March 5, 2025 -- The House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing, Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for America’s Workforce.

Subcommittee Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT) opened the hearing by noting, “a strong workforce development system is vital to growing our economy and providing economic opportunity for every American.” Owens further noted that reforms to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) are needed to help the public workforce system realize this promise and indicated his strong support for A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA), the WIOA reauthorization proposal the committee and wider House advanced in the last Congress. In particular, Owens highlighted his home state of Utah’s One Door Policy, which integrates workforce development and human services in the state, and how aspects of ASWA have been modeled off of this systems approach.

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), the subcommittee Ranking Member, noted the bipartisan support for workforce development, and highlighted CharlotteWorks, one of North Carolina’s workforce boards and a NAWB member, which generated $225 million in economic value and served 42,000 jobseekers last year. She lauded many of the provisions contained in ASWA, especially provisions to help Opportunity Youth, young people ages 16-24 that are not in school and not employed. She noted that the public workforce system has been chronically underfunded, and that it needs more support to be effective.

The hearing featured testimony from several witnesses including Stephen Moret, President and CEO, Strada Education Foundation; Molly Dodge, Senior Vice President of Workforce and Careers, Ivy Tech Community College; Robert Sainz, Board Chair, National Youth Employment Coalition; and Nick Moore, Director of the state of Alabama’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation.

Throughout the hearing both lawmakers on the subcommittee and witnesses voiced strong support for ASWA and highlighted various aspects of the legislation they particularly support. The committee especially focused on the WIOA Youth programming, and the economic impact of not engaging Opportunity Youth. Sainz noted that Opportunity Youth are not contributing to the tax base, more often rely on public assistance and public health programs, the likelihood of becoming a homeowner is much less likely, and they are more likely to end up involved in the justice system.

The National Youth Employment Coalition noted that there are currently 4.3 million Opportunity Youth. Sainz noted that their opportunities in life become more limited the longer it takes to reach them. He also noted the important role that supportive services - such as transportation, food, and housing - play in serving this population.

Sainz noted that the cost to incarcerate someone is $150,000 per year, while Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) noted that Pittsburgh’s Partner4Work, a NAWB member, serves WIOA youth, and that nearly 70% are employed after leaving the program. She lauded the program as a “school-to-prison pipeline disrupter.”

Sainz also highlighted the vital role of workforce boards. “They’re the ones that are actually saving lives,” he said. “This is not about putting people to work, it is about changing lives.” Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) agreed with this sentiment noting that for participants, these programs “not only changed their life but it changed the lives of their families.”

Witness Moore noted that the public workforce system needs to be modernized and that too many WIOA funds are currently used on administration rather than direct services for participants. Alabama’s workforce system was held up as a model that should be replicated.

Other topics covered at the hearing included the need for improved data quality and related transparency, the potential impact of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) both on the public workforce system and labor markets, improving coordination with education systems, including Career and Technical Education (CTE), and more. WIOA’s central role in disaster relief was also highlighted, with witnesses and lawmakers discussing that 11 counties in North Carolina received support following the storms last year, through WIOA’s Dislocated Workers program. Sainz added that WIOA was instrumental in helping Californians deal with the aftermath of the recent wildfires and they also played a crucial role in supporting port workers during last year’s bridge collapse in Baltimore.

Adult education and literacy efforts were also raised, with members and witnesses discussing the role digital literacy skills have in today’s fast-changing economy. 

Committee members also discussed how to improve training program quality and were eager to learn more about the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), where it was suggested that states need to review and update each of the ETPL systems for quality and relevance to the local labor market.