# 119-s-5664: FUTURE of Workers Act

119-s-5664, FUTURE of Workers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5664
- As of: 2026-10-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5664
- Congress: 119
- Title: FUTURE of Workers Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-30
- Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-17

## Summary

**This bill would create a national Worker Adaptation and Training Program (WATP)** to retrain and support workers displaced by automation and artificial intelligence, funded by new AI-service taxes and employer contributions. It combines wage-replacement, job-placement, Medicaid eligibility changes, employer accountability, and dedicated trust-fund financing into a single federal framework. - Workers: WATP would cover gig and contractor workers and offer career counseling, retraining, placement, temporary wage replacement phased over up to five years (75% for years 1–3, 50% year 4, 25% year 5), relocation aid capped at $10,000, and monthly support payments tied to state median wages or prior income. - Families and households: Participants and their dependents could access optional Medicaid under a new WATP pathway, with medical assistance extended for six months after placement and WATP-related income excluded from Medicaid income counting. - Employers and taxes: The bill creates a new excise tax on qualifying AI services with tiered rates (typically 4%, 6%, 8% with a lower first-year phase-in), a payroll contribution regime, and an Excess Displacement Accountability tax plus C-corporation surtaxes; state and local employers hiring participants face a 25% wage and fringe cost share.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Federal response to high unemployment: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would trigger stepped federal actions when unemployment stays above set thresholds for two consecutive quarters. Above 6% unemployment, agencies would be required to consider job impacts for grants and loans. Above 7.5%, an emergency interagency task force and GAO and CBO revie…
- Higher employer taxes for job cuts: cost, high. If enacted, the bill would tax employers for eliminated U.S. full-time positions during a saturation period. The tax would generally equal payroll-tax equivalents for baseline pay for each eliminated position for five years; replacing employees with contractors would count as elimination. The bill…
- New employer displacement fees and rules: cost, medium. If enacted, the bill would let Labor charge employers for WATP services provided to workers tied to that employer and require a new quarterly displacement contribution. The contribution would be based on U.S. wages and a displacement ratio, rounded to the nearest 0.1% and capped at 2%. Employers co…
- Tax on AI services providers: cost, medium. If enacted, the bill would impose an annual excise tax on U.S. receipts for qualifying AI services above $50 million. Rates would be tiered at 4%, 6%, and 8% for amounts above $50 million, $500 million, and $5 billion, with reduced 2%, 3%, and 4% rates in the first calendar year. Federal contract r…
- New national retraining program for workers: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would create a Worker Adaptation and Training Program run by the Labor Department. The program would offer career counseling, retraining, job placement help, and financial supports. It would be authorized at $60 billion per fiscal year, with up to 5% for administration. Partici…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-2231: GLOBE Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-5664 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5664)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-2231: GLOBE Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2231)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5664 (as of 2026-10-17).