WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) in introducing the Jumpstart Our Businesses By Supporting Students (JOBS) Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation to make high-quality, shorter-term education and training programs eligible for federal Pell Grants.
“Our economy is only as strong as our workforce. By Increasing access to job training programs and other in demand career pathways, we are preparing the next generation of workers to meet the opportunities of tomorrow," Senator Cramer. “The JOBS Act is a commonsense way to open more doors for students by diversifying the educational opportunities available to them.”
The JOBS Act would amend the Higher Education Act by:
Learn more about the JOBS Act here and read the bill text here.
Senators Cramer, Kaine, and Portman are joined on the bill by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Roger Wicker (R-MS). U.S. Representatives Andy Levin (D-MI-09) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are joined on the House bill by Representatives Abigail Spanberger(D-VA-07), Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-03), John Katko (R-NY-24), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE At Large), and Ashley Hinson (R-IA-01).
The JOBS Act is endorsed by the National Skills Coalition (NSC), the Association of Community Colleges and Trustees (ACCT), the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Opportunity America, Jobs for the Future, Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), Advance CTE, Rebuilding America’s Middle Class (RAMC), Higher Learning Advocates, Business Roundtable, and the Virginia Community College System.