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Dear member,
Last night, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved a bill to fund these federal agencies for fiscal year 2026 (FY26).
The bill was approved on a party line vote, 11-7. The full House Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the bill next week. Congress must approve 12 funding bills by the start of the new fiscal year on October 1—or pass a short-term funding extension—to keep the government open.
Overall, the House bill contains a total of $9.6 billion for the US Department of Labor, a 30% decrease from the FY25 level, including $6.6 billion for the Employment and Training Administration, which is 35% below the 2025 level.
Here are some of the key provisions. The bill:
- “Eliminates five duplicative and overlapping job training programs,” according to an announcement by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole. More details about this consolidation are forthcoming when the report that accompanies the bill is released by the Committee.
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Includes $1.1 billion for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State Grants, a decrease of $1.8 billion, or 63 percent, below the 2025 level
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Eliminates funding for WIOA Adult Job Training, a cut of $886 million below the 2025 level
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Eliminates funding for WIOA Youth Job Training, a cut of $948 million below the 2025 level
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Eliminates funding for the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders, a cut of $115 million below the 2025 level
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Includes $285 million for Registered Apprenticeships, equal to the 2025 level, and aligned with President Trump’s Executive Order 14278 signed in April
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Includes $65 million for Strengthening Community College Training Grants, equal to the 2025 level
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Includes $880 million for Job Corps, which is $880 million below the 2025 level
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Eliminates funding for the Senior Community Service Employment for Older Americans Program
- Provides $25 million to grow the American cybersecurity workforce (details to follow in the Committee report)
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Provides $6 million for the Workforce Data Quality Initiative to dramatically improve the usability and efficiency of workforce data systems
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Renames Workforce Pell Grants, which were approved as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” as “Trump Grants.”
This is a serious moment for our field. While this bill stands in sharp contrast to the version passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 31—and differences will need to be reconciled between the two chambers—it serves as a clear wake-up call for all who care about the future of workforce development in the United States.
NAWB will continue to urge Congress to recognize the valuable economic contributions of the public workforce system—business growth, generating additional tax revenue, and reduced reliance of public assistance—and adopt the Senate version of this bill.
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