Bennet, Blunt Rochester Reintroduce Bill to Connect Workers with Higher Wages

Jul 22, 2026 | Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) reintroduced the Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act to expand funding for evidence-based and innovative workforce development programs to ensure that workers have the skills needed to compete in a 21st-century economy.

"I hear from veterans and single parents in Colorado who want to provide for themselves and their families but do not have the skills to earn a living wage," said Bennet. "They want to build sustainable careers that pay living wages, we have the programs to train them, and Colorado's economy needs the skills and talent they can provide. The last piece of the puzzle is to invest in the workforce training programs that are proven to create economic mobility for workers of every background."

"As we address a changing economy and the widespread adoption of AI, we must ensure pathways to good jobs are available," said Blunt Rochester. "I'm proud to co-lead the Better Jobs Through Evidence and Innovation Act to meet the moment by both investing in what works when it comes to workforce training, and supporting the development of promising new strategies to prepare our future workforce."

Programs that upskill workers support long-term economic mobility for individuals, including those without a college degree. These programs are ready and able to serve workers and employers, but remain severely underfunded. The Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act would establish the Workforce Development Innovation Fund in the U.S. Department of Labor to test and scale proven innovative strategies to improve employment outcomes for American workers.

The Workforce Development Innovation Fund would make three tiers of funding available to evidence-based employment and training programs that generate demonstrated, long-term economic improvements for jobseekers and employers, and produce high-quality evaluations of their effects.

"America Forward applauds Senators Michael Bennet and Lisa Blunt Rochester for championing the Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act, which would invest in evidence-based workforce development programs delivering real, long-term economic mobility for workers and employers in a rapidly-changing economy," said Deborah Smolover, Executive Director of America Forward. "As the pace of change in our labor market accelerates, this legislation ensures that the high-impact organizations driving economic mobility, many of which are members of the America Forward Coalition, have the support they need to grow and meet the evolving needs of workers and communities nationwide."

"Too many Americans are completing workforce programs only to find themselves without a job or a path to higher earnings, and that's simply not good enough," said David Medina, co-founder and COO of Results for America. "The Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act would address this challenge by finding, funding and implementing workforce programs with proven track records of success, while continuing to build the evidence base for the next generation of solutions. We applaud Sens. Bennet and Blunt Rochester for their leadership in ensuring that workforce investments deliver real, measurable and lasting results for jobseekers and their families."

"Senator Bennet's Better Jobs Through Evidence and Innovation Act represents exactly the approach our workforce development system urgently needs," said Roger Low, CEO & Founder of the Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative. "By creating a tiered evidence fund, the legislation directs limited federal upskilling and reskilling dollars toward the two priorities that matter most: building strong evidence of effectiveness across promising training and credentialing pathways, and scaling the approaches that work."

"There are training programs across the country with a proven record of moving people into quality careers - and they could achieve so much more with additional investment. Senator Bennet's Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act would channel federal support to the models that work," said Plinio Ayala, CEO of Per Scholas. "For organizations like Per Scholas, that means reaching more learners, connecting employers with the skilled talent they need, and opening durable, demand-driven pathways to economic mobility."

This bill is supported by over 60 organizations: America Forward, Results for America, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, ActivateWork, Aliento Education Fund, Appetite For Change, AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation, Arnold Ventures, BluePrint Geneva, Inc., Braven, CEEMI, Center for Employment Opportunities, Chrysalis, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, Colorado Succeeds, ConnectED Workforce, CrossPurpose, EDGE Partners, Education Partnerships Coalition of Minnesota, Elevate Teaching, FutureFit AI, Goodwill of Colorado, Jobs for the Future, Join FreeWorld Inc., JVS Bay Area, JVS Boston, Knowledge Alliance, LIFT Inc, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Main Street Youth & Family Services, Merit America, Metro Alliance of Career Readiness Organizations, National Association of Workforce Boards, National Skills Coalition, NPower, Oakland Promise, Opportunity@Work, Per Scholas, Project Evident, Project QUEST, Propel America, RecycleForce, Redefine Alliance, Second Chance Center, Servicios de La Raza, Servicios Sigue, STRIVE International, StriveTogether, TeamHWH, The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, The Master's Apprentice, Third Sector, Third Way, United Way of Salt Lake, Vehicles for Change, Women's Bean Project, Workforce, Inc., Yakima Valley Partners for Education, Year Up United, YouthBuild Global, and YUPRO Placement.

The text of the bill is available HERE. A summary of the bill is available HERE.

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