Sponsors (2)
The bill directs predictable federal funding to create targeted industry-focused workforce and training partnerships that expand apprenticeships, credentials, and support services—boosting job prospects and employer pipelines—while increasing federal spending and imposing administrative, eligibility, and competitiveness trade-offs that may favor larger or better‑resourced applicants over smaller or non-targeted communities.
Unemployed workers, students, low-income individuals, and workers in transportation, construction, energy, IT, and utilities gain access to coordinated training, nationally portable credentials, apprenticeships, and clearer career pathways that improve job-entry and promotion prospects.
Employers and small businesses gain clearer partnership rules and stronger worker pipelines, lowering hiring and training costs and improving retention through aggregated employer demand and aligned curricula.
State and local governments, nonprofits, and communities receive predictable federal funding and targeted grants (including $500M/year FY2026–FY2030 and implementation/renewal award levels) plus geographic diversity requirements and multi‑agency alignment to support infrastructure and workforce activities.
Taxpayers face roughly $500 million per year in new federal spending (FY2026–FY2030) and ongoing program costs that could increase deficits or crowd out other federal/state priorities.
States, program operators, and partnerships may face significant administrative, monitoring, and reporting burdens (including detailed data disaggregation) that could strain capacity—made harder by limits on allowable administrative spending at the grantee level.
Competitive grant processes, non‑Federal cost‑share requirements, preference for industry fiscal agents, and heavy business‑engagement obligations risk favoring larger employers and well‑resourced applicants while disadvantaging small training providers, community groups, and rural areas.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Creates a competitive grant program to fund industry partnerships that plan and deliver training, apprenticeships, and support services for targeted infrastructure industries, authorized at $500M/year for FY2026–2030.
Introduced September 11, 2025 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress September 11, 2025
Creates a new federal grant program to fund industry or sector partnerships that plan and deliver worker training, apprenticeships, and support services for targeted infrastructure industries (transportation, construction, energy including clean energy and battery storage, information technology, and utilities). Grants fund planning and implementation, set performance measures tied to nationally portable credentials and apprenticeships, require reporting and performance tracking, cap administrative costs, and are authorized at $500 million per year for FY2026–FY2030. Grants are awarded competitively by the Department of Labor in coordination with other agencies, with implementation grants (up to $2.5M) and renewal grants (up to $1.5M) that last up to three years; renewal applicants that show sustainability and provide non‑Federal cost share are prioritized. The program funds business engagement, work‑based learning, transitional employment and support services for people facing employment barriers, and requires grantees to report progress annually and meet workforce performance measures.