On December 12, National Skills Coalition joined with 200 organizations in sending a letter to Congress urging no further cuts to workforce programs.
Right now, Congress and the Administration are engaging in intense negotiations over how to avoid the impending “fiscal cliff.” Workforce and other crucial non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs are extremely vulnerable to further deep cuts.
NDD programs, including workforce development, have done their part for deficit reduction. Since 2010, NDD programs have been cut by 10 percent on average, with many programs cut by as much as 50 percent. Workforce development programs have been cut by 30 percent since 2001—with more than $1 billion in cuts just since 2010.
Furthermore, the budget caps put in place under the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) will severely restrict funding for NDD programs over the next decade. If sequestration—or any other deficit reduction plan that relies on NDD cuts—goes into effect, these programs will see additional deep cuts on top of the nearly $1 trillion in funding already lost under the BCA.
NSC strongly opposes further harmful cuts to workforce programs, and has advocated for Congress to adopt a balanced approach to deficit reduction.
