Job Corps Shipbuilding-Defense Industrial Base Pipeline Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would align Job Corps training with the defense industrial base and expand enrollment and funding rules to build a pipeline of skilled shipbuilding and industrial workers. It focuses on retraining recruits and veterans, realigning trades at Job Corps centers, and unlocking Defense Department support to upgrade curricula and facilities.
Show full summary
- Military recruits and veterans: Military recruiters must notify recruits who are ineligible to enlist under enlistment standards about Job Corps and registered apprenticeships. The bill would let recent veterans and recruits enroll with relaxed background checks, including those within 90 days of separation or who passed an enlistment background check.
- Job Corps centers and operators: Centers would gain local authority to hire staff and form education partnerships without prior Secretary approval. The Department of Defense could fund realignment of trades, curricula, equipment, and facilities, and external grants and donations would be allowed but must be used exclusively and publicly reported annually.
- Defense and shipbuilding employers: Job Corps programs and individual center operators would become eligible for an existing shipbuilding-related incentive, creating a clearer labor pipeline for the defense industrial base.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
More defense training through Job Corps
If enacted, the bill would direct the Department of Defense's National Imperative for Industrial Skills program to expand use of Job Corps centers and registered apprenticeships to train workers for the defense industrial base. The Secretary of Defense could fund changes to trades, curricula, equipment, facilities, and create Job Corps transition hubs near shipyards. The bill would add Job Corps programs and individual Job Corps center operators to the list eligible for a shipbuilding incentive. The bill would require military recruiters to tell recruits who are ineligible under 10 U.S.C. 520 about Job Corps and registered apprenticeship options.
Faster Job Corps enrollment for veterans
If enacted, members eligible for pre-separation counseling under 10 U.S.C. 1142 would be explicitly able to enroll in Job Corps. Veterans who left the Armed Forces not more than 90 days before applying and who are not barred from retired pay would be able to enroll without a separate Job Corps background check. Military recruits who are ineligible to enlist under 10 U.S.C. 520 but passed an enlistment background check within 90 days would also be exempt from a Job Corps background check. The bill would count enlistments with AFQT scores above the 31st percentile as a 'success in military recruitment' for Job Corps graduates.
Job Corps centers: local control and donations
If enacted, a Job Corps center operator could hire staff, provide staff development, set partnership terms, and enter agreements without prior Secretary approval, as long as the actions fit the center's approved budget. The Secretary or a center operator could accept grants and charitable cash donations for a center, but the funds would have to be used exclusively for Job Corps purposes. Any property bought by a center with such funds would be transferred to the Secretary without reimbursement. Donations could not require specific placement or employment for enrollees, and the Secretary would publish an annual list of grants and donations with amounts and sources.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Reed, Jack [D-RI]
RI • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
ME • R
Sponsored 5/20/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov