[NYAPRS Enews] NCIL: Progress Made on WIA, Rehab Act Reauthorization

Tue Apr 17 10:13:10 EDT 2012

Significant Progress Announced and Hearing to be Held Tomorrow on
Reauthorization of WIA and Rehab Act!

The National Council on Independent Living is excited to announce
significant progress in the fight to reauthorize the Workforce
Investment Act (WIA), along with its contained Rehabilitation Act of
1973. H.R. 4227, Workforce Investment Act of 2012, has been introduced
in by Democrats in the House with included language by NCIL on the
historic establishment of an Independent Living Administration. This
means that there is now a bill in both the House and Senate containing
language creating the new national IL organization. WIA and the
Rehabilitation Act have not been reauthorized in over a decade, and we
sincerely support the introduction of this bill and efforts underway to
reauthorize this legislation. We are especially excited that this bill
contains provisions creating a new Independent Living Administration, an
idea that we know will increase opportunity and independence for
millions of Americans with disabilities.

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and Statewide Independent Living
Councils (SILCs) are particularly dependent on the reauthorization of
WIA and the Rehabilitation Act because this legislation governs how they
operate, and how efficiently our nation's Independent Living Program is
able to provide services. Updating WIA's provisions with the inclusion
of an Independent Living Administration will mean a historic investment
in Americans with disabilities, not in terms of dollars, rather the
structure needed to ensure that people with disabilities can live more
independently and better contribute to the greatness of our nation.

Republicans in the House have also created their own bill to reauthorize
WIA and the Rehabilitation Act, however it does not include language
creating an IL Administration. Representatives Virginia Foxx (R-NC),
Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), and Joe Heck (R-NV) introduced H.R. 4297,
the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012, and will hold a
hearing on the proposed Republican legislation tomorrow. NCIL encourages
advocates to write, call, or email the U.S. House Education and the
Workforce Committee urging them to adopt language that creates a new
Independent Living Administration.

Contact information:

Chairman John Kline

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce

2181 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Tel: 202-225-4527

Fax: 202-225-9571

Email the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee
<https://edlaborforms.house.gov/Contact/default.aspx>  

Watch the Hearing Tomorrow
<http://edworkforcehouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=2> !
The Republican bill will be up for discussion at the hearing tomorrow,
and we urge advocates to attend or watch it live.

Legislative Hearing on the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012

Tuesday, April 17 at 10:00 a.m.

2175 Rayburn House Office Building

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kilakwa.net/pipermail/nyaprs_kilakwa.net/attachments/20120417/5f66c3e3/attachment.html>