Senators Reverend Warnock, Scott, Cantwell Reintroduce Bi-partisian Aviation Workforce Development Act

Last week, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the Aviation Workforce Development Act, legislation that amends the Internal Revenue Code to lower the financial barrier to enter the aviation field by making expenses for education at FAA-certified flight and aviation maintenance programs eligible for 529 plan funds. 529 plans are valuable tools for saving for education, offering tax-free growth, and allowing withdrawals for qualified expenses like tuition, room and board, and school supplies.

The Aviation Workforce Development Act allows students pursuing FAA-certified flight and aviation maintenance programs to now use their 529 plan funds to cover these educational costs. This legislation will open doors for aspiring pilots and aviation maintenance technicians to join Georgia’s leading aviation economy, featuring the world’s busiest airport, leading airlines, and domestic aviation manufacturers.

“I’ve worked tirelessly in the Senate to secure federal investments for aviation workforce programs. The Aviation Workforce Development Act builds on my efforts to create educational pipelines that welcome Georgians from every zip code into this critical industry,” said Senator Warnock. “This is a bipartisan and bicameral bill for a reason—these are commonsense solutions to address needs throughout our aviation industry, and I’m proud to work alongside Senators Scott and Cantwell in this effort.”

As a former member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the nation’s transportation policies, aviation workforce development has long been one of Senator Warnock’s top priorities. That’s why Senator Warnock introduced the AIRWAYS Act, landmark legislation to provide public and non-profit educational institutions with the resources they need to address the shortage of pilots, mechanics, and manufacturers. Provisions of this legislation were passed into law as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, authorizing dedicated funding to train the manufacturing workforce for the first time. The Senator successfully secured provisions authorizing record federal investments to expand opportunities for these educational institutions to help establish more resilient and representative workforce pipelines, like the one between Savannah Tech, Groves High School, and Gulfstream. Savannah Tech has partnered with Gulfstream for over 50 years to provide a reliable aviation manufacturing workforce pipeline, and Groves High School provides students with an introduction to aviation jobs.

Additionally, the Senator’s Pathways to Prosperity Act would help strengthen our workforce development pipeline across industries by codifying the Strengthening Community Colleges Grant Program. The bill would provide competitive grants to community and technical colleges to support partnerships between colleges and employers. These partnerships are intended to align community and technical college workforce development programs to local industry needs; establish, improve, or expand these programs; and bolster the local workforce.