# 119-hr-1859: Apprenticeship Opportunity Act

119-hr-1859, Apprenticeship Opportunity Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1859
- As of: 2026-11-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1859
- Congress: 119
- Title: Apprenticeship Opportunity Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-03-05
- Sponsor: Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Social Welfare
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-11-03

## Summary

**Excludes first-year registered apprenticeship earnings from TANF income checks.** This bill would change how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families counts money by not treating wages from the first year of a National Apprenticeship Act registered apprenticeship as income when states determine TANF eligibility. - Families: Low-income households with a member in a first-year registered apprenticeship could keep TANF benefits that might otherwise end because of new apprenticeship wages. This could make work-based training less likely to push families off assistance. - Apprentices: People in the first year of a registered apprenticeship would see their apprenticeship pay ignored for TANF eligibility. That lowers a barrier to combining training and benefits. - States and funding: States are expected to apply the rule to their TANF programs. If a state violates the rule, the Secretary can cut its next years family assistance grant by **1 percent**.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38] (D-CA), 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Strickland, Marilyn [D-WA-10] (D-WA), 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Larsen, Rick [D-WA-2] (D-WA), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] (D-WA), 2025-03-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-37] (D-TX), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (D-WA), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Cash aid would ignore first-year apprenticeship pay: benefit, medium. If enacted, your state would not count your pay from the first year of a registered apprenticeship when deciding if you qualify for TANF cash aid. The apprenticeship would need to be registered under the National Apprenticeship Act. If a state does not follow this rule, its federal TANF grant would…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-hr-3838: Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1859 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1859)

## Related
- [119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8800)
- [119-hr-3838: Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defe…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3838)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1859 (as of 2026-11-03).