Welfare-to-Work Grants
| Published date | 16 October 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 65693 |
| Record Number | 2020-21308 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
| Court | Employment And Training Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 201 (Friday, October 16, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 201 (Friday, October 16, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65693-65694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21308]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
20 CFR Part 645
Welfare-to-Work Grants
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.
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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (the Department) is removing the regulations which
implement and govern the Welfare-to-Work (WtW) programs conducted at
the state and local area levels and provide program requirements
applicable to all WtW formula and competitive funds under the Social
Security Act (SSA). Congressional authorization for this program has
expired, and all remaining grant funding was rescinded by the
Department in 2004. Accordingly, these regulations are no longer
necessary. This technical amendment is a ministerial action to remove
obsolete regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations.
DATES: This final rule is effective October 16, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heidi M. Casta, Acting Deputy
Administrator, Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5641,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-3700 (this is not a toll-free
number).
Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access the
telephone number above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal
Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is removing the regulations
at 20 CFR part 645, which implement and govern the WtW programs
authorized under Title IV, part A of the SSA, 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
On August 5, 1997, the President signed the Balanced Budget Act of
1997 (Pub. L. 105-33). This legislation amended certain provisions of
the SSA concerning the Temporary Assistance
[[Page 65694]]
for Needy Families (TANF) program. The legislation authorized the
Secretary of Labor to provide WtW grants to states and local
communities to assist hard-to-employ TANF welfare recipients in moving
into unsubsidized jobs and economic self-sufficiency. The funds
distributed through the WtW grant program were designed to assist
states and Private Industry Councils in meeting their welfare reform
objectives by providing additional resources targeted to hard-to-employ
welfare recipients residing in high poverty areas within the state.
In November 1997, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 603(a)(5)(C)(ix), the
Department issued an interim final rule providing a framework for the
administration of the WtW program in coordination with the TANF program
administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.\1\ Public
comments were received in response to the interim final rule, which
were taken into consideration in drafting the final rule. The final
rule was published in 2001, alongside a second interim final rule that
contained additional changes in response to the 1999 amendments to the
statute.\2\ The Department solicited and received comments on the
second interim final rule.\3\ These rules were codified at 20 CFR part
645.
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\1\ See 62 FR 61588 (Nov. 18, 1997).
\2\ See 66 FR 2690 (Jan. 11, 2001).
\3\ See 66 FR 9763 (Feb. 12, 2001).
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In 2004, Congressional authorization for the WtW program expired
and all formula grant funds appropriated under the WtW provisions of
the SSA that were unexpended by the states were rescinded.\4\ Any
remaining active participants in the WtW program were transitioned into
similarly-targeted programs under the Workforce Investment Act, which
was later replaced by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.\5\
The Department is therefore undertaking this ministerial action to
remove the regulations governing the former WtW program from the Code
of Federal Regulations as they are obsolete. This technical amendment
to the CFR affects no rights or obligations and poses no costs.
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\4\ See Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2004, Public Law
108-199, 105, 118 Stat. 226, 235 (2004); Training and Employment
Guidance Letter No. 19-03 (Feb. 27, 2004).
\5\ See id.; Public Law 113-128, 128 Stat. 1425 (2014).
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Procedural and Other Matters
Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(3)(B), provides that when an agency for good cause finds that
notice and public procedures are impracticable, unnecessary or contrary
to the public interest, the agency may issue a rule without providing
notice and an opportunity for public comment. The purpose of this
action is to remove regulations implementing the WtW grant provisions
of Title IV, Part A of the SSA, which are no longer necessary as all
WtW grant funds have been expended or rescinded, all grants have been
closed out, and the program is no longer in operation. Accordingly, for
good cause, the Department has determined that public notice-and-
comment procedures are unnecessary. For the same reasons, the
Department finds good cause to forgo delay of the effective date under
section 553(d)(3) of the Administrative Procedure Act and to make this
final rule effective immediately upon publication.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of
Management and Budget has determined that this final rule is not a
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866, and is
therefore not subject to Executive Order 13771, entitled Reducing
Regulations and Controlling Regulatory Costs. Additionally, no analysis
is required under the Regulatory Flexibility Act \6\ or Sections 202
and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1999,\7\ because, for
the reasons discussed above, the Department is not required to engage
in notice and comment under the Administrative Procedure Act. This
final rule does not have significant Federalism implications under
Executive Order 13132. The final rule is not subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), because it does not contain a collection of information
as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3).
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\6\ See 5 U.S.C. 601(2) (limiting ``rules'' under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, to rules for which a general notice of proposed
rulemaking is published).
\7\ Public Law 104-4.
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The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., generally
provides that before certain actions may take effect, the agency
promulgating the action must submit a report, including a copy of the
action, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of
the United States. This final action is administrative and only removes
obsolete regulations from the CFR. Accordingly, the Department has
determined that good cause exists, and that this technical amendment is
not subject to the timing requirements of the Congressional Review Act.
List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 645
Administrative practice and procedure, Employment, Grant programs-
labor.
0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, under the authority of 42
U.S.C. 603(a)(5)(C)(ix), the Department amends 20 CFR chapter V by
removing part 645.
John Pallasch,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2020-21308 Filed 10-15-20; 8:45 am]
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