The House Education and Workforce Committee has approved its latest WIOA Reauthorization bill, A Stronger Workforce for America (ASWA) of 2026, along a party-line vote, 19-14. Importantly, this version of ASWA, which is similar to previous versions considered by Congress in December 2024, is not bipartisan.
The most significant policy change, which led to Democrats pulling their support for the bill, would legally move Title II, Adult Education, from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor. The Trump Administration has moved several Education offices, including the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, to the Department of Labor via Inter-Agency Agreements (IAAs).
For local workforce development stakeholders, ASWA 2026 also includes concerning provisions including:
- Establishes a 50% training requirement for Adult and Dislocated Worker accounts (with a 10% set aside for supportive and individualized career services)
- Allows an additional 10% to the Governor’s Reserve for Critical Skills Industry grants (this would increase the effective Governor’s Reserve from 15% to 25%)
- Creates a Single State Board redesignation process for states with a population under 5.1 million people or 5 or fewer local workforce development areas.
ASWA 2026 would also enhance a previously proposed state block grant pilot program, entitled the ‘Make America Skilled Again Block Grant Pilot.’ This pilot program would allow up to 10 states to experiment with a block grant approach to WIOA funding. The previous version of the pilot would have applied to five states.
There are other aspects of ASWA 2026 that local workforce development stakeholders support. The bill would provide the ability for the workforce board to serve as the One Stop Operator, additional flexibilities on funding caps for incumbent worker training, and improved ETPL/data provisions.
However, the impact from the more limiting provisions led many local workforce stakeholder groups to withhold support for the broader package. Coming back to the advocacy message, it remains important for local workforce development boards, in coordination with program partners like employers, to identify these priorities with your federal representatives so that any WIOA Reauthorization product will reflect local demand.
