Sponsors (24)
The bill uses multi-year federal funding to incentivize energy-sector employers to hire and train veterans and military spouses—improving transitions and local workforce development—but concentrates benefits in the energy industry and specific populations while imposing federal costs, caps, and administrative burdens that may limit reach and fairness.
Veterans, separating service members, and their spouses gain improved employment prospects in the energy sector because employers receive targeted hiring incentives (up to $10,000 per hire) that lower barriers to recruiting, training, licensure, relocation, and onboarding.
The program is funded at $60 million per year (FY2026–2031), providing multi-year, predictable resources to scale placements, training, and employer incentives.
Prioritizing hires with energy-related MOS/training or residents of Opportunity Zones can boost local employment and develop a skilled workforce in distressed and rural communities.
The program channels federal funding of $60 million per year for six years, creating a recurring taxpayer cost that could divert funds from other priorities or increase budgetary pressure.
Limiting eligible employers to energy-generation and critical-equipment firms narrows job pathways and may exclude other industries that could hire and retrain veterans, reducing the program's reach.
Grant caps ($10,000 per hire; $500,000 per grantee) may be insufficient to cover high-cost training, licensure, or relocation for certain energy jobs, limiting employer participation and veteran placement in higher-cost roles.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DOL grant program reimbursing energy-sector employers up to $10,000 per hire (max $500k/yr per grantee) to hire transitioning service members, veterans, or spouses and funds training/onboarding/relocation costs.
Official title: To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a grant program to help certain members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their spouses, obtain employment in the energy industry.
Introduced June 24, 2025 by Jennifer Kiggans · Last progress June 24, 2025
Creates a Department of Labor grant program that pays eligible energy-sector employers to hire transitioning service members, veterans, or their spouses. Grants reimburse hiring costs (training, licensure, recruitment, relocation, admin) with a per-hire cap of $10,000 and per-grantee annual cap of $500,000, include hiring preferences for certain veterans, and require reporting and audits. The program targets employers whose primary business is energy generation, transmission, storage, distribution, or manufacture/distribution of critical energy equipment, and prioritizes hires and employers in qualified opportunity zones, hires with energy-related military experience, and individuals with documented employment barriers.