A Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Walberg
Introduced
Summary
Would shift federal workforce law toward skills-based training and employer-driven hiring. It would rewrite WIOA to prioritize competency-based pathways, employer-directed skills agreements with cost-sharing, expanded youth apprenticeships, new competitive grants, and stronger data and performance rules.
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- Workers and jobseekers would get broader training access, Individual Training Accounts with minimums of $5,000, expanded supportive services including housing, food, and assistive technology, and new youth apprenticeship and reskilling grant opportunities.
- Employers would be able to sponsor employer-directed training tied to hiring commitments and would face required cost-sharing that starts as low as 10% for very small firms, plus access to Critical Industry Skills Fund payments tied to performance.
- States, local boards, and colleges would see governance and regional redesigns, larger local boards, stricter performance reporting and transparency, and a new "Workforce Innovation Leader" designation for top-performing programs (e.g., an 80% credential attainment benchmark).
*Would authorize multiyear annual federal investments across workforce and adult-education titles totaling billions per year for FY2027–2032, increasing federal spending.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
25 provisions identified: 14 benefits, 0 costs, 11 mixed.
Yearly Workforce Program Funding
If enacted, the bill would authorize annual funding amounts for FY2027–2032 for many workforce and education programs. Examples include roughly $1.33 billion a year for dislocated worker activities, $948 million for youth workforce activities, $875 million for adult employment, and $729 million for adult education. Community college workforce grants would be funded from appropriations and may reserve up to 2% for administration and technical help.
Adult education moved to Labor
If enacted, functions of the adult education program (Title II) would move from Education to the Department of Labor one year after enactment. Adult education would be subject to WIOA performance rules and could include digital and AI literacy and integrated education and training. The bill also authorizes AEFLA funding and creates a 1% reserve for outlying areas when certain funding thresholds are met.
Better Adult Education and Training Support
If enacted, the bill would increase federal help to improve adult education programs and teacher preparation. States would get technical help to use longitudinal and wage data and to spread evidence‑based integrated education and training. Providers could earn incentive payments for using integrated training and must post non‑Federal contribution sources on public websites. Title II adult education providers would be eligible for certain training funds when combined with occupational training.
Grants to Help People Reenter Work
If enacted, the bill would create a Reentry Employment Opportunities program with competitive grants for local projects and national intermediaries. At least 20% of funds would go to national or regional intermediaries and 20% to youth reentry projects. Initial grants would run up to 4 years, require matches, and intermediaries must propose subawardees across multiple noncontiguous areas and States.
Help for workers hit by layoffs
If enacted, the definition of "dislocated worker" would explicitly cover layoffs caused by automation. Rapid Response would help remote workers, let eligible dislocated workers use Individual Training Accounts, and add layoff‑aversion and upskilling tools. National Dislocated Worker Grants could fund jobs and training tied to substance use prevention and treatment in hard-hit areas and help healthcare workers responding to those needs.
Migrant farmworker program updates
If enacted, migrant and seasonal farmworker grants could not be limited by where a provider is located. Digital literacy would be added to allowable literacy services. Administrative costs would be capped at 10% of funds for each entity. The Secretary would use State wage records to measure outcomes and publish results annually.
More career services at centers
If enacted, one-stop and colocated Employment Service offices would offer more basic career help. Services would include job search, career counseling, near real-time labor market info, and referrals to SNAP, TANF, childcare, Medicaid/CHIP, EITC help, and unemployment filing help. Centers must refer people who lack basic skills to adult education and may let youth start activities provisionally for up to 40 days while eligibility is checked. Colocated Employment Service offices could run a "talent marketplace" to match jobseekers and employers.
More Youth Training and Apprenticeships
If enacted, the bill would fund YouthBuild at $105 million per year and allow meals and referrals to means‑tested benefits during activities. The Department would use wage records to report YouthBuild performance annually. The bill would also create competitive grants to expand youth apprenticeships for 16–24 year olds, with applicants required to provide a 25% non‑Federal match and limits on supportive service use.
Help Employers Hire People With Disabilities
If enacted, the bill would create a federal Center to help employers and States move people working under special certificates into competitive integrated jobs. The Center would give technical assistance, coordinate existing resources, and define competitive integrated employment. The Department would also study access to workforce services for people with disabilities and whether Title IV wait lists drive people to other programs.
One‑Stop system and state boards
If enacted, the bill would modernize one-stop centers and local workforce boards. Centers would need physical and virtual access points, show system IDs, and handle virtual service rules. Local boards could grow (up to 30 members), add youth and housing reps, and align more with career-technical education. The Department of Labor would start expanded technical help to State boards within 12 months.
Job Corps performance and access
If enacted, Job Corps campuses would face annual performance assessments and a defined failure condition: campus averages under 90% of expected levels and ranking in the lowest 20% would trigger a three-year improvement plan and possible management changes. The law would raise the age limit from 21 to 24 and let some graduates stay on campus up to one month to transition. It would also increase a small set-aside for experimental projects and technical assistance.
Rules for Individual Training Accounts
If enacted, the bill would require local areas to use at least 50% of certain funds for training and ITAs. ITAs for eligible dislocated workers generally would be at least $5,000, and payments could not exceed actual training costs. Local areas must inform workers about employer options before selecting training and may let people begin training while eligibility is checked, but local areas would not have to pay for ITAs if federal funds are exhausted.
Employers Must Share Training Costs
If enacted, the bill would require employers to pay part of training costs based on firm size. Small employers (50 or fewer employees) would pay at least 10%, medium employers 51–100 at least 25%, and large employers over 100 at least 50%. The bill would allow employer‑directed training and require employer hiring or interview commitments, and it would set different federal share caps by employer size for State skills and partnership grants.
More Rules for Training Providers
If enacted, the bill would tighten who can be an eligible training provider and require annual reviews. Providers would have to share participant data in a common, open format and meet new performance metric minimums or face ineligibility for set years. The bill would define pay‑for‑performance contracting rules and create a 'Workforce Innovation Leader' quality seal for top programs.
Agency reorganization and transfers to Labor
If enacted, the Secretary of Labor would be allowed to move, combine, or delegate duties inside the Department. Staff, assets, contracts, records, and unspent balances from certain offices would transfer to Labor and must be used for their original purposes. The Office of Management and Budget would be able to make related transfers but must certify there is no net increase in federal full‑time employees within one year. The bill would also repeal specified older WIOA subsections on the date of enactment.
Changes to youth eligibility and funds
If enacted, States and local areas would change how youth funds are split between in-school and out-of-school youth. The State target for out-of-school youth would be lowered from 75% to 70% and local areas must set a local minimum not less than 45% for out-of-school youth. The bill would let one-stop centers use Higher Education Act rules to verify homeless or foster-care status and add a statutory focus on youth career pathways.
New Performance Rules and Penalties
If enacted, the bill would set new performance templates and publish expected State levels in machine‑readable formats. It would fund state workforce data grants (5–10% of a referenced pot) to build longitudinal systems. Local areas and States that miss performance thresholds could face stepped reductions in reserved or allocated funds, including up to multi‑percent cuts with caps. Governors must establish procedures for serious violations and reassign reduced funds to other areas.
State and Local Workforce Governance
If enacted, States would review and may redesign workforce regions on a set timetable and keep current local designations for several program years. Governors could reserve funds only up to committed matching sources. The bill would allow a State to become a single‑State local area under strict rules and require local boards to form standing committees on workforce, education, and reentry. The Department would have to publish proposed rules within 180 days and final rules within 12 months.
Stricter provider rules and payments
If enacted, the bill would change who stays on eligible training lists and what they must report. Registered apprenticeships and Workforce Pell programs could remain listed while active, but Governors must set eligibility procedures and quarterly wage reporting. States could treat reallocated funds as performance bonuses, but pay-for-performance incentives from reserved funds would be capped at 5%. Some local areas would be barred from receiving reallocated funds unless they meet strict 100% performance and compliance tests.
More support and skills checks
If enacted, workforce programs could offer more supportive services, including housing help, food assistance, and assistive technology. Individualized career services would be required to use evidence-based assessments and consider competency-based tests to speed entry into in-demand jobs.
Faster local job data funding
If enacted, labor market information must be as close to real-time as practicable and show part-time, seasonal, gig, and new skills by local area. The bill would also count workforce data quality funds in state allotment math. Congress would be authorized to appropriate $52,892,000 per year for FY2027–FY2032 for these improvements.
New Consolidated Workforce Pilots
If enacted, the bill would create a 5‑year 'Make America Skilled Again' pilot letting States and local consortia run consolidated youth and adult workforce grants with many waivers. Pilots must reserve at least 25% of funds for evidence‑based activities. The Secretary must evaluate pilots, and approvals are limited to a small number of State and local pilots.
State allotments and local caps
If enacted, two territories would be added to certain allotment formulas and each would get half of Guam's allotment once the allotment pool exceeds the FY2024 total. The bill would let Governors reserve funds for a Critical Industry Skills Fund. It would also cap vocational rehabilitation program contributions for one-stop infrastructure at 1.5% of their Federal funds in a program year.
Local workforce funding and waivers
If enacted, the Secretary would expand common waiver authority and must give States model waiver templates within one year. Returned funds from sanctioned States would be reallotted only to States that were not cut and to those among the five with the biggest performance gains, split based on each State's normal allotment share. Local workforce boards and elected officials could form a single regional consortium to receive and pool federal funds, with one fiscal agent. If a local allocation is too small for one-stop center costs, partners could agree in writing to cover the remainder. The required partner contribution for certain one-stop infrastructure clauses would rise from 3% to 5%.
More monitoring, studies, and sanctions
If enacted, the Secretary would have to study pay‑for‑performance grants and compare them to older grant methods within four years. The Secretary could also study job quality after people leave programs and report on whether job‑quality measures could become performance indicators. The bill would add more legal review rights for certain actions, expand monitoring to include subrecipients, and require a minimum two‑year corrective remedy for specified failures. It would also bar the Secretary from using some new authorities until required evaluations are started or finished on time.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Walberg
MI • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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