NAHB Scores Job Corps Victories Amid House Funding Cuts

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to cut fiscal year 2026 funding for Job Corps to $880 million from the current $1.7 billion. The bill passed strictly on party lines.

However, an NAHB-supported amendment offered by Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) and Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) was adopted by voice vote into the bill. The amendment prohibits the closures of Job Corps centers by the Department of Labor unless specific criteria are met.

An additional amendment by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was offered that would restore full funding to Job Corps. Cuellar withdrew the amendment in exchange for commitments from Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) to restore full funding to Job Corps if and when the House and Senate meet to negotiate the terms of their respective bills.

Prior to the vote, NAHB sent a letter to members of the House Appropriations Committee urging them to fund Job Corps at no less than the current level of $1.7 billion.

“At a time of endemic labor shortage and record-setting job openings, a reduction in funding for Job Corps is a step in the wrong direction and will further exacerbate the labor constraints felt by employers and reduce affordability in all aspects of life for the everyday American,” the letter stated.

The Senate Appropriations Committee previously voted to fund Job Corps at its currently enacted level of $1.7 billion for fiscal year 2026, which begins on Oct. 1, 2025.

NAHB will continue to work with lawmakers to ensure that Job Corps will be funded at a minimum of $1.7 billion in fiscal 2026.