Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined their Senate colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation that would make high-quality job training more accessible.
“The last thing hardworking students should have to worry about is not being able to afford a pathway to a successful career,” Wyden said. “No student should ever be denied the chance to work hard and get ahead. The JOBS Act would make the playing field fairer by giving low-income students the chance to pursue their dreams of securing a good paying job.”
“In order for every American to have a good-paying job, they need access to affordable, high-quality job training,” Merkley said. “As employers face critical shortages of skilled workers, too many people are still struggling to find opportunities that match their potential. The bipartisan JOBS Act is a win for our workforce, a win for our businesses, and a win for our economy.”
The Jumpstarting Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act would allow students to use Pell Grants, need-based federal financial aid for undergraduates from low-income households, to pay for shorter-term job training programs.
Students now can only use Pell Grants for two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Students in shorter-term high-quality job training programs are ineligible for this crucial assistance. By expanding Pell Grant eligibility, the JOBS Act would allow students to have access to job training they might not be able to afford but that they need for careers in high-demand fields.
There is also a skilled labor shortage that is expected to intensify in the coming years, in part because unemployed Americans lack access to the job training needed to fill vacant jobs. The JOBS Act would allow Pell Grants to be used for high-quality job training programs that are at least eight weeks long and lead to industry-recognized credentials or certificates.
In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the legislation is led by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Roger Marshal, R-Kan. and cosponsored by Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Lisa Blunt Rochester D-Del., Cory Booker D-N.J., John Boozman, R-Ark., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. V.a., Chris Coons, D-Del., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Angus King, I-Maine, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Jon Ossoff D-Ga., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Dan Sullivan, D-Ark., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
The JOBS Act is endorsed by Advance CTE, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Association for Career and Technical Education , the Association of Community College Trustees, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Business Roundtable, the Center for Law and Social Policy , the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance, Higher Learning Advocates, HP Inc., the Information Technology Industry Council, Jobs for the Future, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, NAF, the National Association of Workforce Boards, the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, the National Skills Coalition, the Progressive Policy Institute, Rebuilding America’s Middle Class, and the Virginia Community College System.
The text of the bill is here.
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