Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
History
History
-------

### Background

The first substantial federal training programs in the postwar period were enacted in the [Manpower Development Training Act](/wiki/Manpower_Development_Training_Act "Manpower Development Training Act") (MDTA; ) in 1962, although federal "employment policy," broadly defined, had its origin in New Deal era programs such as Unemployment Insurance (UI) and public works employment. Starting with MDTA, there have been four main federal workforce development programs. The MDTA provided federal funding to retrain workers displaced because of technological change. Later in MDTA's existence, the majority of funding went to classroom and on\-the\-job training (OJT) that was targeted to low\-income individuals and welfare recipients. Funding from the MDTA was allocated by formula to local communities based on factors of population and poverty. Grants under MDTA were administered through regional DOL offices and went directly to local service providers.

The [Comprehensive Employment and Training Act](/wiki/Comprehensive_Employment_and_Training_Act "Comprehensive Employment and Training Act") (CETA), enacted in 1973, made substantial changes to federal workforce development programs. CETA transferred more decision\-making authority from the federal government to local governments. Specifically, CETA provided funding to about 470 "prime sponsors" (sub\-state political entities such as city or county governments, consortia of governments, etc.) to administer and monitor job training activities. Services under CETA—which included on\-the\-job training, classroom training, and public service employment (PSE)—were targeted to low\-income populations, welfare recipients, and disadvantaged youth. At its peak in 1978, the PSE component of CETA supported about 755,000 jobs and accounted for nearly 60% of the CETA budget. CETA was amended in 1978 in part to create private industry councils (PIC) to expand the role of the private sector in developing, implementing, and evaluating CETA programs. The composition of PICs included representatives of business, labor, education, and other groups.

In 1982, changes to federal workforce development policy were made by enactment of the [Job Training Partnership Act](/wiki/Job_Training_Partnership_Act "Job Training Partnership Act") (JTPA). Major changes implemented under JTPA, which provided classroom and on\-the\-job training to low\-income and dislocated workers, included service delivery at the level of 640 "service delivery areas," federal funding allocation first to state governors and then to PICs in each of the service delivery areas (unlike CETA, which provided allocations directly to prime sponsors), prohibition of the public service employment component, and a new emphasis on targeted job training and reemployment. With a new emphasis on training (rather than public employment), JTPA required that at least 70% of funding for service delivery areas be used for training. Although this percentage was dropped to 50% in the 1992 amendments to JTPA, the emphasis on training remained.

The [Workforce Investment Act of 1998](/wiki/Workforce_Investment_Act_of_1998 "Workforce Investment Act of 1998") (WIA) replaced JTPA and continued the trend toward service coordination by establishing the One\-Stop system through which state and local WIA training and employment activities were provided and in which certain partner programs were required to be colocated. WIA replaced PICs with Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), which were responsible for the design of services for WIA participants. In addition to these changes, WIA enacted changes that included universal access to services (i.e., available to any individual regardless of age or employment status), a demand driven workforce system responsive to the demands of local area employers (e.g., the requirement that a majority of WIB members must be representatives of business), a work\-first approach to workforce development (i.e., placement in employment was the first goal of the services provided under Title I of WIA as embodied in the "sequence of services" provisions), and the establishment of consumer choice for participants who were provided with Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) to choose a type of training and the particular provider from which to receive training.

### Procedural history

The Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act (SKILLS Act) was introduced into the [United States House of Representatives](/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives "United States House of Representatives") on February 25, 2013 by [Rep. Virginia Foxx (R\-NC)](/wiki/Virginia_Foxx "Virginia Foxx"). It was referred to six House committees: [Agriculture](/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Agriculture "United States House Committee on Agriculture"), [Education and the Workforce](/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Education_and_the_Workforce "United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce"), [Energy and Commerce](/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Energy_and_Commerce "United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce"), [Judiciary](/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_the_Judiciary "United States House Committee on the Judiciary"), [Transportation and Infrastructure](/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Transportation_and_Infrastructure "United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure"), and [Veterans Affairs](/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Veterans%27_Affairs "United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs"). It was reported (amended) on March 12, 2013 alongside [House Report 113\-14 part 1](https://beta.congress.gov/113/crpt/hrpt14/CRPT-113hrpt14-pt1.pdf). On March 15, 2013, the House voted in [Roll Call Vote 75](http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll075.xml) to pass the bill 215\-202\.

The bill was received in the [Senate](/wiki/United_States_Senate "United States Senate") on March 18, 2013 and referred to the [Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee](/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee_on_Health%2C_Education%2C_Labor%2C_and_Pensions "United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions"). On June 25, 2014, the Senate changed the name of the bill to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, amended the bill, and then voted in [Roll Call Vote 214](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00214) to pass the bill 95\-3\. Before the bill's passage in the Senate, the House and the Senate spent several months debating compromise positions to find a bill they could agree on. The House then voted on July 9, 2014 to agree to the amendments that the Senate had made. The amended bill passed the House 415\-6 in [Roll Call Vote 378](http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2014/roll378.xml).

President [Barack Obama](/wiki/Barack_Obama "Barack Obama") supported the bill. He signed it into law on July 22, 2014 and it became .

The Departments of Labor and Education issued draft regulations on how to carry out the law on April 16, 2015, considered thousands of comments, and issued the final regulations June 30, 2016, effective October 18, 2016\.

### Debate and discussion

Senator [Lamar Alexander](/wiki/Lamar_Alexander "Lamar Alexander") (R\-TN) said that "it's too hard to find a job. It's too hard to create a job. We have some differences of opinion on what to do about it, but I think we agree that matching job skills to a job is a solution to millions of Americans."

Senator [Jack Reed](/wiki/Jack_Reed_%28Rhode_Island_politician%29 "Jack Reed (Rhode Island politician)") (D\-RI) said that "the need to improve our workforce investment system has crystalized during the [Great Recession](/wiki/Great_Recession "Great Recession")... employers say they have open positions they cannot fill because they cannot find workers with the skills they need today."

The original bill that the House passed focuses mostly on getting rid of redundant workforce programs, as identified by the [Government Accountability Office](/wiki/Government_Accountability_Office "Government Accountability Office"), while the Senate's earlier drafts kept all of the redundant programs and added additional ones.

The bill was supported by the [National Skills Coalition](/wiki/National_Skills_Coalition "National Skills Coalition").

The group [Business Roundtable](/wiki/Business_Roundtable "Business Roundtable") also supported the bill, arguing that the legislation "will narrow the skills gap and prepare American workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow."

### Amendments

In 2015, the bill was amended by the act entitled "To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to improve the Act" ().


How does the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act relate to other education or job training programs?