Federal apprenticeship grants expand pathways for underrepresented workers
H.R. 1783 — American Apprenticeship Act · Filed by Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) · 14 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 3, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill authorizes the federal government to make competitive grants to states to help pay for pre-apprenticeship training and related classroom instruction for workers entering registered apprenticeship programs in industries that currently have fewer than 10% of all apprenticeships. The federal government covers 20–50% of costs; states cover the rest. The bill aims to expand apprenticeships in high-demand fields like IT, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing, with special focus on reaching minorities, youth, veterans, and people with employment barriers.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward federal grant program designed to expand apprenticeship access in underrepresented sectors and populations. It is a public investment in workforce development, not a tax break, subsidy to a named entity, or commemorative measure.
What the text implies
- The 10% threshold for 'qualified apprenticeships' (programs representing <10% of national apprenticeships) may inadvertently exclude growing sectors that already have significant apprenticeship presence, potentially limiting the bill's reach in high-demand fields like construction or manufacturing where apprenticeships are already established.
- The requirement that pre-apprenticeship sponsors have 'documented partnerships' with qualified apprenticeship sponsors may create barriers for community-based organizations in rural or underserved areas where such partnerships are sparse, potentially concentrating benefits in urban/suburban regions.
- The bill requires states to 'leverage' existing WIOA and Perkins Act funds, which may pressure states to redirect existing workforce dollars toward apprenticeships rather than other workforce services, creating a hidden reallocation effect.
- Performance measures are to be established by the Secretary after the bill's enactment, leaving the actual success criteria undefined at passage—states and Congress will not know the evaluation standard until implementation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill expands access to apprenticeship training for workers, particularly those historically underrepresented in skilled trades, reducing barriers to entry and creating pathways to stable employment. The federal cost-share (20–50%) lowers the burden on states and workers, and the requirement to coordinate with existing workforce programs (WIOA, Perkins Act) and leverage other federal aid (Pell Grants, veteran benefits) ensures funds supplement rather than replace existing support.
Who stands to gain
- postsecondary educational institutions (community colleges, technical schools)
- registered apprenticeship sponsors (employers, trade associations, labor organizations)
- community-based organizations serving as pre-apprenticeship providers
Named in the bill
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Education, State entities (designated by governors), Office of Apprenticeship, National Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, Higher Education Act of 1965
Where it stands
14 cosponsors: 14 Democrats.
- Mar 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $4,770,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 18 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Rosa DeLauro, the sponsor, reported $624,463 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Google Client Services LLC — $3,570,000 on 1 filing
- National Electrical Contractors Association, Inc. — $1,200,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (10,230 characters) on May 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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