Workforce Program Wins in FY23 Budget

Just after midnight on Tuesday, Dec. 20, Congressional leadership released the text of the FY2023 omnibus spending bill, which will fund federal government operations through Sept.30, 2023.

The 4,155-page spending bill comes in at over $1.6 trillion, split between $772 billion in non-defense spending and $858 billion for the military. The Senate will vote first on the legislation before sending it to the House and, upon passage, it will arrive at the White House in time for the president’s signature before the current continuing resolution funding government expires at midnight on Friday, Dec. 23.

PHCC legislative affairs worked tirelessly since late summer for inclusion of the National Apprenticeship Act in the final spending package. They also advocated for the inclusion of the JOBS Act, which would funnel Pell Grant monies to short-term job training programs that would create another avenue to careers in the HVAC space. However, neither the JOBS Act nor the National Apprenticeship Act was included in the final spending bill due to pressure to minimize non-defense legislative priorities.

HOWEVER, there have been substantial increases in workforce funding expected to benefit newcomers to the plumbing and HVAC trades. The Department of Labor’s registered apprenticeship program will be funded at $285 million, its highest level of funding ever. Additionally, Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA) grants will be funded at over $2.9 billion, providing money to fund training programs in high-demand fields such as HVAC and plumbing (the article below is for PHCC state executives wanting to learn more about how they can leverage WIOA). Perkins Career and Technical Education grants will be funded at $3.5 billion, helping secondary school students explore the building trades as a career option.

By Mark Valentini, Director of Legislative Affairs