Bynum Unveils K-30 Platform to Support Young Americans

Oregon City, OR - Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) launched her signature 'K-30' agenda - a platform focused on supporting young Americans by strengthening our education system, ensuring a strong job market, and lowering the cost of housing. At the West Linn Public Library, she announced that the package includes 16 pieces of legislation - 7 of which are bipartisan - that aim to address young Oregonians' most pressing issues: education, jobs, and housing.

Prior to the announcement, Rep. Bynum hosted a listening session with young Oregonians who didn't feel like they had the support they needed. The group included high school students, recent graduates entering the job market, and young parents struggling with the cost of housing.

"My work has always been a love letter to Oregon's children," said Rep. Bynum. "I first ran for office to make their futures brighter, which is why I'm especially proud to launch K-30. We need to make sure that every child has access to a high-quality education that meets their needs; that when they graduate from school and do everything asked of them, there are good-paying jobs available; and that when they get one of those jobs, they don't need to wait another 20 years to buy a home. Today, we're taking the first step in making that a reality. As I head back to DC, I'll be armed with the stories I heard today and I'll continue fighting for young Oregonians and Americans."

The package includes 6 housing bills (3 bipartisan), 5 education bills (2 bipartisan), and 5 jobs-focused bills (2 bipartisan). The housing bills include supply- and demand-side solutions, ranging from supporting first-time home buyers to reducing tax and zoning burdens on new developments to allow more houses to be built. The jobs pillar invests in emerging industries, supports small businesses, and addresses workforce shortages. Finally, the education portion of the package invests in rural schools and educators, connects students to the resources they need to succeed, and lowers education-related costs.

You can view the full list of legislation, and the bill text, included in K-30 below.

Housing

Supporting Projects to Unleash Residential (SPUR) Housing Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum
Summary: This bill establishes a $1.5B Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant program over the period of 5-years that would provide amounts to developers to offset half of state & local taxes and impact fees associated with building of in-demand housing developments, only if state and or local governments also agree to match the other half of taxes and impact fees for such projects.
Endorsing Organizations: National Association of REALTORS

First-Time Home Buyers Match Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: The First-Time Home Buyers Match Act expands access to homeownership by establishing a 5-year pilot program at HUD to provide matching funds through individual development accounts to 20,0000 low- and middle-income individuals for the purpose of saving for the costs associated with purchasing their first home.

Accelerating Homebuilding Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum, Bryan Steil (R-WI), Chris Pappas (D-OR), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Bernie Moreno (R-OH)
Summary: This bill would establish a grant program at HUD to fund the creation of pre-approved, standardized building plans and designs, speeding up the permitting and home-building process and lowering costs for homebuyers.
Endorsing Organizations: American Planning Association, Congress for the New Urbanism, Up for Growth Action, National Apartment Association, Smart Growth America, Main Street America, and the National Association of REALTORS.
Status: The Accelerating Home Building Act was included in the Housing for the 21st Century Act which passed out of the Financial Services Committee in December 2025.

Homebuilder Corps Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: The Homebuilders Corps Act addresses chronic skilled labor shortages in the home building industry by investing $200 million in residential construction training programs within Job Corps. The program would establish a retention grant for small and medium-sized residential construction firms that hire recent graduates of Job Corps construction programs.

Appraisal Industry Improvement Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum, Byron Donalds (R-FL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
Summary: This bill addresses the nationwide shortage of licensed home appraisers, which reduces obstacles to homeownership for our rural communities by authorizing grants for state appraiser certification and licensing agencies to support education and training to address appraiser industry workforce needs and decreasing annual registry fees if state run appraisal subcommittees determine that the fees adversely impact functions and renews licensed residential appraisers' ability to conduct appraisals on FHA properties.
Endorsements: The Appraisal Institute, National Association of REALTORS

Homeless Children and Youth Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum, Mike Lawler (R-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Delia Ramirez (D-IL)
Summary: The Homeless Children and Youth Act would expand the definition of homelessness to ensure all eligible young people can access the services they need to help them exit homelessness.
Endorsing Organizations: SchoolHouse Connection, National Network for Youth, New Avenues for Youth, Jackson Street Youth Services, the Maslow Project, and Family Promise's national organization, as well as their affiliates serving communities in the Mid-Willamette Valley and Tualatin Valley.

Education

Invest in Rural Teachers Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: This bill would address the rural K-12 teacher shortage by creating an Education Department grant program to offer signing and retention bonuses to teachers in rural school districts. The program would also partner with rural college and university teaching programs to strengthen the rural talent pipeline, with an emphasis on teachers who previously resided in the communities served by the school district.

Application Fees as Eligible Expenses (FEES) Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: This bill would expand 529 College Savings Plans to cover the cost of college and trade school application fees.

School Bus Stop-Arm Safety Camera Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: This bill would protect students riding school buses by directing the Department of Transportation to create a grant program for states to assist school districts with covering the costs of installing and maintaining cameras attached to school bus stop-arms to track motorists illegally passing stopped buses.
Endorsing Organizations: National Education Association

Connecting Students with Mental Health Services Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Greg Landsman (D-OH), and Mike Lawler (R-NY)
Summary: This bill ensures all students, particularly those in underserved communities and under-resourced school districts, have access to appropriate and timely mental health services by establishing a grant program through the Department of Education to fund school-based mental health coordination initiatives.
Endorsing Organizations: School Superintendents Association (AASA), National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Elementary School Principals, and National Association of Social Workers

IDEA Full Funding Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Angie Craig (D-MN), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Mike Bost (R-IL)
Summary: This bill would require Congress over the course of 10 years to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act program, which supports students with disabilities and has never been funded at Congress's intended level.
Endorsing Organizations: This bill is endorsed by over 50 education and labor groups including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Autism Speaks, National Education Association, and Teach For America.

Jobs

Rural Service and Workforce Corps Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: This bill would address persistent workforce shortages in rural areas by creating a federal service-for-benefits program that provides student loan repayment, relocation and retention incentives, stipends, and/or wage assistance in exchange for a three-year commitment to work in a designated rural community. The program would partner with rural employers in sectors with aging or high-demand workforces, including health care, skilled trades, energy infrastructure, and utilities and public works.

Leveraging Investment in Mass Building and Employment with Renewable (LIMBER) Timber Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: This bill promotes investment in the U.S. mass timber industry through a set of federal tax incentives for mass timber plant investment, mass timber workforce development, and the use of mass timber in construction.
Endorsing Organizations: International Mass Timber Conference and Forest Business Network

CHIPS Child Care Act
Lead(s): Rep. Janelle Bynum
Summary: This bill supports the expansion of the U.S. semiconductor industry by providing childcare subsidies for individuals participating in workforce training programs and trade programs connected to semiconductor facility construction, and providing child care infrastructure investments in areas seeing industry expansion.
Endorsing Organizations: For All Families Oregon (formerly known as Family Forward Oregon)

Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Reps. Troy Downing (R-MT), Zach Nunn (R-IA), and Chris Pappas (D-NH)
Summary: This bill requires the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation within the Securities and Exchange Commission to report on issues encountered by rural-area small businesses.
Status: The Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act passed through the House in June 2025.

Access to Small Business Investor Capital Act
Lead(s): Reps. Janelle Bynum, Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), and Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Summary: This bill will make Business Development Companies (BCDs) more appealing to investors, enabling them to raise more money to then invest in small and medium-sized businesses. BDCs are specialized investment firms that provide capital (debt and equity) to small and mid-sized American businesses, often those that can't easily get traditional bank loans, acting like a public market version of private equity or venture capital. They allow everyday investors to buy shares on stock exchanges, gaining exposure to private company growth and often paying high dividends because they must distribute most of their income to shareholders. By freeing up capital for BDCs, the bill helps entrepreneurs get the financing they need to grow and create jobs.
Status: The Access to Small Business Investor Capital Act passed through the House in June 2025.

###