Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
The Growing Opportunities in Agriculture Act (GO Ag Act) would direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities to create new agricultural education programs in secondary schools. Grants may last up to five years, each award cannot exceed $100,000, and the program authorizes $5 million total to remain available through FY2028.
Adequacy and scale of funding: liberals want larger funding; conservatives and centrists accept modest pilot scale but want evidence and sustainability.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill establishes a clearly scoped grant program with appropriate statutory mechanics, integrated references to existing CTE law, and reasonable reporting requirements.
The Growing Opportunities in Agriculture Act (GO Ag Act) would direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities to create new agricultural education programs in secondary schools.
Grants may last up to five years, each award cannot exceed $100,000, and the program authorizes $5 million total to remain available through FY2028.
Applicants must show the program is new, describe budgets and sustainability plans, coordinate with existing Perkins Career and Technical Education activities, include partner roles, protect student data, and evaluate and report performance disaggregated by statutory subgroups and special populations.
Based on content alone, the bill is a narrow, technical grant-authorizing measure with a small fiscal footprint and built-in limits and evaluation requirements—characteristics that historically improve chances of enactment. Major hurdles are not policy opposition but typical legislative realities (committee consideration, floor scheduling, and the need for appropriations to match the authorization).
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill establishes a clearly scoped grant program with appropriate statutory mechanics, integrated references to existing CTE law, and reasonable reporting requirements. It leaves routine operational details to the Secretary, which is conventional for a program of this scale.
Adequacy and scale of funding: liberals want larger funding; conservatives and centrists accept modest pilot scale but want evidence and sustainability.
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Adequacy and scale of funding: liberals want larger funding; conservatives and centrists accept modest pilot scale but want evidence and sustainability.
A mainstream liberal would generally view the bill favorably as a targeted federal investment to expand career and technical education in agriculture and to support access for special populations.
They would note positive requirements such as coordination with Perkins, disaggregated reporting, independent evaluation, and the explicit prohibition on preparing students for employment with a sole partner.
They would likely find the scale insufficient relative to rural and disadvantaged needs and push for stronger language on equitable outreach, environmental sustainability, and labor protections.
A centrist or moderate would likely view the bill as a modest, pragmatic federal program to expand vocational pathways aligned with employer needs and Perkins CTE systems.
They would appreciate built-in accountability (coordination with Perkins, evaluation, reporting) and the modest fiscal footprint, but would be cautious about long-term sustainability and potential duplication with state or local programs.
They would favor evidence-based metrics, cost-sharing or matching requirements, and clear performance indicators before scaling.
A mainstream conservative would view the bill through the lenses of limited federal spending, local control of education, and vocational training that meets private-sector needs.
The small appropriation and focus on workforce development are favorable, but concerns would include federal involvement in curriculum creation, reporting requirements, and potential partnerships with labor organizations or entities that could introduce ideological content.
They might prefer that this be handled at the state or local level or through private-sector initiatives, or that federal oversight be minimized.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Based on content alone, the bill is a narrow, technical grant-authorizing measure with a small fiscal footprint and built-in limits and evaluation requirements—characteristics that historically improve chances of enactment. Major hurdles are not policy opposition but typical legislative realities (committee consideration, floor scheduling, and the need for appropriations to match the authorization).
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Adequacy and scale of funding: liberals want larger funding; conservatives and centrists accept modest pilot scale but want evidence and su…
Based on content alone, the bill is a narrow, technical grant-authorizing measure with a small fiscal footprint and built-in limits and eva…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill establishes a clearly scoped grant program with appropriate statutory mechanics, integrated references to existing CTE law, and reasonable reporting requirements. It…
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