To inform states and other Employment and Training Administration (ETA)-fund recipients and sub-recipients of a new limitation on salary and bonus payments that can be made with funds appropriated to ETA and provide guidance on implementing this new provision.

To inform state workforce agencies (SWAs) of the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA’s) intention to eliminate its authority to pay the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) directly for “employment security” postage costs beginning Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. These plans include the following:

• Phasing out ETA payment to the United States Postal Service (USPS) for state agency penalty mail and postal management costs beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 for states volunteering to be early implementers; beginning in FY 2008, all states will assume responsibility for paying their own postage costs as well as any postal management services currently provided to states through the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Supplemental Budget Request (SBR) process;
• Implementing new procedures to fund UI, Foreign Labor Certification (FLC), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), and Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) postage beginning with FY 2008;
• Implementing new procedures to fund Wagner-Peyser (WP) and Workforce Information Grants (WIGs) beginning with Program Year (PY) 2008;
• Providing guidance on the payment of postage costs for programs conducted by SWAs in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS);
• Providing information on technical assistance available to states in converting from the (penalty mail) Official Mail Accounting System (OMAS) to commercial mail to improve general mail practices; and
• Soliciting UI SBRs from states for the purpose of implementing commercial mail programs and improving postage management.

To notify State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) of training on foreign labor certification programs being offered by ETA in early December 2006. The training opportunity will update SWA staff on policy guidance regarding prevailing wage determinations, discuss the transition to processing temporary labor certification applications through the National Processing Centers (NPCs), and reinforce standards and timeframes for the review and preparation of employer applications for temporary labor certification.

To provide State Agencies responsible for Wagner-Peyser (State Agencies) as the provider of labor exchange service within One-Stop Centers, with guidance for using Reemployment Allotments for PY 2001 announced in Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 12-00: Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2001; Wagner-Peyser Act Preliminary Planning Estimates for PY 2001; and Reemployment Services Allotments for PY 2001

To transmit information on the Money Smart (MS) cooperative venture on financial education between the U.S. Department of Labor and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and to assure that all States and local One-Stop Career Centers fully understand the program, its benefits to them, and their option to participate.

To provide final Fiscal Year 2006 TAA training funds to states and provide guidance on the appropriate use of TAA reserve funds to be used on MIS improvements.

To extend the eligibility date the Department of Labor (Department) uses for determining whether RIR re-application requests are timely.

To provide guidance on ETA plans and procedures to reduce dislocated worker program formula funds, to invite State questions on issues requiring additional guidance, and to provide information on the availability of additional Youth funds for PY 2001 as a result of the passage of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 107-20).

To transmit the Revised WIA Youth Activities State Allotment table.

To provide states with the forumla methodology used in developing the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 base allocations and to describe the process for requesting additional TAA program reserve funds for training and job search and relocation allowances.