In an unexpected move, the Senate late last month passed the long-awaited reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act and, with it, adult and youth job training programs.

The bill cleared the Senate without debate June 29, nearly 15 months after the House passed its version of the WIA reauthorization.
Since the action was so unexpected, and Congress immediately left for its Fourth of July recess, details on the bill were sketchy. It was thought that the bill was unchanged from the version approved last May by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Raise Job Skills

The Senate bill "renews our commitment to raising the skills of the American workforce and helping workers compete in the job market," said bill sponsor Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Kennedy said the measure would expand opportunities for workers to find new or better jobs and "help the nation maintain its leadership in the global economy."

The bill also would reauthorize adult literacy progra[..]