Wolf, Trump find common ground on workforce issues
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and President Donald Trump don’t agree on much, but common ground brought them together Thursday — along with seven other governors — to discuss barriers to workforce entry.
Two initiatives that both support are criminal justice reforms to make it easier for people convicted of crimes to re-enter the workforce and occupational licensing reforms that loosen requirements and make it easier for military spouses to transfer licenses between states.
“In many states, workers must pay thousands of dollars and complete months and years even of training to enter fields such as real estate, tourism and many other areas,” Mr. Trump told the governors in the Cabinet Room.
Republicans like Mr. Trump oppose regulations they believe impede business growth. Democrats like Mr. Wolf support regulations that protect health, safety and the environment. But both stand together against regulations that protect insiders’ strongholds on professions.
Some professional licensing requirements fall into that category, Mr. Wolf said after the White House meeting.
“There are people on the right who say no licensure is appropriate [and] that licensure requirements are an entirely bad thing, and we don’t agree,” he said, “but if there’s a stupid regulation that simply is there just to keep people out, I think we can all agree that’s not a good thing.”
During his meeting with the governors, Mr. Trump said burdensome licensing laws especially hurt low-income workers who can’t afford the time and money to meet requirements and military spouses who have to become recertified each time they move.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Wolf also agreed, at least in principle, that nonviolent criminals should have better access to the workforce after they have served their sentences.
Pennsylvania recently passed the nation’s first Clean Slate Act, which allows those convicted of certain misdemeanors to petition to have their records sealed after 10 years without incident.
Mr. Trump said he supports similar efforts at the federal level. Later Thursday, he held a separate event with reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who is a proponent of criminal justice reforms that lead to re-employment.
Mr. Wolf said he also was encouraged Thursday to hear Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and key adviser, talk about the administration’s support of family leave policies.
Thursday’s luncheon — shrimp cocktail, chicken, vegetables and iced tea — was Mr. Wolf’s first substantive conversation with the president, although the two had briefly met twice before.
“I’m happy to sit down with people. I don’t care if I agree with you,” Mr. Wolf said.
The governor said he was encouraged to hear the president affirm his support for some of the things Pennsylvania is already doing, and he said Mr. Trump appeared genuinely interested in learning about state initiatives.
There are areas “where people with clearly different ideas can actually find some common ground,” he said. “Let’s pursue those areas because there might be some unlikely allies.”
Other governors who attended were Doug Ducey of Arizona, Brian Kemp of Georgia, David Ige of Hawaii, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Bill Lee of Tennessee and Mark Gordon of Wyoming. All but Mr. Wolf and Mr. Ige are Republicans.
Mr. Trump and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta hosted the luncheon to explore ways to eliminate workforce barriers and expand economic mobility for American workers.