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Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), today issued the following statement on the passage of her legislation, the Supporting Knowledge & Investing in Lifelong Skills Act (SKILLS Act), H.R. 803, from the House of Representatives:

“The ‘suits’ in Washington do not have all the answers when it comes to helping millions of jobless Americans compete for work. The best insight and the best services for job seekers are found at the local level – with local leaders, local workforce boards, community colleges, and local employers who have jobs to fill. Those individuals should be at the helm of America’s workforce development strategy, and the SKILLS Act puts them there.

“The SKILLS Act recognizes that North Carolinians know more than Washington does about what it takes to find a job in our state. This legislation is a step in the right direction for job seekers and for taxpayers. It will simplify the current one-size-fits-all maze that the vast majority of job seekers never complete; it will prioritize education for in-demand jobs; and it will ensure that hard-earned taxpayer money spent on workforce education programs is actually being used to prepare people for good jobs, and not to pad bureaucracy.

“The SKILLS Act is a clear alternative to the complicated status quo that is failing American workers and taxpayers. The Senate should take action on the SKILLS Act without delay.”

The SKILLS Act will streamline 35 duplicative federally run workforce development programs – as highlighted by a 2011 GAO report – and create one Workforce Investment Fund. Additionally, the SKILLS Act will:

For a list of the legislation’s supporters, click here.
To see the current workforce development maze, click here.
To see the SKILLS Act alternative, click here.

Watch Foxx address the House of Representatives on the SKILLS Act here and here.

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