Reducing Arbitrary Barriers to Apprenticeship Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Finstad, Brad [R-MN-1]
Introduced
Summary
Guarantees 100 percent of monthly VA education pay for veterans in apprenticeship and on-the-job training. This bill would align Post-9/11, All-Volunteer, and Selected Reserve benefits so apprentices and OTJ trainees receive full monthly assistance and ease attendance barriers while creating a specific construction-sector exception (NAICS Sector 23).
Show full summary
- Veterans in apprenticeship or on-the-job training programs would receive the full monthly educational assistance allowance. The bill sets those programs at 100 percent of the monthly amount otherwise payable under each education program.
- Members of the All-Volunteer Force and the Selected Reserve would be treated the same as Post-9/11 beneficiaries, with full monthly payments for full-time apprenticeship or OTJ instead of reduced or prorated rates.
- The bill removes minimum-attendance barriers for most apprenticeships and OTJ but adds a carve-out for occupations in NAICS Sector 23 (construction), so construction apprentices are not eligible for the attendance waiver.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Full pay and housing for apprentices
If enacted, veterans and service members in qualifying full-time apprenticeships or on-the-job training would get full monthly education pay. For the All-Volunteer and Selected Reserve programs, the bill would set the monthly educational allowance at 100 percent of the amount otherwise payable to the individual. For Post-9/11 benefits, the bill would set the monthly housing stipend equal to the E-5 with dependents basic allowance for housing (BAH) for the military housing area that covers the employer's ZIP code. You must be enrolled in a qualifying full-time program to receive these payments.
Construction apprentices lose attendance waiver
If enacted, apprentices working in construction jobs (occupations classified in NAICS Sector 23 in the most recent NAICS) would not be eligible for the attendance-waiver exception in the Post-9/11, All-Volunteer, and Selected Reserve education programs. That means standard minimum attendance rules would continue to apply to those construction apprentices. This change only affects apprentices whose work is in NAICS Sector 23.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Finstad, Brad [R-MN-1]
MN • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26]
NY • D
Sponsored 9/3/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov