Congress subsidizes employer cybersecurity training—with no guarantee of new jobs
H.R. 2447 — New Collar Jobs Act of 2025 · Filed by Ted Lieu (D-CA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 27, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates tax credits and federal funding programs to encourage cybersecurity education and workforce development. Employers get a 50% tax credit (up to $5,000 per employee) for paying for workers' cybersecurity training or certifications; the federal government expands scholarships and loan-repayment programs for cybersecurity students; and federal contractors face incentives to hire and train cybersecurity workers. The stated goal is to close a skills gap in industrial cybersecurity as manufacturing becomes more automated and vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a corporate tax credit for employer-funded training, paired with federal scholarship and loan-repayment programs. While framed as workforce development, the primary beneficiary is employers receiving tax relief for training costs they may have incurred anyway.
What the text implies
- The $5,000-per-employee tax credit is uncapped by total employer size or annual spending, potentially creating large tax expenditures with no sunset or evaluation requirement.
- The bill does not require employers to hire new workers or expand payroll; the credit applies to training existing employees, meaning it may simply subsidize training that would have occurred regardless.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
employers in manufacturing and industrial sectors; technology and cybersecurity training providers; defense contractors (via government contract incentives)