Congressmen Dan Meuser (R-PA) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) introduced two bills to connect job seekers with job opportunities and to enhance employers' investment in workforce development programs.
These bipartisan bills, the Partnerships for American Jobs Act, and the Investing in American Workers Act, ensure the federal government is an effective partner in filling open jobs and ensuring workers have the needed skills to fill these jobs. The Partnerships for American Jobs Act would create a new initiative to promote skills training programs and job opportunities in communities through the powerful platform of public media which reaches 99% of Americans. The Investing in American Workers Act of 2021 prioritizes workers in U.S. recovery efforts by creating a tax credit to incentivize employers to invest in training tied to recognized postsecondary credentials.
A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 425 of business owners reported job openings that could not be filled and 37% have opening for skilled workers.
The Partnership for American Jobs Act would create a grant program modeled on the successful American Graduate program which has provided funding to local media stations to improve educational outcomes for high school students with notable success in its eight-year history. The bill would apply this successful model to promote skills training and to fill jobs.
Right now, many companies have almost no direct financial incentive to invest in their workers. In fact, the current U.S. tax code offers a Research and Development (R&D) tax credit for employers that make long-term investments in innovation – such as computers, buildings, and machines – but not workers. The Investing in American Workers Act updates the tax code to promote these same kinds of investments in workforce training.
"The Department of Labor reports there are 8.1 million open jobs nationwide. With the right policy, we can help businesses fill these jobs and advance their employees' career and their business' growth." said Congressman Meuser. "These two bills do just that by harnessing the power of public media to connect job seekers with job opportunities in their area and by supporting employers' investment in workforce development. The Partnership for American Jobs Act and the Investing in American Workers Act are important components of a national push to close the skills gap and get America working. I'm proud to lead these important bills with my good friend Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and I look forward to working with him to see them become law."
"I'm proud to be a co-lead alongside Congressman Meuser for the Partnership for American Jobs Act and the Investing in American Workers Act to bring new innovation to our economy and workforce development," Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. "The Partnership for American Jobs Act is an innovative approach to using public media outlets to promote job opportunities and skills development, while the Investing in American Workers Act will incentivize employers to expand educational and technical training opportunities to their workers to boost their productivity. Both of these bills prove that workforce development is a bipartisan issue, where our goals of strengthening the middle class and supporting working families align."
About the Partnership for American Jobs Act
- Authorizes the U.S. Department of Education to promote the creation of television, radio, and digital content exposing young Americans to educational and workforce opportunities deemed in-demand by a diverse coalition of state and local partners.
- The initiative builds on programs such as the ‘American Graduate' program administered by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that provides high-quality educational content to help expand exposure to career pathways for young Americans across the country.
- Importantly, this initiative brings together industry, educational institutions, labor organizations, and local media to develop quality content to promote the availability of work and training opportunities locally.
- The public broadcasting initiatives also aims to end the stigma associated with many in-demand occupations that has led to a significant skills gap.
In the House, Congressmen Meuser and Krishnamoorthi and joined by Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Cindy Axne (D-IA), Susan Wild (D-PA), and Tom Emmer (R-MN). Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Bob Casey (D-PA).
- Establishing a tax credit for employers increasing spending on worker training:
- The amount of the credit is equal to 20 percent of the increased spending that is used to provide qualified training to employees earning less than $82,000 per year.
- Incentivizing high-quality training by detailing allowable providers and programs:
- Qualified training may be provided through a nationally or state-recognized registered apprenticeship program; a WIOA-certified training program; a program conducted by an area career and technical education school, community college, or labor organization; or a program sponsored or administered by an employer, industry trade association, industry or sector partnership, or labor organization. The training must result in the completion of a recognized post-secondary credential such as an industry-recognized certification, a certificate of completion of an apprenticeship, a license recognized by the State or Federal Government, or an associate or bachelor's degree.
- Encouraging small businesses to upskill workers by providing a simplified filing process and allowing them to apply the credit against payroll and alternative minimum taxes:
- Qualified small businesses making less than $5,000,000 for at least six years in a row, as well as qualified tax-exempt entities, can elect to apply up to $250,000 of the credit against payroll taxes.
Original source can be found here.
