Washington Update

Despite the lack of floor action so far on any of the 12 appropriations bills, House and Senate Democratic leaders announced Thursday that they still plan to pass the FY 2009 Defense spending bill before the end of the current fiscal year on September 30.

On Thursday, July 18 the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the $119.7 billion FY09 Military Construction-VA funding bill, and also reported out a $36.6 billion foreign operations bill and $20.3 billion Agriculture appropriations bill. Despite this movement, a continuing resolution is still the most likely scenario for dealing with the remaining spending bills because of time constraints in Congress.

Appropriations Committee leaders in both chambers have expressed the view that the Defense and Military Construction appropriations measures will likely be the only two spending bills completed this session. But floor action in both chambers may not come until September, when Congress returns from the August recess.

This means that a continuing resolution (CR) will need to be passed by Congress before their planned adjournment September 26th. It remains to be seen whether the final Defense bill will be sent to the President as a stand-alone bill or serve as the vehicle for a CR to keep the government running into early next year.

ETA Releases

• Workforce Innovations 2008: A Retrospective Look through Journals, Blogs and Videos
  July 17, 2008

• NSF Announces Funding Opportunity under Partnerships for Innovation Program; Universities and Community Colleges Eligible to Apply
  July 17, 2008

• White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and California Volunteers to Hold August 18 Conference in Sacramento
  July 16, 2008

• InnovatingNetworks.net Debuts in New Orleans with the Start of Workforce Innovations 2008
  July 15, 2008

• ETA Announces Availability of New Workforce Solutions Developed by HGJTI and CBJTI Grantees
  July 14, 2008

• SGA/DFA-PY 08-04: ETA Publishes Second Amendment to Clarify "Strength of Partnerships"
  July 14, 2008

• Trade Adjustment Assistance: ETA Seeks Comments on Proposed Extension of Petition Forms
  July 10, 2008

Upcoming Meetings

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!!

WDC 20TH ANNUAL CONGRESSIONAL FORUM
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

WDC Board Meeting/Peer-to-Peer Best Practices Session
Monday, September 22, 2008

You are cordially invited to participate in the 20th Annual Congressional Forum of The U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council (WDC) on Tuesday, September 23, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the St. Gregory Hotel & Suites, 2033 M Street, NW in Washington, DC 20036. Click here for a preliminary draft agenda.

Prior to the Congressional Forum, the WDC Board meeting, as well as a peer-to-peer best practices exchange on a variety of topics, will be held on Monday, September 22 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Please share this invitation with colleagues you think would be interested in participating in a national networking opportunity in Washington, DC. Click here for a description of the Congressional Forum for you to disseminate.

You may now register online at http://usmayors.org/2008CongressionalForum.

If you prefer, you may complete the registration form manually. To access the registration and hotel reservation form click here and fax it to our meeting department at (202) 467-4276.

Room reservations must be made by calling the hotel directly. Please identify yourself as an attendee of The U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting to ensure the group rate. The deadline for hotel discount rate is August 20, 2008.

USCM/NWA Pre-Conference Session for 2008

The WDC is planning on conducting another session at the NWA Conference in Tampa, FL in November 2008. We have made arrangements to provide rooms at the main hotel, The Waterside Marriott hotel in Tampa from November 29 to Dec 2, 2008. Please register as soon as possible as rooms are going fast and we may not be able to guarantee you the conference rate of $149.00. You can visit the NWA website at http://www.nwaonline.org/Events.asp or call the hotel at 813-221-4900.

Please be advised that as a Workforce Development Council member, you are eligible for a special conference rate. Please enter the Special Code: "NWA" when registering.