Investing in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 654 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide employers with a credit against tax for increasing employee training. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 17, 2019 Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Ms. WILD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide employers with a credit against tax for increasing em- ployee training. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Investing in Tomor- 4 row’s Workforce Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. TAX CREDIT FOR INCREASING WORKER TRAINING. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub- 7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H654.IH H654 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 654 IH 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 1 section: 2 ‘‘SEC. 45T. CREDIT FOR INCREASING WORKER TRAINING. 3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 4 worker training credit determined under this section for 5 a taxable year is an amount equal to the sum of— 6 ‘‘(1) 40 percent of the excess (if any) of— 7 ‘‘(A) the high-demand occupation training 8 expenses for such taxable year, over 9 ‘‘(B) the average of the high-demand occu- 10 pation training expenses for the 3 taxable years 11 preceding such taxable year, plus 12 ‘‘(2) 20 percent of the excess (if any) of— 13 ‘‘(A) the low-demand occupation training 14 expenses for such taxable year, over 15 ‘‘(B) the average of the low-demand occu- 16 pation training expenses for the 3 taxable years 17 preceding such taxable year. 18 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 19 ‘‘(1) HIGH-DEMAND OCCUPATION TRAINING EX- 20 PENSE.—The term ‘high-demand occupation train- 21 ing expense’ means, for a taxable year, any qualified 22 training expense for programming required for, or 23 designed to lead to employment in, an occupation 24 that the Secretary of Labor has determined is ex- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H654.IH H654 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 654 IH pected to experience not fewer than 20 percent occu- 1 pational openings for the 10-year period beginning 2 with calendar year beginning in such taxable year. 3 ‘‘(2) LOW-DEMAND OCCUPATION TRAINING EX- 4 PENSE.—The term ‘low-demand occupation training 5 expense’ means any qualified training expense for 6 programming required for, or designed to lead to 7 employment in, an occupation other than an occupa- 8 tion described in paragraph (1). 9 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED TRAINING EXPENSE.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 11 training expense’ means amounts paid or in- 12 curred by an employer for a qualified training 13 program for non-highly compensated employees. 14 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘qualified 15 training expense’ shall not include any amounts 16 paid for meals, lodging, transportation, or other 17 services. 18 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED TRAINING PROGRAM.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 20 training program’ means any of the following: 21 ‘‘(i) An apprenticeship program reg- 22 istered under section 1 of the Act of Au- 23 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H654.IH H654 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 654 IH ‘National Apprenticeship Act’; 29 U.S.C. 1 50 et seq.). 2 ‘‘(ii) A program to obtain a recog- 3 nized postsecondary credential (as such 4 term is defined in section 3(52) of the 5 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 6 Act). 7 ‘‘(iii) A program eligible to receive 8 funds under the Carl D. Perkins Career 9 and Technical Education Act of 2006. 10 ‘‘(iv) Any other program designated 11 by the Secretary of Labor or the Secretary 12 of Education for purposes of this section. 13 ‘‘(5) NON-HIGHLY COMPENSATED EMPLOYEE.— 14 The term ‘non-highly compensated employee’ means, 15 with respect to a taxable year, an employee— 16 ‘‘(A) who is a full-time employee (as such 17 term in defined in section 4980H(c)(4)), and 18 ‘‘(B) whose compensation does not exceed 19 $82,000 for such taxable year.’’. 20 (b) CREDIT TO BE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS 21 CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by strik- 22 ing ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (31), by striking the 23 period at the end of paragraph (32) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, 24 and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H654.IH H654 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 654 IH ‘‘(33) the worker training credit determined 1 under section 45T.’’. 2 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 3 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 4 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing new item: 6 ‘‘Sec. 45T. Credit for increasing worker training.’’. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 7 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 8 the date of the enactment of this Act. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H654.IH H654 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS