Washington Update – Appropriations/Budget
On Tuesday, April 30, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies approved a Labor-HHS spending bill that provides $13.3 billion for the Department of Labor for fiscal year 2020 (FY20) — a 10 percent or nearly $1.2 billion increase from FY19 enacted levels, and far above the Trump administration’s proposed cuts of nearly 10 percent.
The bill also includes $75.9 billion in funding for the Department of Education, a $4.4 billion or 6 percent increase. The bill makes available almost $4 billion, plus reimbursements, for the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act and the National Apprenticeship Act. Below is a chart detailing the funding:
| Adult Employment and Training Activities | $900,000,000 |
| Youth Activities | $964,000,000 |
| Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities | $1,103,360,000 |
| Dislocated Workers Assistance National Reserve | $370,859,000 |
| Native American Programs | $55,000,000 |
| Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers | $98,896,000 |
| YouthBuild | $127,500,000 |
| Ex-Offender Activities | $100,000,000 |
| Workforce Data Quality Initiative | $8,000,000 |
| Apprenticeship Expansion Under NAA | $250,000,000 |
The Association for Career Technical Education and Advance CTE criticized the bill, saying that it “shortchanges” career and technical education. Specifically, both groups expressed their disappointment in the less than 3 percent increase to the Perkins State Basic Grant Program as compared to an increase of over 6 percent to funding for other federal education programs. On Wednesday, May 8, the full House Appropriations Committee will consider the entire Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. Click here to watch the livestream. Click here to access the draft bill.
