WINGS Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9896 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9896

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include certain licensure,
certification, and aviation training costs in the determination of the
        cost of attendance of a student, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2026

Mrs. Beatty (for herself, Ms. Stefanik, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Nunn
  of Iowa, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Brown, Mrs. Grijalva, Mr. Figures, and Mr.
   Quigley) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
                  Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include certain licensure,
certification, and aviation training costs in the determination of the
        cost of attendance of a student, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Workforce Innovation for Next-Gen in
Skies Act of 2026'' or the ``WINGS Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. COST OF ATTENDANCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1087ll) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ``; and'' and
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the period and
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new
                paragraph:
            ``(15) for a student enrolled in a qualifying aviation-
        related program of study, reasonable costs associated with
        licensure, certification, or aviation training related to such
        program (as determined by the institution), including--
                    ``(A) aviation laboratory training fees;
                    ``(B) the cost of instructional hours in an
                aircraft or simulator, or ground instruction;
                    ``(C) the cost of aviation training materials and
                equipment;
                    ``(D) exam and licensing fees, including the cost
                of a practical test; or
                    ``(E) other fees that are directly incurred as part
                of aviation training.'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``14'' and inserting
        ``15''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) CIP code.--The term `CIP code' means the 6-digit
        taxonomic identification code assigned by an institution of
        higher education to a specific program of study at the
        institution, determined by the institution in accordance with
        the Classification of Instructional Programs published by the
        National Center for Education Statistics.
            ``(2) Qualifying aviation-related program of study.--The
        term `qualifying aviation-related program of study' means a
        program of study--
                    ``(A) that has been assigned a CIP code--
                            ``(i) that begins with 49.01;
                            ``(ii) that is 47.0607, 47.0608, or
                        47.0609; or
                            ``(iii) identified by the Secretary as
                        relating to preparing students for employment
                        in the aviation industry; and
                    ``(B) that awards an associate's degree or a
                bachelor's degree upon completion of the program.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on July 1, 2027, and apply with respect to award year 2027-
2028 and each subsequent award year, as determined under the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).

SEC. 3. PROFESSIONAL STUDENT.

    Section 455(a)(4)(C)(ii) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1087e(a)(4)(C)(ii)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``program of study that'' and all that
        follows and inserting ``program of study that--''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(I) awards a professional degree,
                                as defined under section 668.2 of title
                                34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in
                                effect on the date of enactment of this
                                paragraph), upon completion of the
                                program; or
                                    ``(II) provides the training
                                described in part 141 of title 14, Code
                                of Federal Regulations (or any
                                successor regulations).''.
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