Partisan Funding Bill Proposes Deep Cuts to Workforce and Education Programs in FY27

House Republicans are proposing deep cuts to workforce and education programs that help workers gain skills, earn credentials, and connect to good jobs. While the bill includes modest increases for a handful of programs (including apprenticeship and community college training) it would eliminate several key workforce initiatives and reduce overall federal investment in the systems that prepare workers for a changing economy.

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved its 2027 Fiscal Year bill to fund Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education along party lines. The legislation would make harmful cuts to programs that support skills training and education including programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) eliminating $3.7 billion from the Department of Labor with most of that coming from the Employment and Training Administration and $8.14 billion from the Department Education. This runs counter to the investments more than 230 national, state, and local organizations urged Congress to make in workforce and education programs.

The proposal from House Republican appropriators is very similar to their proposal for FY26 and reflects many similarities to the president’s budget, particularly where programs are eliminated entirely.

Department of Labor – What the bill means for the Workforce System

The legislation eliminates funding for several key programs

• WIOA Youth which supports job training, education, career coaching, and other opportunities for teens and young adults, with a particular focus on serving Opportunity Youth

• Reentry Employment Opportunities which helps justice impacted youth and adults access training, work experience, and supportive services with a particular focus on post-release individuals and services.

• Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker (National Farmworker Jobs) Program which supports farmworkers and their dependents in advancing in agricultural jobs or entering new industries, including job training and housing supports

• Senior Community Service Employment Programs, which provides work experience and training for low-income, unemployed seniors

The bill also effectively eliminates WIOA Adult in FY2027. It does this by proposing $712 million in advance appropriations for FY28 (starting October 2027) while rescinding the same amount from advance appropriations made in the FY26 bill that were set to become available starting in October of this year. All that would remain for FY27 under this provision would be the $164 million in current funding available from July 2026 through June 2027. (* in chart below).

Beyond these eliminations, several programs face significant cuts. Job Corps funding is cut in half to $880 million which, while substantially more than the President’s budget request that would have cut the program by 90%, would still have devastating impacts on the program and the people it serves. Wagner-Peyser Employment Service Grants see a more measured $6 million cut to $669 million, but even small reductions diminish the workforce system’s ability to meet the nation’s significant skills training needs. Even where funding remains flat (as with the Workforce Data Quality Initiative and WIOA Dislocated Worker State Grants), inflation functions as a cut to program funding. Looking across the last 25 years, Department of Labor workforce programs have seen their real value cut nearly in half when adjusted for inflation.

This bill does not include adoption of the Administration’s Make America Skilled Again proposal which would combine a dozen workforce programs into a single block grant. However, the House bill’s alignment with the President’s budget Request on program eliminations is a reminder that block grant proposals are often a precursor to cuts (or go hand-in-hand with them).

Perhaps what is most surprising, given the bill’s overall direction, are the modest increases for a few programs:

• Strengthening Community College Training Programs increases by $10 million to $75 million

• Native American Programs and YouthBuild each see slight increases of $2.5 million, to $65 million and $107.5 million respectively

• Apprenticeship, a key priority for the Trump Administration, receives a $5 million increase to $290 million

• Dislocated Worker National Reserve receives a $25 million increase to $326 million

Department of Education – What the bill means for Students and Postsecondary Access

Like the President’s budget request, House Republicans propose to entirely eliminate Adult Education, programs that provide literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, English language skills, work readiness, high school equivalency, and wraparound services. Adult education programs help people with barriers to employment access higher education and career pathways, making this cut particularly harmful, especially for efforts to help more people participate in the economy. That cut stands in contrast to the treatment of Career and Technical Education, as the two programs are linked in appropriations. CTE State Grants are preserved and receive a $10 million boost.

The total maximum Pell grant increases $50 to $7445. However, the benefits of this increase are far outweighed by language in the bill that would pay for the $17 billion Pell shortfall by eliminating subsidized federal loan programs beginning July 1st, 2027. This would make college less affordable especially for low- and middle-income students who rely on the subsidized loan programs. Congress should address the Pell shortfall to ensure that Workforce Pell is not disadvantaged just as it is about to come online and that Pell recipients don’t face diminished awards, but that fix should not come at the expense of low- and middle-income students.

Additional education provisions include:

• Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS), a campus-based childcare program serving low-income students, is maintained at current funding levels

• Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants, which support people with disabilities in preparing for and entering employment, are funded at $4.626 billion — an increase of $121.6 million

• Basic Needs Grants are cut in half to $5 million. Access to supports like child care, transportation, food, healthcare, and other wraparound services are among the strongest predictors of whether workers can not only enter but succeed in training and education programs

Congress Talks AI While Cutting Workforce Training

One notable item in the bill’s report language is $15 million for Workforce Readiness and Artificial Intelligence Innovation Grants, intended to support connections to high-demand jobs and build AI, computer science, and related skills literacy. Congress and the Administration have shown growing interest in programs that support AI and advanced technology skills, but this grant is nothing more than a drop in the bucket. Especially when, at the same time, this bill makes significant cuts to the kinds of programs that already support workers’ access to in-demand AI skills – including those needed to build AI infrastructure, and understand, utilize and adapt to the changing technology. Meeting the growing demand for workforce training fueled in part by technological advancements requires investing in rather than cutting the programs that help workers prepare for jobs in those industries. Chronically underfunding the workforce system and then being disappointed by outcomes creates a self-reinforcing spiral that does not meet the needs of workers or businesses.

What’s Next?

As was the case last year, a more measured proposal is expected to eventually emerge from the Senate, though appropriators on that side of the Hill face stronger headwinds this year. Senators have not yet reached agreement on topline numbers, and while some of the worst cuts from the House bill are likely to be eliminated from a final appropriations package, the best-case scenario for FY27 is likely another year of flat funding and the process is likely to be drawn out beyond midterm elections.

The benefit of a long timeline is that it provides advocates more time to make the case for the importance of programs and educate policymakers on the harm that cuts will have on workers, students, businesses and communities. National Skills Coalition will keep the network updated as appropriations developments arise and will have opportunities to take action coming soon.