On October 18, 30 ASTD chapter leaders and members of the Public Policy Council went to Capitol Hill to meet with staff from a variety of Congressional offices. This event—called Congressional Conversations—took place as a preconference workshop to the ASTD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC). It was the fourth event of its kind. 

The visit had a dual advocacy purpose: for ASTD members to meet the staff responsible for workforce issues in their Representative or Senator’s offices, and for the staff member to learn more about ASTD, the local chapter in their city or state, and the training expertise that resides locally. 

Several chapter leaders and members of the ASTD Public Policy Council met with the staff leads in the House and Senate committees that are responsible for education and workforce issues: the House Education & the Workforce Committee, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.  

ASTD has provided suggestions on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to these two committees for the last several years. WIA is the legislation that establishes publicly-funded workforce training in the United States. It has been up for reauthorization in the last several sessions of Congress. While progress has begun in the House and Senate, significant movement has stalled due to partisan disagreement over provisions of the bill. 

For more information, contact Jennifer Homer at [email protected].