This week, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. The annual funding measure proposes significant increases for many of the federal workforce development programs that help support training and employment services, like those offered by local Goodwill® organizations.
READ MORE from House Moves to Increase Funding for Workforce Programs
Goodwill recently participated in two events held by the Biden-Harris Administration focusing on workforce development, the Talent Pipleline Challenge event and the Good Jobs Summit.
The 2023 fiscal year (FY23) begins on October 1st and Congress needs to pass an appropriations bill or a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
READ MORE from House Preparing to Markup Appropriation Bills
Older Americans Month is observed every May to celebrate older Americans and their many contributions to our communities, as well as to promote independent living, wellness, social engagement and employment among aging adults.
READ MORE from Recognizing the Contributions of Older Americans in May
The WIOA of 2022 passed along party lines 220-196. Four Republicans voted for the bill, along with every Democratic member. All Democratic and bipartisan amendments were approved on the floor, and amendments offered solely by Republicans were defeated.
READ MORE from Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Bill Passes House
There is strength in numbers, and this week included numerous opportunities for Goodwill Industries International to highlight some of our powerful partnerships and the good that can come when the public, private and nonprofit sectors work together.
Your support helps us achieve our mission, not just during Goodwill Week — but every day of the year.
On his first day in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government which directed the Federal Government to advance an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda. As a result, over 90 federal agencies across the federal government, including all Cabinet-level agencies as well as over 50 independent agencies, recently released Equity Action Plans which outline steps being taken to improve equity and racial justice.
READ MORE from Biden Administration Releases Equity Action Plans
The American workforce is experiencing a period of unprecedented disruption where many employers struggle to find qualified workers to fill over 11 million job openings. But for many jobseekers with a criminal background, particularly those reentering the workforce after incarceration, finding employment can be a daunting hurdle to overcome. President Joe Biden recently issued a proclamation marking April as Second Chance Month, a time to raise awareness of the challenges facing people that have been involved in the criminal justice system and to spotlight the important work being done by community-based organizations like Goodwill® to empower these individuals to achieve career and life success.
The administration recently submitted its FY23 budget proposal to Congress, outlining three core values: “fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and abroad, and a commitment to building a better America.” The $5.8 trillion proposal budget details for the President’s “Unity Agenda” announced at the State of the Union in February, which aims to tackle the opioid crisis, bolster the mental health system, and fund research for his Cancer Moonshot program. However, the administration declined to outline the costs of elements from the president’s signature Build Back Better (BBB) bill as negotiations may continue. Instead, the proposal includes a placeholder for further action in the form of a “deficit-neutral reserve fund” to pay for key components of what was in the BBB, without providing specifics on the costs of such proposals – such as restarting the Child Tax Credit, Universal Pre-K, or fighting climate change.
Today, nearly 100 Goodwill advocates including organization presidents and CEOs, mission leaders, communication professionals, volunteer board members, and more will meet virtually with hundreds of lawmakers and staff to discuss investments in America’s workers; changes to the workforce development system; and the impact of tax policies on nonprofits. They will be educating Congress about the role that Goodwill plays in their community.
READ MORE from Be an Advocate and Participate in Goodwill’s Virtual Advocacy Day
Approximately six months into Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22), Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill, funding the government for the remainder of the year, which ends on September 30. Until this point, the government had been running on a series of short-term continuing resolutions, the last of which was set to expire on March 11. While the House and Senate passed the measure before the deadline, another short-term resolution was put in place until March 15 to allow time to prepare the bill for the President’s signature.
