The Presidential Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2020, presented earlier this month, includes a record-breaking $4.75 trillion in spending. Yet it comes with stagnant funding and deep cuts to workforce and education programs, including a 10 percent cut to the Department of Labor and the 12 percent to the Department of Education. Presented as “A Budget for a Better America,” the proposed cuts follow nearly two decades of disinvestment in the U.S. workforce.
Jina Krause-Vilmar, President and CEO of Upwardly Global, issued the following statement in response to the budget proposal:
“The next 20 years will bring dramatic disruptions to work as we know it. Technology, automation, and other innovations are poised to radically reshape our jobs. Investments in workforce training and education must ensure that talent can be developed to compete in this new future of work—and that talent comes from all communities. Yet this 2020 budget proposal continues a decades-long trend of disinvesting in our nation’s most critical resource: our workers.
In recent years, the White House has touted the creation of an apprenticeship program and pledged to strengthen career and technical education. Yet this budget indicates that such promises will remain unrealized. What’s more, this budget proposal comes on the heels of repeated attempts to rob the U.S. workforce of another critical resource: the immigrant and refugee workers that have powered it forward for generations.
Building a strong workforce means connecting all workers with opportunities to contribute and thrive. Upwardly Global is proud to be part of a vibrant ecosystem of organizations—workforce development groups, community colleges, local and national nonprofits—dedicated to building programs that connect U.S. workers with pathways to success in communities across the country.
As the new Congress contemplates the 2020 budget and the future of our country, we call for investments in programs that build a competitive workforce, welcoming communities and an equitable economy.”
Upwardly Global, founded in 2000, is the leading nonprofit organization in the U.S. helping work-authorized immigrants and refugees successfully translate their education, skills and previous careers into the U.S. workforce. To date, the organization has trained nearly 14,000 foreign-educated immigrants and has assisted over 6,000 individuals back into their career fields.