GROWTH Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4760 To bolster the domestic workforce by encouraging communication between career and technical education institutions and emphasizing potential employment opportunities, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat certain costs relating to career and technical education as quali- fied higher education expenses for purposes of section 529 programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 18, 2019 Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, Transportation and Infrastructure, Armed Services, and Small Business, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To bolster the domestic workforce by encouraging commu- nication between career and technical education institu- tions and emphasizing potential employment opportuni- ties, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat certain costs relating to career and technical edu- cation as qualified higher education expenses for pur- poses of section 529 programs, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4760 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Generating Real Op- 2 portunities for Workforce Training and Hiring Act’’ or the 3 ‘‘GROWTH Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON 5 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 6 SCHOOLS. 7 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 8 (1) consistent communication between institu- 9 tions providing career and technical education, as 10 defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career 11 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 12 2302), and employment entities regarding cur- 13 riculum and industry need is paramount to pro- 14 ducing a truly skilled and viable domestic workforce; 15 (2) employment opportunities provided through 16 recognized postsecondary credentials, as defined in 17 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 18 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102), are as important to the 19 advancement of the economy of the United States as 20 any other domestic business sector; and 21 (3) elementary schools and secondary schools 22 (as such terms are defined in section 8101 of the El- 23 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 24 U.S.C. 7801)) should highlight enrollment in career 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4760 IH and technical professions as desirable and often 1 high-skill, high-wage occupations. 2 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF TRANSPORTATION AND STUDENT 3 LOAN EXPENSES OF CAREER AND TECH- 4 NICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 529(e) 6 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add- 7 ing at the end the following new subparagraph: 8 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN COSTS OF CAREER AND 9 TECHNICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an 11 individual who is enrolled in (or, for pur- 12 poses of subclause (II), who is enrolled in 13 or has graduated from) career and tech- 14 nical education, such term shall also in- 15 clude— 16 ‘‘(I) costs for transportation in 17 the course of attendance of such pro- 18 gram, and 19 ‘‘(II) amounts paid by the indi- 20 vidual in repayment of a student loan 21 incurred to finance the individual’s 22 enrollment in such program. 23 ‘‘(ii) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU- 24 CATION.—For purposes of this subpara- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4760 IH graph, the term ‘career and technical edu- 1 cation’ means a program of organized edu- 2 cational activities which offers a sequence 3 of courses which— 4 ‘‘(I) provides individuals with co- 5 herent and rigorous content aligned 6 with challenging academic standards 7 and relevant technical knowledge and 8 skills needed to prepare for further 9 education and careers in current or 10 emerging professions, 11 ‘‘(II) provides technical skill pro- 12 ficiency, an industry-recognized cre- 13 dential, a certificate, or an associate 14 degree, and 15 ‘‘(III) includes competency-based 16 applied learning which contributes to 17 the academic knowledge, higher-order 18 reasoning and problem-solving skills, 19 work attitudes, general employability 20 skills, technical skills, occupation-spe- 21 cific skills, and knowledge of all as- 22 pects of an industry, including entre- 23 preneurship, of an individual. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4760 IH Such program may include prerequisite 1 courses (other than a remedial course) 2 which meet the requirements of this 3 clause.’’. 4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 5 this section shall apply to distributions made after the 6 date of the enactment of this Act. 7 SEC. 4. HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE DEVELOP- 8 MENT INITIATIVES. 9 Section 504 of title 23, United States Code, is 10 amended by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(i) HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE DEVEL- 12 OPMENT INITIATIVES.— 13 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall 14 provide grants under this subsection to eligible enti- 15 ties described in paragraph (3) to establish highway 16 construction workforce development initiatives (re- 17 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘initiatives’) to at- 18 tract, train, and place workers into highway con- 19 struction careers. 20 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.—The initiatives 21 established with a grant under this subsection shall 22 encourage cooperative efforts between— 23 ‘‘(A) the highway construction industry; 24 ‘‘(B) the Federal Highway Administration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4760 IH ‘‘(C) State departments of transportation; 1 ‘‘(D) State and local workforce develop- 2 ment boards; 3 ‘‘(E) community colleges and technical 4 schools; and 5 ‘‘(F) labor organizations. 6 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may 7 award a grant under this subsection to a public or 8 private entity for use in accordance with this sub- 9 section. 10 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZED USES.—An eligible entity de- 11 scribed in paragraph (3) shall use a grant provided 12 under this subsection to carry out an initiative— 13 ‘‘(A) to promote highway construction 14 worker career opportunities; 15 ‘‘(B) to support relevant outreach and 16 awareness efforts; 17 ‘‘(C) to develop relevant education and 18 training materials; 19 ‘‘(D) to provide life skills training, includ- 20 ing rudimentary math and other basis skills; 21 and 22 ‘‘(E) for related support services.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4760 IH SEC. 5. MILITARY SPOUSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1 INITIATIVES. 2 (a) EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF REIMBURSE- 3 MENT OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES UN- 4 DERGOING A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION FOR PRO- 5 FESSIONAL RELICENSING COSTS OF ACCOMPANYING 6 SPOUSES.— 7 (1) EXTENSION.—Paragraph (4) of section 8 476(p) of title 37, United States Code, is amended 9 by striking ‘‘December 31, 2022’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘December 31, 2024’’. 11 (2) EXPANSION OF QUALIFYING RELICENSING 12 COSTS.—Paragraph (5)(A) of that section is amend- 13 ed by striking ‘‘the original duty station’’ and insert- 14 ing ‘‘a previous duty station or home of record’’. 15 (b) EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF MYCAREER 16 ADVANCEMENT ACCOUNT PROGRAM.— 17 (1) EXPANSION OF GRADES OF MEMBERS 18 WHOSE SPOUSES ARE ELIGIBLE.—The grades of 19 members of the Armed Forces whose spouses are eli- 20 gible for the MyCareer Advancement Account 21 (MyCAA) Program of the Department of Defense 22 shall include members in the additional grades as 23 follows: 24 (A) O–3. 25 (B) E–6. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4760 IH (2) ADDITIONAL BENEFITS.—The benefits 1 available under the MyCareer Advancement Account 2 Program shall include scholarships usable by mili- 3 tary spouses to attend or participate in any of the 4 following: 5 (A) Vocational school. 6 (B) Professional licensure classes or tests. 7 (C) Clinical supervision hours in connec- 8 tion with pursuit of a medical or health care de- 9 gree. 10 SEC. 6. LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 11 Section 501(d)(3) of the Small Business Investment 12 Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695(d)(3)) is amended— 13 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 14 (L) as subparagraphs (B) through (M), respectively; 15 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as re- 16 designated by paragraph (1), the following: 17 ‘‘(A) workforce development through work- 18 based or work-integrated training, which shall 19 be satisfied by demonstrating that a small busi- 20 ness concern that is a subject of the project 21 has— 22 ‘‘(i) a documented in-house training 23 program, the duration of which is not 24 shorter than 12 weeks; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4760 IH ‘‘(ii) entered into a contract with an 1 entity— 2 ‘‘(I) to provide trained applicants 3 for any open position of employment 4 at the small business concern; and 5 ‘‘(II) that ensures that any appli- 6 cant provided to the small business 7 concern under subclause (I) has un- 8 dergone not fewer than 12 weeks of 9 training that is relevant to the open 10 position described in that subclause,’’; 11 and 12 (3) in the flush text following subparagraph 13 (M), as redesignated by paragraph (1), in the second 14 sentence, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (J) and (K)’’ 15 and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (K) and (L)’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4760.IH H4760 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS