This op-ed by Steven Taylor of Stand Together Trust was published by The Hill on 01/12/24.
With unprecedented polarization and partisan rancor at an all-time high in the electorate and Congress, the smart bet for 2024 would be on continued gridlock and the scant prospect of bipartisan compromise.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the December recess. Last month, a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers bucked the partisan trend when they quickly advanced legislation to reform the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the law governing the nation’s public workforce system, which has languished for over a decade.
An overhaul of the law is long overdue. With more than 8.8 million vacant jobs in the U.S., enough available workers to fill only 70 percent of them, and lackluster labor force participation rates, we need as many work-capable Americans as possible pursuing work.