Bill Details
HR.1859 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-03-05 - Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced Date
2025-03-05
Policy Area
Social Welfare
Committees
View committees (1)
Cosponsors
8
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would help people in the first year of a registered apprenticeship by making states ignore that apprenticeship income when deciding whether they qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In simple terms, if someone starts an apprenticeship, the money they earn during that first year would not count against them when a state checks if they can get TANF help. The bill is meant to support people who are working to build job skills without risking their access to basic assistance while they get started.
- It applies to income earned during the first year of an apprenticeship that is registered under federal apprenticeship law.
- States would have to exclude that income when deciding whether a person qualifies for TANF benefits.
- If a state does not follow this rule, the federal government would cut that state’s TANF grant by 1 percent the next fiscal year.
- The change would begin with the first federal fiscal year after the bill becomes law.
Official Summaries
No summaries available
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1859 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1859
To require income from the first year of an apprenticeship to be
disregarded in determining eligibility for assistance under the program
of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 5, 2025
Ms. DelBene (for herself, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Sewell, and Ms. Strickland)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require income from the first year of an apprenticeship to be
disregarded in determining eligibility for assistance under the program
of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families.
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 ``Apprenticeship Opportunity Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO DISREGARD INCOME FROM FIRST YEAR OF AN
APPRENTICESHIP IN DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE
UNDER THE TANF PROGRAM.
(a) Requirement.--Section 408(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(13) Requirement to disregard income from 1st year of an
apprenticeship in determining eligibility for assistance.--A
State to which a grant is made under section 403 shall
disregard all income received on account of the 1st year of an
apprenticeship registered under the Act of August 16, 1937
(commonly known as the `National Apprenticeship Act'; 50 Stat.
664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), in determining the
eligibility of the recipient for assistance under the State
program funded under this part.''.
(b) Penalty for Violation.--Section 409(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
609(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(17) Penalty for not disregarding income from 1st year of
an apprenticeship in determining eligibility for assistance.--
If the Secretary determines that a State to which a grant is
made under section 403 in a fiscal year has violated section
408(a)(13) during the fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce
the grant payable to the State under section 403(a)(1) for the
immediately succeeding fiscal year by an amount equal to 1
percent of the State family assistance grant.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the 1st day of the 1st Federal fiscal year that begins after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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