WORKFORCE: Murray, Harkin, Enzi, Isakson Statement on GAO Report

Washington,
D.C—Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Enzi
(R-WY), and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) released the following statement in response
to the new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the state of
federal workforce and training programs.

“One
of the main findings of today’s GAO report is that greater coordination is
needed across federal workforce and training programs.  We couldn’t agree
more.  And we believe that reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act is
critical to better aligning these programs to maximize coordination and
optimize successful job placement.

“Despite
a dramatic increase in demand for these programs in recent years and a stagnant
labor market, programs under the Workforce Investment Act serve over 9 million
individuals and hundreds of thousands of employers across the country.
 These programs place well over half of the Americans seeking support and
training and more than 80 percent of their clients retain their new jobs. The
system is working today but we recognize that more can be done to help our
nation’s job-seekers and
employers.  

“Over
the past two years we have been working in a bi-partisan effort to renew and
improve the Workforce Investment Act.  Today’s GAO report reaffirms the
work we have already been doing to enhance the coordination and alignment
between our workforce programs and other related federal programs.  As
part of this effort, we have been working to improve coordination across
federal workforce and training programs by requiring unified planning at the
state level, common performance measures to assess effectiveness, and
coordination of workforce and training services and strategies at the state and
local levels. 

“Helping
workers get the skills they need to get back on the job is not a partisan
issue, and it is an important part of getting our economy back on track. We
look forward to working together to reauthorize our country’s workforce
investment law this year, and to better serving workers, job seekers, and
employers alike.”