STEM K to Career Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3099 To provide for loan forgiveness for STEM teachers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2019 Mr. SWALWELL of California (for himself, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. RUSH, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for loan forgiveness for STEM teachers, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘STEM K to Career 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3099 IH SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR STEM TEACHERS. 1 Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 2 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at 3 the end the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 493E. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR STEM TEACHERS. 5 ‘‘(a) LOAN FORGIVENESS AUTHORIZED.—The Sec- 6 retary shall forgive, in accordance with this section, the 7 qualified loan amount described in subsection (c) of the 8 student loan obligation of a borrower who— 9 ‘‘(1) is employed as a full-time STEM teacher 10 for service in an academic year (including such a 11 STEM teacher employed by an educational service 12 agency)— 13 ‘‘(A) in a public or other nonprofit private 14 elementary school or secondary school, which, 15 for the purpose of this paragraph and for that 16 year— 17 ‘‘(i) has been determined by the Sec- 18 retary (pursuant to regulations of the Sec- 19 retary and after consultation with the 20 State educational agency of the State in 21 which the school is located) to be a school 22 in which the number of children meeting a 23 measure of poverty under section 24 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Sec- 25 ondary Education Act of 1965, exceeds 30 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3099 IH percent of the total number of children en- 1 rolled in such school; and 2 ‘‘(ii) is in the school district of a local 3 educational agency which is eligible in such 4 year for assistance pursuant to part A of 5 title I of the Elementary and Secondary 6 Education Act of 1965; or 7 ‘‘(B) in one or more public, or nonprofit 8 private, elementary schools or secondary schools 9 or locations operated by an educational service 10 agency that have been determined by the Sec- 11 retary (pursuant to regulations of the Secretary 12 and after consultation with the State edu- 13 cational agency of the State in which the edu- 14 cational service agency operates) to be a school 15 or location at which the number of children 16 taught who meet a measure of poverty under 17 section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Sec- 18 ondary Education Act of 1965, exceeds 30 per- 19 cent of the total number of children taught at 20 such school or location; and 21 ‘‘(2) is not in default on a loan for which the 22 borrower seeks forgiveness. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3099 IH ‘‘(b) METHOD OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.—To provide 1 loan forgiveness under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 2 carry out a program— 3 ‘‘(1) through the holder of the loan, to assume 4 the obligation to repay a qualified loan amount for 5 a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B 6 (other than an excepted PLUS loan or an excepted 7 consolidation loan (as such terms are defined in sec- 8 tion 493C(a))); and 9 ‘‘(2) to cancel a qualified loan amount for a 10 loan made under part D (other than an excepted 11 PLUS loan or an excepted consolidation loan). 12 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNT.— 13 ‘‘(1) FORGIVENESS OF PERCENTAGE OF DEBT 14 BASED ON YEARS OF SERVICE.—For each complete 15 year of service by a borrower as a STEM teacher in 16 accordance with this section after the date of enact- 17 ment of the STEM K to Career Act, the Secretary 18 shall forgive the student loan obligation of the bor- 19 rower at the rate of 15 percent of such obligation for 20 the first or second year of such service, 20 percent 21 of such obligation for the third or fourth year of 22 such service, and 30 percent of such obligation for 23 the fifth year of such service. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3099 IH ‘‘(2) PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST FORGIVEN.—If 1 a portion of a loan is forgiven under this section for 2 any year, the entire amount of interest on such loan 3 which accrues for such year shall be forgiven. 4 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.— 5 ‘‘(1) LIST OF SCHOOLS.—If the list of schools 6 in which a STEM teacher may perform service pur- 7 suant to subsection (a)(1) is not available before 8 May 1 of any year, the Secretary may use the list 9 for the year preceding the year for which the deter- 10 mination is made to make such service determina- 11 tion. 12 ‘‘(2) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.—Any teacher 13 who performs service in a school which— 14 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of subsection 15 (a)(1) in any year; and 16 ‘‘(B) in a subsequent year fails to meet the 17 requirements of such subsection, 18 may continue to teach in such school and shall be 19 eligible for loan forgiveness pursuant to this section 20 such subsequent years. 21 ‘‘(3) PROMISSORY NOTE CONFLICTS.—An indi- 22 vidual with an outstanding student loan obligation 23 who performs service described in subsection (a)(1) 24 in accordance with this section shall be eligible for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3099 IH forgiveness under this section for such service not- 1 withstanding any contrary provision of the promis- 2 sory note under which the loan or loans were made. 3 ‘‘(4) FORGIVENESS NOT CONSIDERED IN- 4 COME.—The amount of a loan, and interest on a 5 loan, which is forgiven under this section shall not 6 be considered income for purposes of the Internal 7 Revenue Code of 1986. 8 ‘‘(5) NO REFUNDS.—Nothing in this subsection 9 shall be construed to authorize refunding of any re- 10 payment of a loan. 11 ‘‘(6) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No borrower may, 12 for the same service, receive a benefit under both 13 this section and subtitle D of title I of the National 14 and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 15 12601 et seq.). 16 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 17 issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 18 this section. 19 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec- 20 tion— 21 ‘‘(1) the term ‘year’ where applied to service as 22 a STEM teacher means academic year as defined by 23 the Secretary; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3099 IH ‘‘(2) the term ‘STEM teacher’ means a teacher 1 of science, technology, engineering, or mathe- 2 matics.’’. 3 SEC. 3. ABOVE-THE-LINE-DEDUCTION FOR STEM EDU- 4 CATION MATERIALS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 62(a)(2)(D) of the Inter- 6 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 7 end the following flush matter: 8 ‘‘In the case of taxable years beginning after 9 December 31, 2018, the $250 amount in clause 10 (i) shall be increased by an amount equal to so 11 much of the amounts paid or incurred by the el- 12 igible educator for STEM education supplies as 13 does not exceed $250.’’. 14 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 62(d)(3) of 15 such Code is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(3) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 18 taxable year beginning after 2015, the first 19 $250 amount in subsection (a)(2)(D) shall be 20 increased by an amount equal to— 21 ‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 22 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de- 23 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal- 24 endar year in which the taxable year be- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3099 IH gins, determined by substituting ‘calendar 1 year 2014’ for ‘calendar year 2016’ in sub- 2 paragraph (A)(ii) thereof. 3 ‘‘(B) STEM EDUCATION SUPPLIES.—In 4 the case of any taxable year beginning after 5 2019, the $250 amount in subsection (a)(2)(D) 6 shall be increased by an amount equal to— 7 ‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 8 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de- 9 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal- 10 endar year in which the taxable year be- 11 gins, determined by substituting ‘calendar 12 year 2018’ for ‘calendar year 2016’ in sub- 13 paragraph (A)(ii) thereof. 14 ‘‘(C) ROUNDING.—Any increase deter- 15 mined under subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be 16 rounded to the nearest multiple of $50.’’. 17 (c) STEM EDUCATION SUPPLIES DEFINED.—Sec- 18 tion 62(d) of such Code, as amended by subsection (b), 19 is amended by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 20 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively, and by inserting 21 after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: 22 ‘‘(2) STEM EDUCATION SUPPLIES.—For pur- 23 poses of subsection (a)(2)(D), the term ‘STEM edu- 24 cation supplies’ means expenses for books, supplies, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3099 IH equipment, and other materials used in connection 1 with teaching science, technology, engineering, or 2 math.’’. 3 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The heading for sec- 4 tion 62(d) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘DEFINI- 5 TION; SPECIAL RULES’’ and inserting ‘‘ELEMENTARY AND 6 SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’’. 7 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 8 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 9 December 31, 2018. 10 SEC. 4. STEM INTERNSHIP TAX CREDIT. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub- 12 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 13 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 14 section: 15 ‘‘SEC. 45T. STEM INTERNSHIP CREDIT. 16 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of section 38, 17 in the case of an eligible employer, the STEM internship 18 credit determined under this section for the taxable year 19 is equal to $2,000 for each qualified STEM intern em- 20 ployed by the employer during the taxable year. 21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The total amount of the credit al- 22 lowed under subsection (a) to a taxpayer for a taxable year 23 may not exceed $50,000. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:42 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3099 IH ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of subsection 1 (a)— 2 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED STEM INTERN.—The term 3 ‘qualified STEM intern’ means an individual who is 4 employed under an internship program of an eligible 5 employer under which— 6 ‘‘(A) each intern is paid not less than the 7 wage in effect under section 6(a) of the Fair 8 Labor Standards Act of 1938, 9 ‘‘(B) each intern is employed for not less 10 than 20 hours per week by the eligible employer 11 in a position related to the career goals of the 12 intern, 13 ‘‘(C) each intern completes not less than 6 14 weeks of employment with the eligible employer 15 as an intern, and 16 ‘‘(D) each intern is a student who is en- 17 rolled full-time in a science, technology, engi- 18 neering, or math program (including a program 19 of study abroad approved for credit by the eligi- 20 ble institution at which such student is en- 21 rolled) leading to a recognized undergraduate or 22 graduate degree at an institution of higher edu- 23 cation that is an eligible institution in accord- 24 ance with the provisions of section 487 of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3099 IH Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1 1094) and is not enrolled in an elementary or 2 secondary school. 3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible em- 5 ployer’ means an employer who employed on av- 6 erage not more than 500 full-time employees on 7 business days during the preceding calendar 8 year. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 9 any individual with respect to whom a credit is 10 allowed under this section shall not be taken 11 into account. 12 ‘‘(B) RULES FOR DETERMINING EM- 13 PLOYER SIZE.—For purposes of subparagraph 14 (A)— 15 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION OF AGGREGATION 16 RULE FOR EMPLOYERS.—All persons treat- 17 ed as a single employer under subsection 18 (b), (c), (m), or (o) of section 414 shall be 19 treated as 1 employer. 20 ‘‘(ii) EMPLOYERS NOT IN EXISTENCE 21 IN PRECEDING YEAR.—In the case of an 22 employer which was not in existence 23 throughout the preceding calendar year, 24 the determination of whether such em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.IH H3099 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3099 IH ployer is an eligible employer shall be 1 based on the average number of employees 2 that it is reasonably expected such em- 3 ployer will employ on business days in the 4 current calendar year. 5 ‘‘(iii) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference 6 in this paragraph to an employer shall in- 7 clude a reference to any predecessor of 8 such employer.’’. 9 (b) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS 10 CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by strik- 11 ing ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (31), by striking the 12 period at the end of paragraph (32) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, 13 and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 14 ‘‘(33) the STEM internship credit determined 15 under section 45T(a).’’. 16 (c) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Section 280C(a) 17 of such Code is amended by inserting ‘‘45T(a),’’ after 18 ‘‘45S(a),’’. 19 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 20 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add- 22 ing at the end the following new item: 23 ‘‘Sec. 45T. STEM internship credit.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 62 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]