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SKILLS Act reduces waste, boosts support for job seekers

I am proud to report to the people of Rowan County that the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved legislation I authored to ensure that North Carolina’s job seekers and taxpayers get better results from their government in Washington.

The SKILLS Act targets federal waste by consolidating and streamlining more than 30 duplicative federal workforce education programs as highlighted by the Government Accountability Office.

At a time when 12 million Americans are searching for jobs and North Carolina’s unemployment rate continues to exceed the national average, the SKILLS Act will cut through the current maze of federal workforce development programs and create one Workforce Investment Fund. It will additionally reduce administrative costs and require transparency and accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent, ensuring that money is used to directly help job seekers, not to preserve bureaucracy.

The SKILLS Act also recognizes that the “suits” in Washington aren’t in the best position to help North Carolina job seekers find employment in our communities. Thus, it provides flexibility to states like ours and to local workforce boards by removing 19 mandates that micromanage Workforce Investment Board membership. The SKILLS Act grants local discretion to ensure that job seekers are treated as individuals and that states are not blocked from making further savings.

For more information on the SKILLS Act, please visit my website: www.foxx.house.gov.

— Rep. Virginia Foxx

Clemmons



Virginia Foxx is the U.S. representative for North Carolina’s 5th congressional district, which includes portions of Rowan County.