SKILLS BLOG

NSC joins Rally to Restore Balance.

July 25, 2012

National Skills Coalition to Join Policymakers, Employers, Workers to Call for Restoring Balance, Protecting America’s Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Skills Coalition will join Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, employers, working parents, and numerous groups representing health, education, and labor priorities to call for a balanced approach to deficit reduction that avoids sequestration at a rally Wednesday in Upper Senate Park. 

Who: Speakers include Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA); Mayor Greg Stanton, City of Phoenix, Arizona; Martin G. Knott, Jr., President, Knott Mechanical; Rita Ngabo, Working Parent
What: Rally to Restore Balance; Avoid Sequestration
When: Wednesday, July 25th at 2pm ET
Where: Upper Senate Park (Area 2); Constitution and Delaware Avenues, adjacent to Russell Senate Office Building.

On January 2, 2013, the vast majority of federal nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs will face deep, across-the board cuts. These cuts will impact core government functions that support economic growth, strengthen safety and security, and enrich the lives of every American in every state and community across the nation. Affected programs include medical and scientific research, education and job training, transportation and infrastructure, public safety and law enforcement, public health, and weather monitoring and environmental protection, among others.

There are more than 12.5 million unemployed U.S. workers, and nearly 3.5 million current job openings. Employers report every day that they cannot find workers with the right skills. Yet sequestration would severely limit access to workforce development programs.

Impacts on workforce education and training under sequestration would include:

  • Nearly 730,000 fewer people—adults, dislocated workers, and youth—will receive job training and employment services.
  • Forty-nine states plus the District of Columbia already have waiting lists of more than 160,000 people for adult-education services. This will worsen under sequestration.
  • Funding for Career and Technical Education would be cut by over $100 million affecting 1.4 million students.