The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) amended the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) to increase the maximum annual amount of TAA funds that may be spent on training. The Department will use some of the funds appropriated for TAA in FY 2009 under the Consolidated Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. No. 111-8) (Omnibus Appropriations) for a supplemental distribution to the states, and will also hold funds in reserve. This program letter explains the formula methodology used in distributing this supplemental distribution and describes the process for states to request additional TAA program reserve funds for training.

To provide the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) information on the nomination extension process for EZs, and the date when SWAs can start processing certification requests for the two target groups, which require its members to reside in EZs.

To inform the workforce system of the mandatory requirement for sub-recipients, i.e., any first-tier subcontract or sub-award funded in whole or in part under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), to obtain a DUNS number www.dnb.com. Any such sub-recipient must also establish and maintain active and current profiles in the CCR at www.ccr.gov.

To provide information to State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) about the potential for sequestration in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 and how the Department of Labor (Department) would apply sequestration to mandatory Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs for FY 2014, so that SWAs can make necessary operational changes.

To announce the grant application process and to transmit guidance for the development and management of the PY 2009 Workforce Information Grants to States.

To provide ETA funding recipients with information about how the temporary suspension of the Federal government will impact the execution of ETA-funded programs and services.

To inform State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) of the opportunity to submit a supplemental budget request (SBR) for costs associated with implementing the initiative to enable more unemployment insurance (UI) beneficiaries to obtain training without affecting their benefit rights, and to notify beneficiaries of potential eligibility for Pell Grants and other student aid.

To respond to questions from state workforce agencies and provide guidance about the Federal government shutdown and the Unemployment Insurance program, including Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC).

To summarize the UI program’s GPRA performance for FY 2008 and announce the FY 2009 and FY 2010 GPRA goals and targets.

To provide ETA funding recipients with additional information about permissible uses of funds made available through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 appropriations process. Since States have not yet received their full Program Year (PY) 2013 allotments due to the current Federal government shutdown, this guidance is intended to answer questions about the use of these funds (once received) for WIA activities provided on or after October 1, 2013.