# 119-hr-9596: Federal Jobs for STARs Act of 2026

119-hr-9596, Federal Jobs for STARs Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9596
- As of: 2026-10-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9596
- Congress: 119
- Title: Federal Jobs for STARs Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-06
- Sponsor: Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 12
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-03

## Summary

**Removes routine college-degree barriers to federal hiring for skilled workers without a bachelor's degree.** This bill would direct the Office of Personnel Management to limit when agencies can demand a degree, require alternative qualification rules, and create a dedicated hiring path on USAJOBS for STARs.

## Cosponsors (12)

- Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2] (R-VA), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mackenzie, Ryan [R-PA-7] (R-PA), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bynum, Janelle S. [D-OR-5] (D-OR), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGuire, John J. [R-VA-5] (R-VA), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Walkinshaw, James R. [D-VA-11] (D-VA), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6] (R-WI), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2] (D-MN), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crockett, Jasmine [D-TX-30] (D-TX), 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Agencies can't require college degrees: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would direct the OPM Director to prohibit agency heads from requiring a minimum educational attainment for a position unless the Director finds the degree is necessary because the job needs skills that can only be obtained through that degree. OPM would write rules that let app…
- New STAR hiring path on USAJOBS: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would require OPM to set up a dedicated STAR hiring path on USAJOBS or any successor website. Executive agencies would be directed to mark job postings that fall inside that hiring path so STAR workers can filter and search for those positions. This would take effect upon enact…
- Who counts as a STAR worker: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would define who counts as a STAR worker. A STAR would be someone in the labor force who does not have a bachelors or higher degree and who learned job skills through alternative routes like community college, apprenticeships, bootcamps, military service, partial college, othe…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250
- 119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9596 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9596)

## Related
- [119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9250)
- [119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4382)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9596 (as of 2026-10-03).