As a training and development specialist during normal business hours, I’m an avid reader of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) Blog. In my reading this morning, I came across a post about the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), also known as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. Sadly, with all the commotion about stimulus and healthcare reform, my attention has been elsewhere, and I missed the fact that the WIA was once again not renewed, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. But in this economy, is that wise?
The latest WIA legislation, HR 4271, was introduced on December 10, 2009 by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), John Kline (R-MN), Howard McKeon (R-CA), Phil Roe (R-TN), Mark Souder (R-IN), and Addison Wilson (R-SC). As a Democrat, it pains me to ask for support for a fully GOP sponsored bill, but I believe it’s a move we need to make in this economic environment. The Stimulus Bill didn’t work. Extending unemployment isn’t fixing things either. We need a better, long-lasting solution.
I am not by any means arguing that I agree with every word of HR 4271; the bill could use some work. But the principle behind the bill is dead on. We live in a world of rapid technological advances, rapid globalization, and rapid commoditization of products. The competition is biting at our heels. As a Nation, we have to do more to keep the workforce trained and ready for the future. As programming and IT jobs move to places like India and Pakistan to increase cost effectiveness, the middle-class workers losing those jobs need help. They are the people who don’t want unemployment. Let’s face it. They can’t pay their mortgages and feed their kids on a paltry unemployment check, and they don’t want to. They would rather work three jobs than accept a handout. Aren’t those people worth the investment? Won’t those people turn their gratitude into contributions to others? Let’s invest the government’s money—OUR tax dollars—in something that will actually pay off for a change.
I encourage you first to acquaint yourself with HR 4271. Then, I encourage you to take the advice of ASTD blogger Michael Ferraro, “If you are in a Congressional district of a member on the House Education and Labor Committee, you should reach out and talk to them about WIA and why it should be reauthorized. “ Get involved. Make it better, and help get it passed. This a bill that can really help middle-class Americans. As JED Bartlet once said ( 
), “education is the silver bullet,” and Americans need re-training to fulfill the workforce roles of the 21st Century.
