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# Summary of H.R. 8316: American Workforce Act The American Workforce Act creates a new federal workforce development program administered by the Department of Commerce as an alternative pathway to a four-year college degree. The program partners employers with prospective workers who have high school diplomas but no bachelor's degrees, providing paid on-the-job training combined with educational instruction through contracts between workers and employers. The federal government subsidizes training costs up to $9,000 per trainee over a maximum of three years and provides employers a $1,000 hiring bonus if workers are retained as full-time employees after training completion. Participating employers must pay at least minimum wage, provide safe working conditions, use E-Verify for employment verification, and meet wage requirements based on median household income in their county. The bill establishes a Director of the American Workforce Division to review and approve training contracts within one month of submission, investigate complaints from trainees, enforce compliance through warnings or suspensions, and maintain a public website where employers post job openings and trainees search for opportunities. The program includes a sunset provision set for eleven years after enactment, with five and ten-year reports to Congress evaluating outcomes compared to other federal training programs. The bill also imposes a one percent annual excise tax on endowments exceeding $2.5 billion at non-religious private colleges and universities, with revenues intended to support the workforce program.

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