[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 58 (Thursday, March 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15382-15393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-6703]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 Congressional Rescissions for WIA Adults 
and Dislocated Workers; Program Year (PY) 2004 Workforce Investment Act 
(WIA Allotments and Additional Funds From Dislocated Worker National 
Reserve for Adult/Dislocated Worker Activities for Eligible States; PY 
2004 Wagner-Peyser Act Final Allotments; FY 2004 Work Opportunity Tax 
Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit Allotments

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces FY 2004 Congressional Rescissions for 
WIA Adults and Dislocated Worker programs, states' allotments for PY 
2004 (July 1, 2004-June 30, 2005) for WIA Title I Youth, Adults and 
Dislocated Worker programs; additional PY 2004 funding from the 
Dislocated Worker National Emergency Reserve for eligible states; final 
allotments for Employment Service (ES) activities under the Wagner-
Peyser Act for PY 2004; and Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-
Work Tax Credit allotments for FY 2004.
    The WIA allotments for states and the final allotments for the 
Wagner-Peyser Act are based on formulas defined in their respective 
statutes. The WIA allotments for the outlying areas are based on a 
formula determined by the Secretary. As required by WIA section 182(d), 
on February 17, 2000, a Notice of the discretionary formula for 
allocating PY 2000 funds for the outlying areas was published in the 
Federal Register at 65 FR 8236 (February 17, 2000). The rationale for 
the formula and methodology was fully explained in the February 17, 
2000 Federal Register Notice. The formula for PY 2004 is the same as 
used for PY 2000 and is described in the section on Youth allotments. 
The data for all outlying areas was obtained from the Bureau of the 
Census and was based on 2000 census surveys for those areas conducted 
either by the Bureau or the outlying areas. This is the first year that 
2000 census data is used in the allotment formula. Comments are invited 
upon the formula used to allot funds to the outlying areas.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Employment and Training

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Administration, Office of Financial and Administrative Management, 200 
Constitution Ave, NW., Room N-4702, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: 
Ms. Sherryl Bailey, 202-693-2813 (phone), 202-693-2859 (fax), e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: WIA Youth Activities allotments: 
Haskel Lowery at 202-693-3608; WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker 
Employment and Training Activities allotments: Raymond Palmer at 202-
693-3535; Employment Service final allotments: Anthony Dais at 202-693-
2784 (these are not toll-free numbers). Information may also be found 
at the Web site: http://www.doleta.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Labor (DOL or Department) 
is announcing WIA allotments for PY 2004 (July 1, 2004-June 30, 2005) 
for Youth Activities, Adults and Dislocated Worker Activities, and 
Wagner-Peyser Act PY 2004 final allotments. This document provides 
information on the amount of funds available during PY 2004 to states 
with an approved WIA Title I and Wagner-Peyser 5-Year Strategic Plan 
and information regarding allotments to the outlying areas. The 
allotments are based on the funds appropriated in the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2004, Public Law 108-199, January 23, 2004. This 
appropriation requires an across-the-board reduction of 0.59 percent to 
all FY 2004 discretionary programs, including FY 2004 advance funds for 
the WIA Adults and Dislocated Worker programs appropriated in the FY 
2003 appropriation. Attached are tables listing the FY 2004 rescissions 
for the WIA Adults (Attachment II-A) and Dislocated Worker (Attachment 
III-A) programs and the PY 2004 allotments for programs under WIA Title 
I Youth Activities, Adults and Dislocated Workers Employment and 
Training Activities and the PY 2004 Wagner-Peyser Act final allotments. 
Also attached is a table displaying the FY 2004 Work Opportunity Tax 
Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit allotments.
    Youth Activities Allotments. PY 2004 Youth Activities funds under 
WIA total $995,059,306 (no funds were appropriated for Youth 
Opportunity grants). Attachment I includes a breakdown of the Youth 
Activities program allotments for PY 2004 and provides a comparison of 
these allotments to PY 2003 Youth Activities allotments for all states, 
outlying areas, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Before 
determining the amount available for states, the total available for 
the outlying areas was reserved at 0.25 percent of the full amount 
appropriated for Youth Activities. WIA section 127(b)(1)(B)(i)(IV) 
provides that the Freely Associated States (Marshall Islands, 
Micronesia, and Palau) are not eligible for funding for any program 
year beginning after September 30, 2001. However, section 3 of Public 
Law 106-504 (November 13, 2000), overrode the sections of WIA which 
terminated funding of the Freely Associated States for any fiscal year 
beginning after September 30, 2001, until negotiations on the Compact 
of Free Association were complete. On December 17, 2003, the President 
signed P. L. 108-188, the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 
2003, which continues the availability of programs previously available 
to the Freely Associated States to the extent that such programs 
continue to be available to states. Therefore, the Freely Associated 
States will continue to receive funds for PY 2004. The methodology for 
distributing funds to all outlying areas is not specified by WIA, but 
is at the Secretary's discretion. The methodology used is the same as 
used since PY 2000, i.e., funds are distributed among the areas by 
formula based on relative share of number of unemployed, a 90-percent 
hold-harmless of the prior year share, a $75,000 minimum, and a 130-
percent stop-gain of the prior year share. Data for the relative share 
calculation in the PY 2004 formula were from 2000 census data from all 
outlying areas (the first year that 2000 census data has been used). 
The total amount available for Native Americans is 1.5 percent of the 
total amount for Youth Activities, in accordance with WIA section 127. 
After determining the amount for the outlying areas and Native 
Americans, the amount available for allotment to the States for PY 2004 
is $977,645,768. This total amount was below the required $1 billion 
threshold specified in section 127(b)(1)(C)(iv)(IV); therefore, as in 
PY 2003, the WIA additional minimum provisions were not applied, and, 
instead, as required by WIA, the JTPA section 202(a)(3) (as amended by 
section 701 of the Job Training Reform Amendments of 1992) minimums of 
90 percent hold-harmless of the prior year allotment percentage and 
0.25 percent state minimum floor were used. Also, as required by WIA, 
the provision applying a 130-percent stop-gain of the prior year 
allotment percentage was used. The three formula factors required in 
WIA use the following data for the PY 2004 allotments:
    (1) The number of unemployed for areas of substantial unemployment 
(ASU's) are averages for the 12-month period, July 2002 through 
preliminary June 2003;
    (2) The number of excess unemployed individuals or the ASU excess 
(depending on which is higher) are averages for the same 12-month 
period used for ASU unemployed data; and
    (3) The number of economically disadvantaged youth (age 16 to 21, 
excluding college students and military) are from the 2000 Census. This 
is the first year that 2000 census data has been used in the allotment 
formula.
    Adult Employment and Training Activities Allotments. The total 
Adult Employment and Training Activities appropriation is $898,890,800. 
Attachment II-B shows the PY 2004 Adult Employment and Training 
Activities allotments and comparison to PY 2003 allotments by state. 
Like the Youth Activities program, the total available for the outlying 
areas was reserved at 0.25 percent of the full amount appropriated for 
Adults. The Adult Activities funds for grants to all outlying areas, 
for which the distribution methodology is at the Secretary's 
discretion, were distributed among the areas by the same principles, 
formula and data as used for outlying areas for Youth Activities. After 
determining the amount for the outlying areas, the amount available for 
allotments to the states is $896,643,573. Like the Youth Activities 
program, the WIA minimum provisions were not applied for the PY 2004 
allotments because the total amount available for the states was below 
the $960 million threshold required for Adults in section 
132(b)(1)(B)(iv)(IV). Instead, as required by WIA, the minimum 
allotments were calculated using the JTPA section 202(a)(3) (as amended 
by section 701 of the Job Training Reform Amendments of 1992) minimums 
of 90 percent hold-harmless of the prior year allotment percentage and 
0.25 percent state minimum floor. Also, like the Youth Activities 
program, a provision applying a 130 percent stop-gain of the prior year 
allotment percentage was used. The three formula factors use the same 
data as used for the Youth Activities formula, except that data from 
the 2000 Census for the number of economically disadvantaged adults 
(age 22 to 72, excluding college students and military) were used. This 
is the first year that 2000 census data has been used in the allotment 
formula.
    Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities Allotments. 
The total Dislocated Worker appropriation is $1,454,419,116. The total 
appropriation includes formula funds for the states, while the National 
Reserve is used for

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National Emergency Grants, technical assistance and training, 
demonstration projects, and the outlying areas Dislocated Worker 
allotments. Attachment III-B shows the PY 2004 Dislocated Worker 
Activities fund allotments by state. Like the Youth and Adults 
programs, the total available for the outlying areas was reserved at 
0.25 percent of the full amount appropriated for Dislocated Worker 
Activities. The Dislocated Worker Activities funds for grants to all 
outlying areas, for which the distribution methodology is at the 
Secretary's discretion, were distributed among the areas by the same 
pro rata share as the areas received for the PY 2004 WIA Adult 
Activities program, the same methodology used in PY 2003. For the state 
distribution of formula funds, the three formula factors required in 
WIA use the following data for the PY 2004 allotments:
    (1) Number of unemployed, averages for the 12-month period, October 
2002 through September 2003;
    (2) Number of excess unemployed, averages for the 12-month period, 
October 2002 through September 2003; and
    (3) Number of long-term unemployed, averages for calendar year 
2002. Since the Dislocated Worker Activities formula has no floor 
amount or hold-harmless provisions, funding changes for states directly 
reflect the impact of changes in the number of unemployed.
    Additional Funding From Dislocated Worker National Emergency 
Reserve for Adult /Dislocated Worker Activities for Eligible States. 
WIA Section 173(e) provides that up to $15 million from Dislocated 
Workers reserve funds is to be made annually to certain states that 
receive less funds under the WIA Adult formula than they would have 
received had the JTPA Adult formula been in effect. The amount of the 
grants is based on the difference between the WIA and JTPA formula 
allotments. Funds are available for grants for up to 8 states with the 
largest difference. The additional funding must be used for Adult or 
Dislocated Worker Activities.
    Wagner-Peyser Act Final Allotments. The Employment Service program 
involves a Federal-state partnership between the U.S. Department of 
Labor and the State Workforce Agencies. Under the Wagner-Peyser Act, 
funds are allotted to each state to administer a labor exchange program 
responding to the needs of the state's employers and workers through a 
system of local employment services offices that are part of the One-
Stop service delivery system established by the state. Attachment V 
shows the Wagner-Peyser Act final allotments for PY 2004. These final 
allotments have been produced using the formula set forth at Section 6 
of the Wagner-Peyser Act, 29 U.S.C. 49e. They are based on averages of 
the civilian labor force (CLF) and unemployment for calendar year 2003. 
State planning estimates reflect $18,000,000 being withheld from 
distribution to states to finance postage costs associated with the 
conduct of labor exchange services for PY 2004. The Secretary of Labor 
is required to set aside up to three percent of the total available 
funds to assure that each state will have sufficient resources to 
maintain statewide employment service activities, as required under 
section 6(b)(4) of the Wagner-Peyser Act. In accordance with this 
provision, the three percent set-aside funds are included in the total 
planning estimate. The set-aside funds are distributed in two steps to 
states that have lost in relative share of resources from the previous 
year. In Step 1, states that have a CLF below one million and are also 
below the median CLF density are maintained at 100 percent of their 
relative share of prior year resources. All remaining set-aside funds 
are distributed on a pro-rata basis in Step 2 to all other states 
losing in relative share from the prior year but not meeting the size 
and density criteria for Step 1. Under section 7 of the Wagner-Peyser 
Act, ten percent of the total sums allotted to each state shall be 
reserved for use by the Governor to provide performance incentives for 
ES offices; services for groups with special needs; and for the extra 
costs of exemplary models for delivering job services.
    Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit 
Programs: Grants to States. Total funding for FY 2004 is $20,740,902. 
Attachment VI shows the PY 2004 Work Opportunity Tax Credit and 
Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit (WOTC/WtW) grants by state. After reserving 
$580,745 for postage and $20,000 for the Virgin Islands, funds are 
distributed to states by administrative formula with a $64,000 minimum 
allotment and a 95% stop-loss/120% stop-gain from the prior year 
allotment share percentage. The allocation formula is as follows:
    (1) 50% based on each state's relative share of total FY 2003 
certifications issued for the WOTC/WtW Tax Credit programs;
    (2) 30% based on each state's relative share of the CLF for twelve 
months ending September 2003; and
    (3) 20% based on each state's relative share of the adult 
recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for FY 
2002.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 22nd day of March, 2004.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
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[FR Doc. 04-6703 Filed 3-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-C