Aderholt Supports the SKILLS Act

Aderholt Supports the SKILLS Act
Legislation will empower employers, rein in bureaucracy and provide America’s workers with a more dynamic and effective network of job training services

Washington, D.C.— Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04) released the follow statement today after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 803, the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act:

“As our nation continues to struggle with high unemployment and record levels of debt, streamlining ineffective programs and promoting better use of taxpayer dollars is critically important,” said Aderholt. “The problem is, despite a multi-billion dollar annual taxpayer investment in federal job training programs, employers continue to struggle to find workers with skills necessary to fill in-demand jobs. Rather than helping employers and workers, our current cumbersome workforce training system is making it more difficult for workers to access important jobs skills and assistance, and fails employers who seek a highly trained workforce. The SKILLS Act is the solution. I am proud to support this legislation and hope to see its swift passage in the Senate.”

The SKILLS Act eliminates and streamlines 35 ineffective and duplicative programs, including 27 identified in a 2011 report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. The proposal creates a flexible Workforce Investment Fund to serve as a single source of support for workers, employers and job seekers.

Aderholt currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies for the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is a member of the Committee’s Commerce, Justice and Science; and Homeland Security Subcommittees, and also serves on the Helsinki Commission.

For more information about Aderholt’s work in Congress visit www.aderholt.house.gov.