03.19.21

Hoeven Helps Introduce Legislation to Support Individuals Pursuing Education and Job Training to Reenter the Workforce

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven this week joined Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in introducing the Jumpstart Our Businesses By Supporting Students (JOBS) Act. This legislation will help support individuals pursuing high-quality, shorter-term education and training programs by expanding eligibility to receive federal Pell Grants.

“The JOBS Act will help close the skills gap for workers not only in North Dakota, but across the country,” said Hoeven. “It’s important that we allow individuals seeking high-quality, shorter-term education and job-training to have access to Pell Grants so that they can better afford to acquire the skills necessary to join the workforce or pursue new career opportunities as the economy continues to reopen and the country works to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation has bipartisan support and will have a positive impact on a full economic recovery.” 

In addition to Hoeven, Portman and Kaine, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). 

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 and Business Roundtable. 

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