This Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 8915, the Education and Workforce Freedom Act, by a vote of 23-13. H.R. 8915 has now been reported to the House floor, for consideration at a time yet to be determined.

Section 3 of H.R. 8915 encompasses a revised version the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act (H.R. 1477/S. 722), which would permit the use of 529 savings accounts to use the funds in those accounts to cover costs associated with obtaining and maintaining post-secondary credentials, including professional certifications and specialty licensing.

Two differences between H.R. 1477 and Section 3 of H.R. 8915: first, H.R. 8915 has language that expressly covers programs connected with obtaining a postsecondary credential, including those required to obtain a state or federal license. This change would effectively cover training programs for pilots and airplane mechanics required to obtain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for those professions.

Additionally, H.R. 8915 includes other examples of qualified recognized post-secondary credentials and credential programs, such as accreditation by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies, the American National Standards Institute or the Institute for Credentialing Excellence; inclusion in the Department of Defense’s “Credentialing Opportunities Online” database; and other Department of Labor noted certification programs that don’t fall into more specific categories. 

WTS International is a member of the Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition, which advocates for beneficial workforce development policy that would strengthen the economy now and into the future. Learn more here.