Sponsor
Dwight Evans
Representative · D-PA
Representative · D-PA
The bill steers grant funding toward projects with institutional partners—boosting job-training and service coordination for many—but risks crowding out smaller community-led applicants and narrowing projects toward workforce outcomes over other local needs.
Students and job-seekers: Applicants that partner with local workforce boards, colleges, or apprenticeship programs are more likely to receive demonstration grants, strengthening local job-training pipelines.
Hospitals, health systems, and healthcare workers: Including health care employers and industry partners in grant proposals increases the likelihood of funding and promotes employer-driven healthcare workforce training.
Low-income individuals and public agencies: Requiring or encouraging partnerships with state/local social service agencies improves coordination between demonstration projects and public benefit programs, aligning services for vulnerable populations.
Small businesses and community nonprofits: Applicants without the named institutional partners are likely to be disadvantaged and receive fewer grants, disadvantaging smaller or less-connected organizations.
Local communities and grassroots organizations: Grant awards may skew toward projects tied to institutional partners (colleges, employers, unions), reducing the diversity of community-led proposals and local control.
Low-income communities and non-workforce priorities: Prioritizing partnerships with employers and unions could bias projects toward workforce outcomes and away from other community needs or supportive services.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Gives preference for certain cross-sector partnerships when awarding Social Security Act demonstration grants.
Official title: To require preference to be given to applicants for health profession opportunity grants under section 2008 of the Social Security Act who have certain kinds of business and community partners.
Introduced September 16, 2025 by Dwight Evans · Last progress September 16, 2025
Adds a grant-application preference to an existing Social Security Act demonstration grant program so the Secretary prioritizes applicants that partner with certain public agencies, education and workforce institutions, and employer/labor groups. The preference is intended to steer awards toward projects with coordinated partnerships across government, education/workforce, and employer or labor stakeholders. The change takes effect October 1, 2025.