story. Let me know what you hear from your elected officials over the August recess.

Thank you for your constant support.

Sincerely,

Ronald D. Painter