{"format":1,"id":"118-hr-6655","congress":118,"number":"H.R. 6655","kind":"bill","group":"bills","title":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act","title_source":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","official_title":"To amend and reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.","titles":[{"type":"Official Title as Introduced","title":"To amend and reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act."},{"type":"Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text","title":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act"},{"type":"Display Title","title":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Introduced","title":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Reported to House","title":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","title":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act"}],"outcome":"passed_house","law_number":null,"introduced":"2023-12-07","chambers":{"house":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2024-04-09","vote":{"id":"118-2024-h105","question":"On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended","title":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act","result":"Passed","yea":378,"nay":26,"present":0,"not_voting":26,"source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll105.xml"}},"senate":{"status":"na","date":null,"vote":null}},"president":{"status":"na","date":null},"vice_president_tie_breaker":null,"latest_action":{"text":"Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.","date":"2024-04-10"},"nominees":null,"amendments":[],"other_votes":[],"crs_summary":{"date":"2023-12-07","stage":"Introduced in House","blocks":[{"k":"h","t":"A Stronger Workforce for America Act"},{"k":"p","t":"This bill reauthorizes through FY2030 and modifies various programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)."},{"k":"p","t":"Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2030 the Job Corps program for low-income youth ages 16 to 24, as well as grant programs for states to provide employment and training services for youth, adults, and dislocated workers through a One-Stop delivery system. It also requires state plans for the grant programs to (1) describe how the state will use real-time labor market information to assess economic conditions and workforce trends, and (2) include an analysis of any gaps in service for applicable youth."},{"k":"p","t":"Additionally, the bill reauthorizes through FY2030 the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) programs, which provide educational services at or below the secondary level and English language training for out-of-school adults. It also specifies that the primary performance indicator for these programs includes the percentage of program participants who exit the program during the program year and complete an integrated education and training program."},{"k":"p","t":"Finally, the bill integrates within the One-Stop delivery system career services that are funded under the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service (ES) program (a nationwide system of public employment offices)."},{"k":"p","t":"For more information on this bill, see CRS Report R47905, A Stronger Workforce for America Act (H.R. 6655): In Brief."}],"words":219},"summary":{"main_subject":{"text":"Amends and reauthorizes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, changing its workforce development, Job Corps, national programs, and adult education provisions and authorizing appropriations for fiscal years 2025 through 2030.","cites":[{"label":"Title I","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H2FA72A3442B04BB9ABF677439FC7E3CA"},{"label":"Title II","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H513837C68FE0432981CB3061A48CCA5A"},{"label":"Sec. 145","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H07159BAA9F034BE7A8AAD4DA770C51D3"},{"label":"Sec. 167","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H950298F33F9F4ED79BF4FDFB84ED5770"}]},"core_areas":["State and local workforce development system alignment and planning","Workforce performance accountability and sanctions","Eligible training provider requirements","Youth workforce investment activities","Adult and dislocated worker employment and training","Job Corps campuses","National workforce programs including reentry and community college grants","Adult education and literacy"],"what_it_does":[{"text":"Authorizes $976,573,900 for youth workforce investment activities, $912,218,500 for adult employment and training, and $1,451,859,000 for dislocated worker activities for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 145","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H07159BAA9F034BE7A8AAD4DA770C51D3"}},{"text":"Requires a Governor to set minimum performance levels for training programs to hold standard eligibility, creates conditional eligibility with staged payments to providers, and requires a Governor to decide on a provider's application within 30 days.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 122","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H5BF43B9BFDB54742A6F07F2EF640EEBC"}},{"text":"Describes a statewide critical industry skills fund through which a State makes per-worker, performance-based payments to eligible entities that provide skills development programs, with half paid on program completion and half after a minimum period of employment.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 143","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H2D913796668A403D86232FF95E218D4E"}},{"text":"Changes the primary indicators of performance and, when a State fails required performance levels or reports, reduces by 5 or 10 percentage points the share of funds the Governor may reserve.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 119","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-HB91C16FF6EF9429FB9CEAFC28B50313C"}},{"text":"Requires Governors to review local workforce area designations, makes proposed redesignations subject to majority approval by local boards, and creates an appeal process for a local board.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 115","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-HE5C0E2D508EF48DE889F7DE61FD30041"}},{"text":"Raises the upper age limit for Job Corps eligibility from 21 to 24.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 153","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H857B10D9CF6E445D9FD218956D58FBA7"}},{"text":"Authorizes $1,760,155,000 for Job Corps for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 167","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H950298F33F9F4ED79BF4FDFB84ED5770"}},{"text":"Creates a competitive grant, contract, and cooperative agreement program for reentry employment projects serving justice-involved adults and youth.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 178","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H6845C91EA0844C1B94DB54B89FF92CC5"}},{"text":"Creates a competitive grant program for community colleges and other eligible institutions to establish or expand workforce development programs in partnership with employers.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 179","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H9B0CD6C080154C019EDF434CF6CDFB85"}},{"text":"Authorizes $751,042,100 for adult education and literacy for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 203","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-HC2715AA45CDA4E379467E1E15C3641AF"}}],"unexpected":[{"category":"narrow_beneficiary","items":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 153","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H857B10D9CF6E445D9FD218956D58FBA7"},"heading":"Individuals eligible for the Job Corps","effect":"Adds residents of a qualified opportunity zone, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, to the Job Corps eligibility criteria in the low-income paragraph.","amount":null,"quote":"or a resident of a qualified opportunity zone as defined in section 1400Z–1(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986"},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 193","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H78C208860FB64CBFA92A9F565457D595"},"heading":"State innovation demonstration authority","effect":"Lets the Secretary approve statewide demonstration projects, with waiver of the requirements of subtitles A and B, only for States that are single State local areas or that have a labor force participation rate under 60 percent and a population under 6,000,000.","amount":null,"quote":"a labor force participation rate that is less than 60 percent for the most recent program year; and (ii) a population of less than 6,000,000"}]},{"category":"place_specific_amount","items":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 171","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H6C0E78C3B260403ABEC9EFC235E0110F"},"heading":"Native American programs","effect":"Authorizes $542,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030 for subsection (k) of the Native American programs section, and caps administrative costs at 10 percent of funds provided to an entity under that section.","amount":"$542,000","quote":"There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $542,000 for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2030."},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 172","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H7AD263BE13DC43928C9BA86384C564FE"},"heading":"Migrant and seasonal farmworker programs","effect":"Caps administrative costs at 10 percent of funds provided to an entity under the migrant and seasonal farmworker programs section and reserves not more than 1 percent of funds for discretionary purposes.","amount":null,"quote":"Not more than 10 percent of the funds provided to an entity under this section may be used for the administrative costs of the activities and services carried out under subsection (d)."},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 176","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H518DEEA81A2347FCB9B6F98B03A5D4DA"},"heading":"YouthBuild Program","effect":"When YouthBuild appropriations exceed $90,000,000, requires reserving at least 20 percent of the excess for grants to applicants located in rural areas or that are Indian Tribes or serve members of an Indian Tribe.","amount":"$90,000,000","quote":"the Secretary shall reserve not less than 20 percent of the amount appropriated that is in excess of $90,000,000 and use such reserved amount to make grants to covered applicants"},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 301","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H7E331691C7BB4BE1975385E4973CCE42"},"heading":"Amendments to the Wagner-Peyser Act","effect":"Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to add the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa, each allotted an amount equal to one-half of Guam's allotment once total funds exceed the fiscal year 2024 level.","amount":null,"quote":"to each of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa, an amount which is equal to one-half of the amount allotted to Guam under paragraph (1) for such fiscal year."}]},{"category":"selective_carve_out","items":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 143","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H2D913796668A403D86232FF95E218D4E"},"heading":"Use of funds for employment and training activities","effect":"Raises the share of local funds that may be reserved for incumbent worker training from 30 percent to 40 percent for local areas with low unemployment, and to 45 percent for those also in States with high labor force participation.","amount":null,"quote":"a local area that had a rate of unemployment of not more than 3 percent for not less than 6 months during the preceding program year, clause (i) shall be applied by substituting “40 percent” for “30 percent”"},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 165","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H9E520C6B5FA143179C8B87BC02F06130"},"heading":"Management information","effect":"Sets a separate performance-failure rule for Civilian Conservation Centers: after 3 consecutive program years below 90 percent of expected performance levels, an operator is selected competitively.","amount":null,"quote":"With respect to a Civilian Conservation Center that, for 3 consecutive program years, fails to meet an average of 90 percent of the expected levels of performance"},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 192","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H3066C73961A24B73913E16CCBBFB46A7"},"heading":"General waivers of statutory or regulatory requirements","effect":"Adds the performance reports described in section 116(d) and the requirement in section 134(c)(1)(B) to the list of requirements that can be waived under the general waiver authority.","amount":null,"quote":"the procedures for review and approval of plans, the performance reports described in section 116(d), and the requirement described in section 134(c)(1)(B)"},{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 302","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh#toc-H64DC96C7E36740199FA6FC62D8D96E38"},"heading":"Job training grants","effect":"Rewrites the job training grants program for dislocated workers, requiring individual training accounts of at least $5,000 but allowing a lower limit for workers who are not low-income once local allocations are exhausted.","amount":"$5,000","quote":"for any eligible dislocated worker who is not a low-income individual, may limit the maximum amount available for the individual training account under subparagraph (A) for such worker to an amount that is less than $5,000."}]}],"version":{"type":"Engrossed in House","date":"2024-04-09","rule":"passed","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text/eh"},"current":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","approved":"2026-10-02","approved_by":"checks"},"sources":{"congress_gov":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655","text":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6655/text"},"card":{"image":"card/item/118-hr-6655.png","v":"d0096c869eb1","alt":"Votes on Record. H.R. 6655, 118th Congress: A Stronger Workforce for America Act. House: 378 Yea, 26 Nay. Outcome: Passed House, 9 Apr 2024."}}