Congresswoman Corrine Brown said Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott has no authority to deny federal government funding to the Orlando area’s Workforce Central Florida (WCF) Program, which provides education and job training services to those struggling to get back on their feet. Brown added that, despite the current troubles of the jobs agency, it is out of Scott’s purview to halt the program’s funding.
In line with this, Brown issued the following statement:
“I convened a meeting today with senior leadership officials at the Department of Labor in Washington to make sure that the important services this program provides will continue unabated while the investigations of the Agency continue, and was informed that the funding provided by the Department of Labor for local work force development programs is distributed through a predetermined in-state formula and cannot be withheld, sequestered, or distributed to other entities in the state by the Governor. The Governor‘s only authority in this matter is to change the Board.
The Department of Labor, along with Congresswoman Brown will be monitoring the situation to ensure that the funds dedicated to Central Florida are delivered and are being used for their intended purpose of assisting the unemployed and improving training and education programs. The workforce development programs are a partnership between the federal and state government and the state cannot act arbitrarily to stop this funding.
“Indeed, denying funding for the Orlando area’s Workforce Central Florida Program unfairly punishes the thousands of Floridians who benefit from the program. With unemployment in the state of Florida at nearly 11%, these individuals, who are working hard to obtain the training and education necessary to return to the workforce, should not be collateral damage in the battle between the Governor and the local workforce leadership,” said Congresswoman Brown.
