Sponsors
The bill redirects a modest share of WIOA reserve funds to build statewide longitudinal workforce data systems that can improve transparency, program performance measurement, and labor‑market information for workers and employers, but it reduces near‑term funding for other workforce services, raises privacy risks, and may not provide sufficient or evenly distributed support for all States to complete and sustain complex systems.
State workforce agencies and multi‑State consortia will receive dedicated grant funding (a 5–10% set‑aside of certain WIOA reserve funds) to build or enhance longitudinal workforce data systems, improving states' ability to measure program performance, report outcomes, and make evidence‑based decisions.
Workers, jobseekers, students, employers, and training providers will gain better labor market information and credential registries that make in‑demand skills, credentials, and career pathways more visible, helping with job matching and training decisions.
Projects that leverage non‑Federal contributions and replicate proven systems are prioritized, which can stretch federal dollars and accelerate adoption of effective data practices across States and consortia.
State and local workforce programs will have 5–10% of certain WIOA reserve funds redirected into data system grants, reducing resources available for other workforce services and potentially limiting direct services funded under section 132.
Students and workers face increased privacy and re‑identification risk because individual education and wage records will be linked and shared across systems unless security and compliance measures are strong and consistently enforced.
A three‑year maximum grant period may be insufficient to fully develop, integrate, and sustain complex longitudinal data systems, risking incomplete implementations or dependence on uncertain follow‑on funding.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a grant program using 5–10% of certain reserved workforce funds to build statewide longitudinal workforce data systems that improve reporting, privacy, and transparency.
Introduced April 6, 2026 by Michael Baumgartner · Last progress April 6, 2026
Creates a new federal grant program under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to build and improve statewide workforce longitudinal data systems and related resources. The program directs the Department of Labor to set aside and award between 5% and 10% of certain reserved workforce funds each year (and may use specified appropriated funds) to eligible entities that will improve performance reporting, evidence-based decisionmaking, data standardization, privacy protections, and transparency. Applications must describe proposed activities, expected outcomes, budgets, data security/privacy safeguards, and plans to sustain work after the grant ends. The bill also makes a technical change removing a cross-reference to dislocated worker projects from an existing reservation provision.