Today the Workforce Investment Act reauthorization legislation is on the House floor. The Democratic leadership expects it to be approved on a party line vote with the Republicans voting for it and the Democrats voting against, with a possible handful of exceptions.

The measure includes two notable provisions. One is a provision that would allow "faith-based" groups that receive job-training grants to use religious preferences in hiring. Most Democrats oppose this provision, concerned that it promotes religious discrimination with the use of federal funds. This measure will likely face great opposition in the Senate.

The second provision would combine several job training programs into a single $3 billion block grant program and give governors more discretion over how such funds are spent. Some members are concerned that beneficiaries of existing programs could lose funding under the proposal.

Also in the bill is an initiative to fund partnerships between community colleges and employers in high-demand industries as well as a pilot program to provide personal re-employment accounts to unemployed workers. Congress had refused to fund the $50 million Bush voucher proposal, so the Labor Department announced in September it was using $9 million in discretionary funds to set up a pilot program in nine states. Seven states now participate in the program