NDA Achieves Progress on Workforce Development in a Divided Congress
April 16, 2024
By: Alex McIntyre
Following the 2022 midterm election and a series of congressional retirements, the political environment in Washington, D.C., is more divided than it has been in several years. Currently, Republicans have a narrow two-seat majority in the House of Representatives, while the Democrats hold a one-seat advantage in the Senate along with control of the White House. As both parties in Congress remain deadlocked on their legislative priorities, NDA has been able to navigate difficult political waters to achieve meaningful progress on legislation to improve the nation’s workforce development system.
Labor shortages and the growing “skills gap” in the nation’s workforce has been a prominent concern of demolition contractors and the entire construction industry for several years. These negative trends were only exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 400,000 construction jobs across the country remaining unfilled since 2020. NDA member companies have faced unprecedented obstacles in recruiting and retaining qualified employees to work in the demolition industry. The ongoing struggle to maintain a robust and qualified workforce pipeline presents difficult economic challenges for contractors, both now and in the future.
In light of these challenges, NDA has made workforce development reform one of its top legislative and regulatory priorities in Washington, D.C., over the last several years. NDA has worked overtime to raise awareness among lawmakers and regulators regarding the negative effects that labor shortages are having on the demolition industry and economy as a whole. To stress the importance of this issue, NDA has met with lawmakers and White House officials, submitted official comments to Congress and federal agencies, and collaborated with other like-minded organizations in the business community.
These advocacy efforts have gotten the attention of Washington policymakers and are now starting to bear fruit in the form of Congressional action. Both parties in the House of Representatives came together earlier this month to pass the first significant overhaul of the nation’s workforce development system since 2014. By a strong bipartisan vote of 378-26, the House recently passed NDA-backed H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act. This legislation reauthorizes and updates the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which is the primary law that implements federal workforce development programs.
The bill makes significant improvements to the workforce development system to help address labor shortages, boost skills development, and provide resources for workforce training and education. Among many provisions, H.R. 6655 creates an emphasis on employer-led initiatives that equip workers with the skill sets to fill jobs in critical industries, such as construction. It strengthens pathways for economic opportunity by emphasizing work-based learning for youth, codifying a program to help individuals released from incarceration transition back to employment, and enhancing workforce education programs at community colleges that align with in-demand jobs.
It also modernizes the delivery of services to jobseekers by directing states to periodically reassess whether their WIOA “local areas” match the labor markets and economic development initiatives of the state, while encouraging the use of virtual services and existing community hubs to reach more jobseekers at a lower cost.
In addition to H.R. 6655, the House Education and Workforce Committee has approved H.R. 6585, the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, which would expand Pell Grant eligibility to include high-quality, short-term training programs and provides opportunities for students and workers to gain new skills in high-demand fields. This bipartisan bill is also supported by NDA and is awaiting a final vote on the House floor.
While a strong effort is still needed to get these bills passed by the Senate and signed into law, it is encouraging that workforce development reform has been one of the few issues to see significant bipartisan support and progress in a bitterly divided Congress. NDA and its coalition partners have played an instrumental role in building support for this legislation thus far and will seek to capitalize on the momentum in the months ahead.