Cole Emerges as Frontrunner for Appropriations Chair
Appropriations
On Friday, March 22, in a letter to Republican leadership, Congresswoman Kay Granger (TX) announced she will step down early as chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. In the letter, Granger said she would remain chairwoman until the Republican Steering Committee, which determines committee assignments for the conference, selects a new chair. She indicated that she plans to remain on the Committee to provide advice to the next chair.
Emerging as a clear frontrunner for the powerful post is Congressman Tom Cole (OK). Currently chairman of the Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, Cole is the only member running for the position so far, and he has the support of nine of the other subcommittee leaders. Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee chairman Robert Aderholt (AL), who has a seniority advantage, is also considering the position, however Cole is still considered the heavy favorite. The Republican Steering Committee has not yet scheduled its meeting to fill the position. The next chair will face many challenges negotiating the FY25 fiscal spending bills, not only a late start but also the upcoming elections as well as the spending caps set in the debt limit agreement.
Click here to access the letter from Chairwoman Granger.
Call for USCM Peer-to-Peer Best Practice Submissions
The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Workforce Development Council (WDC) Best Practices & Communications Committee is calling for submissions from USCM WDC members for peer-to-peer best practices to be presented at upcoming meetings. You can access the best practice submission form here or through the USCM WDC SharePoint site here. On the SharePoint site homepage, simply click on the ‘Best Practices’ icon on top of the page, then scroll down to the ‘2024 Best Practices’ folder where you can access the submission form. Then upload your completed form to the ‘2024 submissions’ folder on the same page. The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 5th. If you have any questions, please contact Megan Judge at mjudge@usmayors.org.
Initial Jobless Claims
In the week ending March 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 210,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 210,000 to 212,000. The 4-week moving average was 211,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 211,250 to 211,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending March 16, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.
Click here to access the report.