Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) expects the Senate bill to cut $23 billion from the debt over 10 years, the same total as last year’s proposed Senate bill. House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) announced that their version of the Farm Bill would likely cut federal spending by $38 billion over 10 years, which is $11 billion more in cuts than last year’s proposed House bill. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be reduced by $20 billion under the House proposed bill.

On January 1, most provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill were extend until September 30 of this year as part of the overall fiscal cliff deal (H.R. 8). Click here to view NADO’s legislative fact sheet on the Farm Bill.

On Thursday, April 25 starting at 10 a.m. (EST), NADO Treasurer Terry Bobrowski, Executive Director of the East Tennessee Development District located in Alcoa, TN will testify on behalf of NADO before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit in a hearing entitled Implementing MAP-21: The State and Local Perspective.

Bobrowski will testify on the strengthen the role of rural local officials in the statewide transportation planning and investment process that established and gave federal recognition of Regional Transportation Planning Organizations (RTPOs) for areas outside the boundaries of Metropolitan Planning Organizations in MAP-21.

Joining Bobrowski on the witness panel are Mr. Michael Lewis, Director, Rhode Island Department of Transportation; on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), The Honorable Bruce Starr, Senator, State of Oregon; on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Mr. Peter Varga, Chief Operating Officer, Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid); on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Mr. Richard Perrin, AICP, Executive Director, Genesee Transportation Council; on behalf of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO), and Mr. Edward Reiskin, Director of Transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).

Click here to watch a live webcast of the hearing on April 25 at 10 a.m. (EST). 

On April 15, Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME) and Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) sent a bipartisan letter to House Appropriators asking their support of FY2012 level funding of $257.5 million for EDA in FY2014. The letter also requests full funding for the Public Works program at $111million. The letter included 62 Members of Congress as co-signers. Click here to view the final letter.

National Community Development Week started twenty-seven years ago and is spearheaded annually by the National Community Development Association. Additionally, National Community Development Week provides the opportunity for communities to invite congressional members and their staff to learn more about the accomplishments of CDBG and HOME, visit projects, and meet with people who have benefitted from these programs.

For more information, click here.

The Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill that was added to the CR contains new funding levels for the Economic Development Administration. A detailed summary of the House CR and its effect on EDA can be found here.

The measure now goes to the President, which he is likely to sign into law. You can view the full text of H.R. 933 here.

A copy of Mr. McKinney’s full testimony will be placed in the Congressional record.  You can view a copy of his remarks here.

The Senate has not introduced legislation reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act, but has indicated it plans on releasing a draft in the coming weeks.  Introduction of a new bill will be the responsibility of Senator Tom Harkin and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Resources for the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act

• Text of H.R. 803
• View a complete summary of the SKILLS Act
• Summary and adopted amendments to the SKILLS Act from the Committee on Education and Labor

 Highlights of the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skill Act (H.R. 803) as reported by the National Skills Coalition:

• Eliminates all current membership requirements for state and local workforce boards, except for certain requirements relating to business and economic development representation, and locally elected officials;
• Eliminates provisions relating to automatic designation of local workforce areas, allowing state boards to designate local areas in consultation with the governor;
• Eliminates the requirement that local Workforce Investment Board’s (WIBs) give priority for services to low-income individuals;
• Requires states to set aside up to 25 percent of Workforce Investment Fund dollars to maintain Job Corps as a national program;
• Authorizes states to develop unified state plans, and consolidate funding for other federal training and social services programs—including funding for TANF, Trade Adjustment Assistance, Community Service Block Grants, and programs under state unemployment compensation laws—into such state plans; Mandates a minimum percentage of local area allocations that must be used for training services; and
• Sets common performance measures for the Workforce Investment Fund, adult education programs under Title II, and Vocational Rehabilitation programs under Title IV.

Major Provisions of the SKILLS Act:

• Eliminate and streamline 35 federal employment and training programs and create a Workforce Investment Fund to serve as a single source of support for employers, workers, and job seekers.
• Strengthen the role of employers in workforce training decisions by eliminating 19 federal mandates governing workforce investment board representation.
• Require state and local workforce investment leaders to outline the strategies they will implement to serve at-risk youth, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and other workers with unique challenges to employment.
• Promote accountability by establishing common performance measures and requiring an independent evaluation of programs at least once every five years.

Last week, U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Workforce Investment Act of 2013 (H.R. 798). House Democrats introduced a similar bill in the 112th Congress, but it was not considered by the full committee.

NADO legislative staff will continue to monitor this legislation and provide additional analysis on how this legislation could impact regional development organizations and local governments.