Show your support for workforce funding by September 19th!

The Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives has approved a budget bill for Fiscal Year 2026 funding programs administered by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Passed on a party-line vote, the bill will now advance for consideration by the entire House—where we need your voice to convey to your Representative that it would do enormous damage to our system of job training and employment services if passed. 

Specifically, this measure would: 

• Eliminate Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act Title I funding for Youth and Title II funding for Adult Education
• Impose a one-year freeze on WIOA Title I Adult formula funding for states that could lead to permanent elimination 
• Eliminate funding for the Senior Community Service Employment and Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations programs, as well as a range of programs supporting re-entry of justice-involved individuals
• Reduce funding for Job Corps programs by 50 percent

In total, these changes would cut federal funding for workforce development programs—already resourced at a lower level than virtually every one of our global competitors—by roughly half. 

In his opening remarks at the markup hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) characterized many of the programs that this measure would cut as “nice to have.” We need you to tell your Representatives that workforce programs are “must-have,” if we are committed to supporting successful businesses, economically secure workers, and thriving communities. 

------ WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT WORKFORCE FUNDING CUTS ------ 

We are asking you to take three actions in opposition to this dire threat: 

1. Please fill out this form to sign on your organization to this letter urging Representatives to oppose the HHS-Labor-Education funding bill, which will go to the entire New York Congressional delegation. THE DEADLINE FOR SIGN ON IS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19.
   
   
2. Directly contact your Member of Congress to ask them to reject the Labor-HHS-Education funding measure. We have provided a template for you to use, with guidance around sharing personalized information for your district and real-world examples of businesses, workers, and families whom these programs have served.
   
   
3. Share this communication and set of resources with others in your networks. 

NYATEP is working in close coordination with a range of national partners and will continue to share information as we receive it. With the current fiscal year ending on September 30, time is of the essence. Please act today, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to David Fischer, interim Executive Director at [email protected].