Q&A: Tax Law Boosts Workforce and Small Business

Q&A: Tax Law Boosts Workforce and Small Business

With U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley

Q: What is the Workforce Pell Grant?

A: It's back to school season for families, students and teachers across the state. As students return to the classroom, schedules are filling up with homework and extracurricular activities and parents are off to the races juggling jobs, car pools and meal times. Many students are starting a new chapter with post-secondary education, including four-year colleges, community colleges and vocational programs. Studies show advanced training leads to job readiness, higher earnings and more opportunities.

However, too many students are pushed into burdensome debt seeking a four-year degree that doesn't fit job market demands. For example, skilled trades are in growing demand and largely protected from artificial intelligence (AI) because the work can't be replaced by automation. That's where smart policymaking can help solve problems. I co-sponsored legislation to expand access to high-quality, short-term job training programs to help close the skills gap that I hear from employers at my annual 99 county meetings. During work on last year's tax bill, I pushed successfully to include my bill called Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning (PELL) Act in the final package. It amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for Workforce Pell Grants that allow eligible students to use Pell Grants for short-term, accredited programs that provide workforce-focused credentials that meet employer needs.

I'm pleased Iowa is the very first recipient of the nation's first Workforce Pell Grant program. Eligible students at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge can use federal Pell Grant dollars to enroll in its Emergency Medical Technician Program. The 14-week program prepares students for public safety jobs that will fill a critical need in local communities across the state. These students will start their jobs with little to no debt and have the training credentials to launch good careers, provide for their families and serve their neighbors.

Q: What are you hearing from small businesses at your county meetings?

A: No matter the size of the community, small businesses make up the lion's share of employers across Iowa, and support nearly half the workforce. During my annual 99 county meetings, I regularly hold Q&As at small businesses, factories and manufacturing facilities so that I can hear directly from the workers and small business owners who can't take time off to come to an open town meeting. I want to hear about challenges they face and learn what's on their minds. From decades-old family-owned businesses to start-up businesses opening their doors, I'm always impressed with the entrepreneurism and hard work that Iowa workers and employers put in each and every day to climb America's ladder of prosperity and serve their communities. I've also come to the conclusion that Iowans don't brag enough about their high-quality products and services, so I'm particularly glad to get a first-hand look at these businesses. Iowans set a high benchmark for a strong work ethic and it shows with workforce productivity and state-of-the-art manufacturing and technology.

At my Q&As with small businesses this year, Iowans shared concerns about workforce shortages, affordable housing, childcare costs and healthcare costs. Many businesses said the Working Families Tax Cuts Act enacted last year has eased paperwork burdens and provided much-needed certainty to make hiring, investment and expansion decisions. Workers kept more of their hard-earned money with no tax on tips and overtime income. Making the 20% small business deduction a permanent part of the federal tax code helps lock in much-needed certainty for businesses to raise wages and boost benefits for employees. The tax law also restored full expensing for research and development; doubled Section 179 expensing for capital investments and allowed immediate expensing for up to $2.5 million of machinery, equipment or property improvements; and, permanently doubled the death-tax exemption, sparing family-run businesses from costly planning and giving them peace of mind that the family operation can be handed down from one generation to the next.

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