Budget Reconciliation
Congressional Republicans, along with the Trump Administration, continue to work through its ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’ a massive tax and spending package that would permanently extend existing tax cuts from the 2017 ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA),’ restrict federal spending on programs like SNAP and Medicaid, and extend the debt limit by nearly $4 trillion.
The House previously passed its version of this legislation by one vote – the Senate has made numerous changes to the House product and they are working through those adjustments. Importantly, Republicans are using a procedural tactic known as ‘budget reconciliation’ to advance the package with only 50 votes in the Senate. That will require that the legislation abide by the ‘Byrd Rule’ in the Senate which ensures that the provisions have a direct, mandatory spending impact and are not policy focused. The Senate Parliamentarian makes the decisions on those provisions and if language is deemed to be outside of those reconciliation rules/guidelines, it is removed from the language.
A prime example of this relates to SNAP – in both the House and Senate proposals, there is language shifting SNAP costs from the federal government to states. The House bill would have increased a state’s portion of SNAP benefits to up to 25% (based on error payment rate). The Senate reduced that 25% share to a topline of 15% in its proposal – however, the Senate Parliamentarian recently ruled that language to be ineligible for reconciliation rules. Republicans will either have to revise the language or remove it all together.
Make America Skilled Again (MASA)
Within the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Labor Budget request is a proposal to consolidate and eliminate eleven workforce development programs, including WIOA Title I, Migrant Seasonal Farm Worker, Re-Entry Opportunity, YouthBuild, etc into one block grant under a ‘Make America Skilled Again (MASA)’ effort. This proposal would cut $1.6 billion from the current funding levels of these programs and would be in addition to the proposed elimination of Job Corps.
Shifting to a block grant model for WIOA and other federal programs is not a new idea but with this Administration, and the ongoing impacts of DOGE, it feels more concerning. However, any Presidential budget request is met with skepticism in Congress and this specific proposal is no different. WIOA maintains strong bipartisan support and its policies remain in effect – to shift to a block grant, Congress would need to pass a new authorization AND fund it.
Given these dynamics, it is important to continue highlighting the good work happening with local workforce boards in your local areas. Congress does want to continue investing in WIOA – we need to share these success stories and the return on investment (ROI) within local areas to strengthen that support and push back on harmful policy and funding proposals.
Executive Orders
The Trump Administration continues to implement and follow the April 2025 Executive Orders related to workforce development and AI. The Administration is particularly promoting its goal to meet 1 million new apprentices. We are building our case for more integration with WIOA and apprenticeships – if you have success stories with registered apprenticeships, please let us know so we can share with the Administration and Congress.
