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[an error occurred while processing this directive] Governmental Affairs: Advocacy in action. Read current and previous Legislative Network Alerts. View a listing of the Legislative Network Members. Frequently asked questions about the Legislative Network. |
Legislative Network Alerts Alert Number 114 March 3, 2005 Action Suggested Update on H.R. 27, The Job Training Improvement Act of 2005 To: Members of the Legislative Network From: Patricia Leahy, Director of Governmental Affairs Last evening, as expected, the full U.S. House of Representatives adopted, on a roll call vote of 224 ayes to 200 noes, H.R. 27, as amended, the Job Training Improvement Act of 2005. THE WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT AMENDMENT WAS NOT MADE IN ORDER BY THE RULE AND, ACCORDINGLY, WAS NOT OFFERED AS AN AMENDMENT TO H.R. 27. The WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT AMENDMENT would have given Governors the authority to block grant additional WIA partner programs, including those administered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. The National Rehabilitation Association and all in the disABILITY community were opposed to this amendment. The Rule accompanying H.R. 27 did make in order three Democratic amendments, all of which were defeated on roll call votes and, for the most part, along party lines. We are attaching a link to the Congressional Record of yesterday that will advise you how your Member of Congress voted on this bill and on the three amendments which were defeated. When you access the link you will find a chart that has votes referenced in the order that they were taken. The last vote is the vote on final passage of H.R. 27. The link for the Congressional Record by day is http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/05crpgs.html The National Rehabilitation Association, once again, wants to thank all in our membership and all in the disABILITY advocacy community who contacted their Members of Congress on both the WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT AMENDMENT and on the bill itself and asked them to vote NO on the bill. We encourage you to follow up with your respective Representatives by either phone/or fax to thank your Member of Congress for voting against the bill, assuming your Member voted against the bill. If your Member did not vote against the bill, you may want to consider writing/faxing your Member of Congress and expressing in a very respectful way how disappointed you were that he/she had voted for a bill that will not serve well individuals with disabilities who seek careers and living independently. Now, it's on to the Senate where a WIA reauthorization bill is expected to be introduced in mid-to-late March, at least at this time. The present timeline for markup of the Senate WIA bill at the full Committee level is early April. During yesterday's debate on H.R. 27, commentators suggested that Senator Enzi (R.WY.), the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), may be looking at a WIA Senate bill that may be more comparable to the House bill, H.R. 27, noting that LAST YEAR'S bills (House and Senate WIA bills, which passed their respective Floors) were not conferenced because of many political and substantive differences between the two bills. THIS NEEDS TO BE MONITORED VERY CLOSELY. The Senate WIA bill is another vehicle (bill), as you know, for introduction of a WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT AMENDMENT, and we must continue to monitor this situation very closely here in Washington and in our States. I think it was Yogi Berra who said 'It ain't over, 'til it's over.' Continue to fight for what's right for all individuals with disABILITIES, especially those individuals with significant disabilities. Fight on, VR, Fight on. |
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