NYEC Monthly Policy Highlights 02-18-2025

New Congress, Administration Off to a Fast Start  

Body Paragraph: The White House and the new Congress have started this new legislative year at a blistering pace – with lots of executive orders, legislative priorities, and confusion. NYEC staff are tracking these actions closely to determine their potential impact on our members. While we can decipher what the law may say, we need to hear from you about how these actions may impact you on the ground.  

• Federal Funding Freeze: As many of you may have seen, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shared a memo calling for all federal financial assistance to be frozen. This action was eventually stopped by a federal court, but we are unsure whether OMB will try to achieve the freeze through some other means. In the meantime, we encourage you to share any correspondence you may have received from federal, state, or local agencies regarding any federal dollars that your program receives. We also encourage you to share any questions or concerns with us, so we can relay them to Capitol Hill. Feel free to contact [email protected] with any information.  

• Reconciliation: Congress is intent on passing a reconciliation bill that would cut corporate taxes and include immigration policies, and Republican leaders have set a timeline of the first 100 days to do so. This timeline is ambitious, and it means that Congress will need to direct most of its time and energy to pass a reconciliation bill, putting other priorities, like appropriations and WIOA reauthorization, on the backburner.  

• Appropriations: In December, Congress passed another continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded until March 14 for Fiscal Year 2025. This means Congress must pass a final FY25 funding bill or another CR by then in order to prevent a government shutdown. We remain hopeful that Congress will pass an FY25 appropriations bill with increased funding for programs that support OY.  

• WIOA Reauthorization: As we shared in our last newsletter, Congress did not pass a WIOA reauthorization last year despite reaching a bipartisan, bicameral agreement, which NYEC supported. We are hearing from Congressional staff that there is a strong desire from Committee leadership to move a WIOA reauthorization bill similar to the agreement reached. NYEC will continue to engage on this front and will keep our members updated about the bill’s potential movement.