Job Training Cuts in the Republican Budget

Earlier today, President Obama visited Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio to highlight how federal job training funding is helping unemployed workers get the skills they need to compete for jobs in high-demand, high-growth industries.

In communities like Elyria all across the country, federal job training programs are helping meet a critical need. As manufacturing jobs have shifted from assembly-line positions to advanced manufacturing, schools like Lorain County Community College have partnered with non-profits, business, and government to develop job training programs that help equip dislocated workers with skills that match employer needs. Many of these programs depend on federal funding through the Workforce Investment Act, which supports employment services and training programs that serve millions of workers across the country each year.

And yet just a few weeks ago, House Republicans passed a budget resolution that would cut spending for these kinds of services by over 5 percent in 2013 and 19 percent in 2014 – all while showering families making more than $250,000 per year with over $1 trillion in tax cuts. It’s an approach that fails the basic test of balance, fairness, and shared responsibility, and it would be a devastating blow to struggling middle class families in communities like Elyria across the country. Check out this chart to see how your state would be affected by these cuts.

Martha Coven is Associate Director for Education, Income Maintenance, and Labor