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WASHINGTON – United States Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.-5) voted today for H.R. 27, the Job Training Improvement Act. This bill, which passed the House 224-200, will strengthen America’s job training system and help states and localities prepare workers to find quality jobs.

“I want more money for workers who need job training and less to money for Washington bureaucrats,” said Rep. Foxx. “As a former community college president, I understand as much as anyone just how important this job training money is for the people in my district.”

The Job Training Improvement Act will help streamline the country’s job training system by reducing unnecessary rules and regulations, consolidating programs, increasing cooperation among workforce development partners, increasing flexibility and reducing administrative costs.

The legislation builds upon reforms made in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) improvements that were implemented in 1998. However, while those reforms have provided workers with tools necessary to rejoin the workforce or retrain for better jobs, several areas of waste and inefficiency still plague the system.

Also included in the job training bill are hiring protections for faith-based service providers that participate in the job training programs. The 1964 Civil Rights Act protects the rights of religious organizations to take maintain their mission in their hiring practices.

“This debate is about whether a religious organization should have the ability to select employees who share common values and sense of purpose. This is a vital criterion for all organizations, especially religious organizations,” said Rep. Foxx during debate on the House floor this afternoon. “A secular group, such as Planned Parenthood or the Sierra Club, which receives government money is currently free to hire based on its ideology and mission, but still use federal funds… How can we allow this for groups such as these and not allow it for groups who are religious by nature?”

Finally, H.R. 27 will offer personal reemployment accounts of up to $3,000 to help unemployed Americans to purchase job training and other services such as child care, transportation services and housing assistance as they try to get back to work. These personal reemployment accounts are available by application in competitive grant processes.

“I am delighted that we have passed the Job Training Improvement Act so that those people in the Fifth District who desperately need job training services may benefit,” said Rep. Foxx.

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