Sponsors (5)
The bill boosts apprenticeships and work-based training fast by directing existing fee and Treasury receipts to grants and supports, improving access and employer engagement, but does so by reallocating existing funds and adding administrative and design constraints that may limit flexibility, reduce direct participant dollars, and shift costs or services away from other priorities.
Unemployed workers, low-income individuals, students, and young adults gain expanded access to apprenticeships, paid work-based learning, and credentialed training through new federal grants and local partnerships, improving job prospects and earnings potential.
States and workforce providers can begin and scale programs more quickly because the bill authorizes use of existing Treasury and H‑1B fee receipts rather than waiting for new annual appropriations.
Participants receive sustained supports — including at least six months post-placement services and required 12-month partnership support — which can increase job retention and successful transitions to stable employment.
Reallocating H‑1B fee revenue and directing existing Treasury receipts to these programs shifts funding away from other immigration or enforcement uses and may increase effective hiring costs for employers who sponsor foreign workers.
Several provisions are statements of purpose or define programs without new appropriations, so promised expansions may be delayed or never fully materialize if Congress or agencies do not provide sufficient funding.
Complex application, registration, reporting, and performance requirements increase administrative burdens and costs for states, local partnerships, and small employers, and may divert staff time from direct service delivery—hitting smaller or rural providers hardest.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Creates a grant program funding industry partnerships to expand registered apprenticeships and work-based learning for small/medium employers, financed by H‑1B fee receipts.
Establishes a federal grant program to expand registered apprenticeships and other paid work-based learning for small and medium-sized businesses in in-demand industry sectors by funding industry or sector partnerships. The program directs funds (sourced from H‑1B fee receipts made available to the Secretary of Labor) to States, which award competitive grants (up to $500,000 each for up to 3 years) to local/regional partnerships to recruit employers, connect education providers, provide pre-apprenticeship and ongoing supports, and help workers obtain credentials and placement. The law sets application, allotment, and reporting rules: States use modified WIOA formulas to receive allotments, partnerships must apply to States and provide multi-part plans, grantees must provide at least 12 months of post-placement supports and have limits on certain support spending, and both local partnerships and States must carry out annual evaluations and report WIOA performance indicators disaggregated by key populations and demographics. The statute also redirects half of H‑1B fee receipts to support this program and repeals a prior ACWIA provision to make those funds available.
Introduced September 11, 2025 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress September 11, 2025