S. 5263Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Workforce Recovery and Resilience Act

A bill to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to provide to States and local areas information on the best practices for addressing the effects that substance use disorder has on the workforce, and to provide local areas with grants to provide training activities related to the treatment and prevention of substance use disorder.

AI-Generated Summary

Updated August 11, 2026 at 5:52 AM UTC

The Workforce Recovery and Resilience Act amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to help states and local communities deal with the workforce impacts of substance use disorder. It requires the Labor Department to share up‑to‑date best‑practice information on addressing these impacts and creates a new grant program that funds employment and training activities focused on prevention, treatment, and related health services. The changes target workers displaced by substance‑use‑related economic conditions and the agencies that serve them.

Key Provisions

The Secretary must annually evaluate and distribute evidence‑based practices for mitigating the economic and workforce effects of high rates of substance use disorder, including how to apply for related funding.
A new grant category (national dislocated worker grant) is added to fund entities that provide employment and training services for substance‑use prevention, treatment, mental‑health care, and pain management in areas with high demand that exceeds local resources.
Eligibility for these grants now includes dislocated workers, long‑term unemployed individuals, those unemployed or underemployed because of widespread substance use, and health‑care professionals working in substance‑use prevention or treatment.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

August 5, 2026

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

August 5, 2026

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

August 5, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued August 5, 2026

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 5263

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

August 5, 2026

Mr. McCormick (for himself and Mr. Fetterman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to provide to States and local areas information on the best practices for addressing the effects that substance use disorder has on the workforce, and to provide local areas with grants to provide training activities related to the treatment and prevention of substance use disorder.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Workforce Recovery and Resilience Act.

Technical assistance

Section 168 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3223) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(d)

Communities impacted by substance use disorders

The Secretary shall, as part of the activities described in subsection (c)(2), evaluate and disseminate to States and local areas information regarding evidence-based and promising practices for addressing the economic and workforce impacts associated with high rates of substance use disorders, which information shall—

(1)

be updated annually to reflect the most recent and available research; and

(2)

include information—

(A)

shared by States and local areas regarding effective practices for addressing such impacts; and

(B)

on how to apply for any funding that may be available under section 170(b)(1)(E).

National dislocated worker grants

Section 170 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (b)(1)—

(A)

in subparagraph (C), by striking and at the end;

(B)

in subparagraph (D)(ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

(E)

to an entity described in subsection (c)(1)(B) to provide employment and training activities related to the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders, including addiction treatment, mental health treatment, and pain management, in an area that, as a result of widespread substance use, addiction, and overdoses, has higher-than-average demand for such activities that exceeds the availability of State and local resources to provide such activities.

; and

(2)

in subsection (c)(2)—

(A)

by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and

(B)

by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:

(C)

Substance use related grants

In order to be eligible to receive employment and training assistance under a national dislocated worker grant awarded pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(E), an individual shall be—

(i)

a dislocated worker;

(ii)

a long-term unemployed individual;

(iii)

an individual who is unemployed or significantly underemployed as a result of widespread substance use in the area; or

(iv)

an individual who is employed or seeking employment in a health care profession involved in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders, including such professions that provide addiction treatment, mental health treatment, or pain management.