Congress funds youth workforce programs, mandates youth voice in labor planning

What it does

This bill creates a $100 million competitive grant program (2026–2030) for national youth-serving organizations to run out-of-school workforce readiness programs for ages 6–18. Grantees must operate in at least 35 states and partner with community organizations and employers to offer career exploration, paid work experience, apprenticeships, mentoring, and skills training. The bill also requires local workforce boards to establish youth councils that advise on youth workforce programs.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward competitive grant program to fund out-of-school youth workforce readiness activities. It is a direct public investment in youth employment preparation with no hidden carve-outs or immunity provisions.

What the text implies

• Mandatory youth councils may shift workforce planning authority toward youth input, potentially deprioritizing employer-only preferences in local labor market decisions.
• The 35-state minimum for eligible entities may favor large national nonprofits over smaller regional organizations, concentrating grant power.
• Emphasis on 'recognized postsecondary credentials' and apprenticeships may steer youth toward specific credential pathways, limiting exploration of non-credentialed career routes.
• Subgrant authority allows grantees to distribute funds to community organizations, creating a two-tier accountability structure that may obscure performance measurement.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill expands access to workforce development, mentoring, and paid work experience for youth in underserved communities, with explicit equity requirements (rural/urban balance, underserved populations). It strengthens youth voice in workforce planning through mandatory local youth councils. No restrictions on citizen rights or remedies are imposed.

Who stands to gain

• National youth-serving nonprofits with multi-state presence
• Community-based organizations (subgrantees)
• Employers participating in work-based learning partnerships

Named in the bill

Department of Labor (Secretary), Community-based organizations, Industry or sector partnerships, Local educational agencies, Local workforce boards, Youth councils, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, National Apprenticeship Act

Where it stands

36 cosponsors: 32 Democrats, 4 Republicans.

• Apr 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 14, 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

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $281,481 in lobbying spend. A filing names 1 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 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Josh Harder, the sponsor, reported $523,676 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America — $120,000 on 1 filing
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America — $100,000 on 2 filings
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America — $61,481 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.