126th Morrison Congress

2nd Session

H.R. 126

Title of the Bill: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

Main Author(s): Rep. Hideaki Nakayama, Emily Chang, Henry Lin 2

Co-Sponsor(s): Sen. Joseph Chou, Mika Ro

BE IT ENACTED BY THE MORRISON CONGRESS

1 SECTION 1: Findings
2 Congress makes the following findings:
3 1) America currently faces a 6.1% unemployment rate, which is 9.5 million
4 people who are out of work. (I)
5 2) In total, more than 20 million Americans have been either out of work or
6 underemployed since 2009. (I)
7 3) At the same time, there are 4.6 million job openings in areas such as
8 manufacturing. These blue collar jobs offer around $60,000 a year or more;
9 its is both hurting the employee and employer. (I)
10 4) Existing program fail to bring down the bureaucracy and rise above
11 confusing jobs. 18 Billion tax dollars are spent per year on job-training
12 programs are not utilized well enough as only 50% of those who underwent
13 the training completed with skills that was right for the jobs sought. (II)
14
15 SECTION 2: Purpose
16 This bill provides an amendment and reauthorization of the Workforce
17 Investment Act of 1998, to increase the coordination among federal
18 workforce development and related programs; help job seekers access
19 employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the
20
economy and match other employers, etc.
21
22
23 SECTION 3: General Provisions
24 1) Ensuring pragmatic accessibility of one-stop centers and training
25 providers. a) Improve American Job Center (AJC) System: AJC will not deny
26 but ensure continuous improvement and access to job seekers and
27 employers, aim to help job seekers make informed career choices based on
28 their background and credentials, integrating intake, case management, and
29 report systems.
30 3) Setting common performance indicators of all core programs.
31 4) Eliminate previous programs and prevent the creation of new bureaucracy
32 and programs related.
 33 5) Better alignment of disability programs. a) Specific employment and
34 training services will be carried out so the individual with disabilities can
35 increase their chance in obtaining competitive integrated employment.
36 6) Support transitions to postsecondary education, training or employment
37 and requires evaluation and research into adult education activities: a)
38 Partner with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Perkins career
39 and technical education programs to educated the adults. b) State must
40 submit a four-year plan to prepare and educated skills to the workforce to
41 meet the needs between employees and employers. c) required to report on
42 performance, the progress of training, the background information (median
43 wages, credentials, potential for skill gains, etc.) d) DOL and DoED will
44 establish accountability system for the major programs. e) All reports from
45 states, local areas, and system approved trainers will be publicly available. f)
46 Programs will be evaluated by a third party with no affiliation at least every
47 four years.
48 7) Advanced manufacturing workforce development strategies and provisions
49 to support professional development for employment services staff. a) Foster
50 regional collaboration within each state by working with local developments to
51 meet the needs of local employers and employees.
52
53 SECTION 4: Definitions
54 1) Unemployed: without a job but available to work
55 2) Blue collar: relating to manual work
56 3) Postsecondary education: education after high school
57

Works Cited:

I. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/avi-yashchin/understanding-the-workfor_b_5595193.htm
l
II. https://www.doleta.gov/WIOA/Overview.cfm