Sheehy, Slotkin Introduce Reducing Arbitrary Barriers to Apprenticeship Act

U.S. SENATE – Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) today introduced the pro-veteran, bipartisan Reducing Arbitrary Barriers to Apprenticeship Act to increase access to GI Bill benefits for veterans pursuing apprenticeships.

“Veterans deserve our support in successfully transitioning to civilian life, and I appreciate my colleagues joining this bipartisan, commonsense effort to increase access to apprenticeships. The Reducing Arbitrary Barriers to Apprenticeship Act will connect more veterans with in-demand jobs that pay six figures, feed their families, and jumpstart good-paying careers,” said Senator Sheehy.

“The GI Bill has been a successful engine toward bringing our veterans into the middle class after they serve our nation. And now, it’s time for an update. Our bipartisan bill will knock down barriers that penalize veterans who choose to use these benefits for apprenticeships in the skilled trades, letting veterans choose the career pathway that makes the most sense for them,” said Senator Slotkin.

This bill would allow Post-9/11 GI Bill beneficiaries pursuing On-the-Job Training (OJT) or Apprenticeship (APP) programs to have access to the full monthly housing allowance (MHA) amount without a semiannual reduction and without a monthly work hour requirement.

Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) are cosponsoring the bill.

“It’s a perverse incentive to financially discourage veterans from choosing skilled trades, especially at a time when they are in such high demand. The Reducing Arbitrary Barriers to Apprenticeships Act corrects this distortion, ensuring veterans across North Dakota can pursue whichever education or job training path best fits their goals and sets them up for success,” said Senator Cramer.

“When our Veterans hang up their uniform, they deserve our full support as they transition back into civilian life, and that includes cutting unnecessary red tape that makes it harder for them to access the benefits they’ve earned. Our bipartisan legislation would support Veterans’ employment by making Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits more widely accessible to Veterans pursuing apprenticeship or on-the-job training, encouraging broader participation in these life-changing programs,” said Senator Duckworth.

Background:
In FY2022, more than 97,000 veterans began using their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. However, only two percent of beneficiaries use their benefits to pursue an OJT or APP program. While there may be several factors contributing to veterans opting to use their benefits for something else, extraneous requirements and lack of access to full GI Bill benefits for OJT and APP programs make these options cost-prohibitive for many veterans.

Unlike veterans pursuing a traditional four-year university, veterans pursuing an APP program have their MHA reduced by 20 percent every six months. With most APP programs taking about two years, veterans in these programs will finish their program, receiving just 20 percent of the MHA that other GI Bill beneficiaries receive, while also not receiving any kind of tuition payment.

Further, those pursuing APP programs must complete at least 120 hours of work per month, or their MHA will be further prorated. These 120 hours do not include any classroom training completed by the veteran, which can average 16-30 hours depending on the program. In some programs, 120 hours every month is not feasible, such as trade work that is seasonal in nature, or if construction work is slow in that geographical area. This is a grossly unfair system that makes APP/OJT programs cost prohibitive for many veterans.

A 2021 review by the Urban Institute found that the average cost of a veteran using GI Bill Benefits to attend a four-year college in DC was $189,320, while the cost of a veteran pursuing an APP/OJT program was just$54,804. There could be substantial cost savings if more veterans can pursue these programs.

Read the full text of the bill HERE.