 The U.S. House of Representatives last month cut funding for
workforce development and job training under the Workforce
Investment Act with approval of an appropriations bill."What we
are seeing is proposed cuts and reductions in the federal budget
that would severely impact job training and re-employment services
at the critical time when we're trying to put people back to work,"
said Warren Ribley, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity, at a Thursday news conference.
But many of Illinois' Republican congressmen, now in the majority
in the House, said it's essential to make the budget cuts.
"In these tough economic times, all areas of the budget should
expect to share some of the sacrifice," said Andrew Flach,
communications director for Illinois U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren,
R-14th District. "The out-of-control spending in Washington has got
to be checked."
Congress needs to alter its course and get serious about fixing
the nation's budget crisis, according to Jon Schweppe, spokesman for
U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-17th District.
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-16th District, said his
boss would prefer to cut every federal program by 5 percent across
the board.
"But the workforce programs were cut more heavily in the last
spending bill that came up," Rich Carter said. "(Manzullo) voted for
those cuts because we significantly need to cut spending."
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has said in the past that he is
against cutting "critical services" that help put people back to
work.
But the financial landscape isn't pretty. The federal debt stands
at nearly $14 trillion. And President Barack Obama's 2012 budget
proposal projects a $1.6 trillion deficit. Although Democrats
control the Senate and White House, and Republicans control the
House, Obama of late appears to be seeking a compromise on spending,
political observers have noted.
[to top of second column] |
DCEO's Ribley said programs need to be individually looked at
before funding gets cut.
"Look at those (programs) that provide a good return (on)
investment," Ribley said. "That's why we are here to show, and we
can demonstrate that this program, it really doesn't cost in the
long run
"It pays by putting people back to work in meaningful jobs where
they're earning salaries, they're paying taxes," he said. "That's
really the only long-term solution to economic recovery."
For 2011, Illinois received $21 million from the federal program.
If the funding is not restored, 26 workforce development boards and
113 career training centers would close, and tens of thousands of
Illinoisans would lose their opportunities at retraining, according
to Ribley.
"I visited a OneStop
(career) center Thursday and know the great work they do, but every
government program cannot be the one to not get cut ... as that's
how we got into the situation we're in today," said U.S. Rep. John
Shimkus, R-19th District. "I understand that those cuts will be real
and will be felt. But they must be made."
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MARY J. CRISTOBAL]
 |
