The Alliance for Opportunity applauds House and Senate leadership for including vital workforce reforms in the end-of-year legislative package.

For too long, our citizens have been on the sidelines unable to move from surviving on government programs to lives of upward mobility. Even as over 7.4 million jobs remain open, employers struggle to find workers. The solution to this is not uniform, and we must allow states to innovate. HR 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, included in the end of the year Congressional spending package, does just that.

This is the first chance in a decade to reform a system that fails job seekers, employers, and those who are living in poverty. This bill includes a State Flexibility Pilot Authority that allows five initial states to waive provisions of WIOA Title I in order to develop new demonstration projects and design service delivery systems that serve businesses and workers best. This mirrors the One Door to Work Act (H.R. 6274 and S. 3825) introduced by Representative Burgess Owens (UT) and Senator Mitt Romney (UT). In addition, Section 115 also empowers state legislatures to reorganize their local areas to meet their modern workforce needs.

These paths to flexibility empower states to integrate their safety net and workforce programs so that citizens who need it the most can enter “One Door” and receive the support they need to get back on their feet and find work. This is an approach that has proven overwhelmingly successful in Utah and is a model worth emulating throughout the nation. Utah showed extraordinary economic resiliency during the COVID-19 unemployment crisis and has a strong track record of success connecting people to work.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and millions of Americans lost their jobs, most states struggled with outdated unemployment insurance systems that prevented them from quickly delivering benefits to those in need (and also resulting in massive fraud and abuse). Meanwhile, Utah’s integration of services and ability to shift resources allowed the state to deliver unemployment benefits quickly while also promoting rapid reemployment by connecting directly with 40% of unemployment insurance claimants and letting them know how the Department of Workforce Services could help them find a job,” stated in the Daily Signal.

More states want this opportunity to innovate, as demonstrated by a letter from 18 governors and a letter from 46 stakeholders in 17 states. We applaud the bipartisan, bicameral leadership that included this generational reform in the end of year spending bill. 

Signed,

Rachel Barkley, Executive Director, Alliance for Opportunity

Mason M. Bishop, Principal, WorkED Consulting; Senior Fellow, Alliance for Opportunity

Daniel Erspamer, CEO, Pelican Institute

Les Ford, Senior Fellow, Alliance for Opportunity

Randy Hicks, President, Georgia Center for Opportunity

Greg Sindelar, CEO, Texas Public Policy Foundation