Congressman Krishnamoorthi and Congresswoman Mace Introduce Legislation to End Arbitrary Education Requirements for Federal Contractors and Emphasize Skills-Based Hiring
WASHINGTON – Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability unanimously passed Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Congresswoman Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills (ACCESS) Act. This bipartisan legislation would eliminate arbitrary education and experience requirements that exclude skilled workers from participating in government contracts, opening the door to more diverse and qualified candidates to apply for government positions.
“Degree-based discrimination deprives qualified Americans of opportunities to compete for jobs,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “The federal government should be seeking the best and brightest to serve our country, and the ‘paper ceiling’ of arbitrary degree requirements is holding our nation and our workforce behind. Job candidates should always be evaluated based on their meaningful qualifications. I want to thank Congresswoman Mace for her leadership and our colleagues on the committee for their support in approving the bipartisan ACCESS Act to help make that a reality for federal contractors. I hope to see a full vote on the floor of the House soon.”
Congressman Krishnamoorthi has long been a supporter of ensuring the best qualified candidates are given equal opportunities throughout the hiring process regardless of educational background, and last year introduced the bipartisan Opportunity to Compete Act to promote skills-based hiring and end discrimination against candidates without a four-year college degree. The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, introduced by Congressman Krishnamoorthi and passed and signed into law in 2018, prioritized skills-based and non-four-year college educational career paths and represented the largest investment in Career and Technical Education (CTE) in decades.
You can read the full text of the ACCESS Act here.