119-s1683

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1683 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1683

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for Workforce Pell 
 Grants.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 May 8, 2025

 Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. McCormick, and 
 Mr. Justice) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for Workforce Pell 
 Grants.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Employment and Lifelong 
Learning Act of 2025'' or the ``PELL Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--

Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (k) Workforce Pell Grant Program.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--For the award year beginning on July 1, 
 2026, and each subsequent award year, the Secretary shall award 
 grants (to be known as `Workforce Pell Grants') to eligible 
 students under paragraph

    (2) in accordance with this 
 subsection.
 ``

    (2) Eligible students.--To be eligible to receive a 
 Workforce Pell Grant under this subsection for any period of 
 enrollment, a student shall meet the eligibility requirements 
 for a Federal Pell Grant under this section, except that the 
 student--
 ``
        (A) shall be enrolled, or accepted for 
 enrollment, in an eligible program under 

section 481

    (b)

    (3) (hereinafter referred to as an `eligible 
 workforce program'); and
 ``
        (B) may not--
 ``
            (i) be enrolled, or accepted for 
 enrollment, in a program of study that leads to 
 a graduate credential; or
 ``
            (ii) have attained such a credential.
 ``

    (3) Terms and conditions of awards.--The Secretary shall 
 award Workforce Pell Grants under this subsection in the same 
 manner and with the same terms and conditions as the Secretary 
 awards Federal Pell Grants under this section, except that--
 ``
        (A) each use of the term `eligible program' 
 (except in subsections

    (b)

    (9)
        (A) and
            (d) (2) ) shall be 
 substituted by `eligible workforce program under 
 

section 481

    (b)

    (3) '; and
 ``
        (B) a student who is eligible for a grant equal 
 to less than the amount of the minimum Federal Pell 
 Grant because the eligible workforce program in which 
 the student is enrolled or accepted for enrollment is 
 less than an academic year (in hours of instruction or 
 weeks of duration) may still be eligible for a 
 Workforce Pell Grant in an amount that is prorated 
 based on the length of the program.
 ``

    (4) Prevention of double benefits.--No eligible student 
 described in paragraph

    (2) may concurrently receive a grant 
 under both this subsection and--
 ``
        (A) subsection

    (b) ; or
 ``
        (B) subsection
            (c) .
 ``

    (5) Duration limit.--Any period of study covered by a 
 Workforce Pell Grant awarded under this subsection shall be 
 included in determining a student's duration limit under 
 subsection
            (d) (5) .''.

    (b) Program Eligibility for Workforce Pell Grants.--

Section 481

    (b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088

    (b) ) is amended--

    (1) by redesignating paragraphs

    (3) and

    (4) as paragraphs

    (4) and

    (5) , respectively;

    (2) by inserting after paragraph

    (2) the following:
 ``

    (3)
        (A) A program is an eligible program for purposes of 
 the Workforce Pell Grant program under 

section 401

    (k) only if--
 ``
            (i) it is a program of at least 150 clock hours 
 of instruction, but less than 600 clock hours of 
 instruction, or an equivalent number of credit hours, 
 offered by an eligible institution during a minimum of 
 8 weeks, but less than 15 weeks;
 ``
            (ii) it is not offered as a correspondence 
 course, as defined in 600.2 of title 34, Code of 
 Federal Regulations (as in effect on September 20, 
 2020);
 ``
            (iii) the Governor of a State, after consultation 
 with the State board, makes a determination that the 
 program--
 ``
            (I) provides an education aligned with 
 the requirements of high-skill, high-wage (as 
 identified by the State pursuant to 

section 122 
 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2342)), or in-demand 
 industry sectors or occupations;
 ``
            (II) meets the hiring requirements of 
 potential employers in the sectors or 
 occupations described in subclause
            (I) ;
 ``
            (III) either--
 ``

    (aa) leads to a recognized 
 postsecondary credential that is 
 stackable and portable across more than 
 one employer; or
 ``

    (bb) with respect to students 
 enrolled in the program--
 ``

    (AA) prepares such 
 students for employment in an 
 occupation for which there is 
 only one recognized 
 postsecondary credential; and
 ``

    (BB) provides such 
 students with such a credential 
 upon completion of such 
 program; and
 ``
            (IV) prepares students to pursue 1 or 
 more certificate or degree programs at 1 or 
 more institutions of higher education (which 
 may include the eligible institution providing 
 the program), including by ensuring--
 ``

    (aa) that a student, upon 
 completion of the program and 
 enrollment in such a related 
 certificate or degree program, will 
 receive academic credit for the program 
 that will be accepted toward meeting 
 such certificate or degree program 
 requirements; and
 ``

    (bb) the acceptability of such 
 credit toward meeting such certificate 
 or degree program requirements;
 ``
            (iv) after the Governor of such State makes the 
 determination that the program meets the requirements 
 under clause
            (iii) , the Secretary determines that--
 ``
            (I) the program has been offered by the 
 eligible institution for not less than 1 year 
 prior to the date on which the Secretary makes 
 a determination under this clause;
 ``
            (II) for each award year, the program has 
 a verified completion rate of at least 70 
 percent, within 150 percent of the normal time 
 for completion; and
 ``
            (III) for each award year, the program 
 has a verified job placement rate of at least 
 70 percent, measured 180 days after completion; 
 and
 ``
            (v) for each award year, the total amount of the 
 published tuition and fees of the program for such year 
 is an amount that does not exceed the value-added 
 earnings of students who received Federal financial aid 
 under this title and who completed the program 3 years 
 prior to the award year, as such earnings are 
 determined by calculating the difference between--
 ``
            (I) the median earnings of such students, 
 as adjusted by the State and metropolitan area 
 regional price parities of the Bureau of 
 Economic Analysis based on the location of such 
 program; and
 ``
            (II) 150 percent of the poverty line 
 applicable to a single individual as determined 
 under 

section 673

    (2) of the Community Services 
 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902

    (2) ) for such 
 year.
 ``
        (B) In the case of a program that has not 
 previously participated in programs under this title 
 and is being determined eligible for the first time 
 under this paragraph, the Secretary may consider such 
 program to be an eligible program for purposes of the 
 Workforce Pell Grants program under 

section 401

    (k) for 
 a provisional eligibility period that may not exceed 3 
 years, if such program--
 ``
            (i) subject to clause
            (ii) , meets the 
 requirements of subparagraph
        (A) ; and
 ``
            (ii) in lieu of the determination of 
 median earnings under subclause
            (I) of 
 subparagraph
        (A)
            (v) , provides to the Secretary 
 for purposes of meeting the requirements of 
 subparagraph
        (A)
            (v) , alternate earnings of 
 students who complete the program, which are 
 statistically rigorous, accurate, comparable, 
 and representative of students who complete 
 such program.
 ``
            (C) In this paragraph:
 ``
            (i) The term `eligible institution' means an 
 institution of higher education (as defined in 

section 102), or any other entity that has entered into a 
 program participation agreement with the Secretary 
 under 

section 487

    (a) (without regard to whether that 
 entity is accredited by a national recognized 
 accrediting agency or association), which has not been 
 subject, during any of the preceding 3 years, to--
 ``
            (I) any suspension, emergency action, or 
 termination under this title;
 ``
            (II) in the case of an institution of 
 higher education, any adverse action by the 
 institution's accrediting agency or association 
 that revokes or denies accreditation for the 
 institution of higher education; or
 ``
            (III) any final action by the State in 
 which the institution or other entity holds its 
 legal domicile, authorization, or accreditation 
 that revokes the institution's or entity's 
 license or other authority to operate in such 
 State.
 ``
            (ii) The term `Governor' means the chief 
 executive of a State.
 ``
            (iii) The terms `industry or sector partnership', 
 `in-demand industry sector or occupation', `recognized 
 postsecondary credential', and `State board' have the 
 meanings given such terms in 

section 3 of the Workforce 
 Innovation and Opportunity Act.''.

    (3) Student eligibility.--

Section 484

    (a)

    (1) of the Higher 
 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091

    (a)

    (1) ) is amended by 
 inserting ``or, for purposes of 

section 401

    (k) , at an entity 
 (other than an institution of higher education) that meets the 
 requirements of 

section 481

    (b)

    (3)
        (B)
            (i) ,'' after ``

section 487''.

    (4) Effective date; applicability.--The amendments made by 
 this section shall take effect on July 1, 2026, and shall apply 
 with respect to award year 2026-2027 and each succeeding award 
 year.
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