May 8, 2025
“I’m supporting the JOBS Act to solve problems on both ends of the workforce—providing affordable training for students while developing a skilled labor force for employers to fill in-demand positions.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) has joined Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) Jumpstarting Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act. The bipartisan bill would help more Americans earn high-paying jobs by allowing students, for the first time, to use federal Pell grants—need-based education grants for lower-income individuals—to pay for shorter-term job training programs.
“I’m supporting the JOBS Act to solve problems on both ends of the workforce—providing affordable training for students while developing a skilled labor force for employers to fill in-demand positions. Bridging the skills gap would help Ohio workers secure high-paying jobs that fuel America’s economy,” said Husted.
The U.S. is experiencing a skilled labor shortage that is expected to intensify, partially because unemployed Americans lack access to the job training needed to fill vacant opportunities.
Currently, students can only use Pell grants at two- and four-year colleges and universities and toward programs that exceed 600 clock-hours or at least 15 weeks in length. That renders students in shorter-term, high-quality job training programs ineligible for this assistance. The JOBS Act would allow students to use Pell grants for quality job training programs that are at least eight weeks in length and lead to industry-recognized credentials or certificates. The bill also includes guardrails to ensure that the expanded Pell dollars are used at accredited institutions for opportunities that align with the skill needs of industries in the state or local economy.
This cosponsorship builds on Husted’s work to create more high-paying jobs and develop an even stronger workforce in Ohio. As lieutenant governor, Husted expanded career technical education to give more students access to skills training that enabled them to graduate from high school career-ready. He also pioneered job training programs like TechCred to provide every Ohioan with access to the credentials they need to earn good jobs.
Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dan Sullivan (D-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also cosponsored the bill.
Full text of the bill is available here.