GCO Praises Federal Leaders for Empowering States to Strengthen Pathways to Work through the Stronger Workforce for America Act
PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA—The Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) offers its full support to the Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026 and commends Congressman Tim Walberg, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, for introducing this significant legislation to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
GCO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on ensuring access to quality education, fulfilling work, and healthy family lives through research, policy analysis, and community initiatives. We advance solutions that increase opportunity and give Georgia families a durable path out of poverty. We are also a founding member of the Alliance for Opportunity, a multi-state coalition focused on improving state-administered public assistance and workforce programs to help Americans achieve lasting opportunity and stability.
The Stronger Workforce for America Act aligns with our work and includes an invaluable option for state flexibility, the Make America Skilled Again Grants. These grants would allow 10 states to implement the One Door to Work model, which would empower them to integrate their safety net and workforce systems.
Utah has had this authority for nearly 30 years, after being grandfathered into the strategy. This has enabled Utah to provide its citizens with both support to meet their immediate needs and a clearer path into the workforce and toward self-sufficiency.
The results of Utah’s One Door policy are impressive. For example, the state has outpaced the national labor force participation (LFP) rate, or the number of working-age people employed or looking for a job, by an average of 5.3%. As of late 2025, Utah’s LFP rate was approximately 67.6%, one of the highest in the nation.
In contrast, Georgia’s LFP rate is 60.6%. Put another way, nearly 40% of Georgians, many of them prime-age men, who can work are choosing not to.
Eric Cochling, GCO’s Chief Program Officer and General Counsel, emphasized the detrimental impact of these statistics and the critical importance of work for a flourishing life:
“A good job offers more than just a paycheck. It provides purpose and stability and is one of the most durable ways to empower people to break the cycle of poverty.”
He also stressed the need for reform: “If we truly want to expand opportunity in Georgia and across the country, individual workforce and safety net programs must start functioning as a true system—one that’s designed to support human dignity and flourishing. The Stronger Workforce for America Act is a much-needed step in the right direction.”
Georgia policymakers are paying attention to the success of Utah’s integrated welfare and workforce system and are seeking opportunities like the Make America Skilled Again Grants to implement similar reforms that benefit both Georgians and the state economy.
As Buzz Brockway, GCO’s Vice President of Public Policy, said:
“The ability to link workforce and safety net systems is key to boosting Georgia’s current trajectory as a leader in economic opportunity. The Make America Skilled Again Grants included in the Stronger Workforce for America Act would give Georgia’s leaders a powerful way to strengthen families, expand the workforce, and set the state on a path to more rapid growth.”
Randy Hicks, GCO’s President and CEO, added:
“Every state deserves the ability to design an integrated system that enables people to thrive. Right now, every wasted hour navigating disconnected programs is an hour that could have been spent building a better future. This bill ensures that states can rethink the status quo and create pathways to opportunity for every citizen.”
Through the changes it proposes, the Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026 is poised to make meaningful welfare and workforce reforms possible in Georgia, and GCO strongly urges its enactment.
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Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is independent, non-partisan, and solutions-focused. Our team is dedicated to creating durable paths out of poverty for families in Georgia and beyond. To achieve our mission, we research ways to help remove barriers to opportunity and promote our solutions to policymakers and the public so that public policy and civil society can effectively and innovatively strengthen family stability, economic mobility, and child opportunity in the communities where lives are lived.
Send media inquiries to:
Rebecca PrimisGeorgia Center for Opportunity
RebeccaP@foropportunity.org