White House: Over $40B in coronavirus relief funds going towards workforce development

More than $40 billion in American Rescue Plan funds have been committed to strengthening and expanding the U.S. workforce, the White House is set to announce on Wednesday.

The funds are being used for workforce development, apprenticeships training and recruitment, and retention of employees for private and public sector jobs.

The White House on Wednesday will host a summit on American Rescue Plan investments in the U.S. workforce, where Vice President Harris will announce the investments in expanding the health care workforce, among other areas.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will also participate in the summit, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) will participate in a session on workforce investments in the states from American Rescue Plan funding.

President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, into law early in the administration.

Of the more than $40 billion in funds, $13 billion will go to state, local and tribal governments, where they are using the funds for different forms of workforce development, and $16 billion will go toward the care and health care workforce. 

Another $12 billion will go to strengthen the K-12 educator workforce and $3 billion will be invested at a later time to strengthen the future public health workforce.

“One of the reasons that we’re doing this summit is to encourage and help spread the word about many of the best practices that we will see tomorrow,” a senior administration official said.

The official called it a “call to action” for local leaders to use their American Rescue Plan funding for workforce development.

“I cannot tell you how many times when I’m talking to a governor or mayor or county leader, the one thing they want to know is what are their peers doing?” the official said. “Other models that work well? This will help.”