New Collar Jobs Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Lieu
Introduced
Summary
Grows the U.S. cybersecurity workforce by tying employer training incentives, student loan relief, scholarships, targeted NSF funding, and procurement rewards to credentialed cybersecurity training and hiring.
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- Employers can claim a tax credit equal to 50% of qualified employee cybersecurity education expenses, capped at $5,000 per employee per year for certificates, degrees, or industry certifications listed in the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NCWF).
- Students and cybersecurity workers can get up to $25,000 in federal loan cancellation after 36 consecutive monthly payments if employed in a qualifying cybersecurity job in an economically distressed area while meeting the program’s work requirements. The bill also strengthens CyberCorps scholarships and expands eligibility to cybersecurity instructors, with a goal to at least double NSF awards from FY2026 versus FY2024.
- Colleges and technical programs gain capacity support by requiring NSF Advanced Technological Education funding for IT and cybersecurity at not less than 110% of FY2024 levels for FY2026.
- Government contractors get a 5% proposal score boost on competitive solicitations over $5,000,000 if they claimed the employee cybersecurity education credit at least once in the prior three years.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Student loan help for cyber workers
If enacted, some federal Direct Loan borrowers in cybersecurity jobs could get up to $25,000 canceled. You would need 36 straight monthly payments after enactment on an eligible plan. During those 36 months, you would need to work in a cybersecurity job in an economically distressed area for at least 12 months. At least 60% of your work hours must be in that area. The forgiven amount would be the lesser of your balance or $25,000. Loans must be not in default, and you could not double-dip with certain other forgiveness programs.
Tax credit for cybersecurity training
If enacted, employers could claim a tax credit equal to 50% of qualified cybersecurity education costs, up to $5,000 per employee per year. Costs must lead to a degree, certificate, or industry certification tied to roles listed in the NICE framework. The credit would be part of the general business credit and could not be double-counted with other write-offs. It would apply to expenses after enactment.
Bid score boost for firms training staff
If enacted, firms that claimed the new training credit at least once in the past 3 years would get a 5-point boost on bids. The boost would apply to competitive federal contracts over $5,000,000. It would apply to solicitations issued on or after enactment and only for executive agencies.
More options in cybersecurity scholarships
If enacted, CyberCorps students could count teaching a cybersecurity course toward their service, based on roles in the NICE framework. The bill would add cybersecurity course instructors as eligible roles. It would also remove the written priority for placing graduates in federal jobs. Congress says NSF should award at least twice as many CyberCorps scholarships in FY2026 as in FY2024, and should spend at least 110% of FY2024 on the ATE IT and Cybersecurity division in FY2026. These last two are nonbinding requests and do not provide money by themselves.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Lieu
CA • D
Cosponsors
Tokuda
HI • D
Sponsored 3/27/2025
Torres (CA)
CA • D
Sponsored 3/27/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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