Build Health Care Equipment in America Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3757 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for businesses and employers to help in the fight against COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 19, 2020 Mr. JONES introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for businesses and employers to help in the fight against COVID–19, 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 ‘‘Build Health Care 4 Equipment in America Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3757 IS SEC. 2. BONUS DEPRECIATION FOR FACILITIES MANUFAC- 1 TURING ITEMS TO FIGHT COVID–19. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 168 of the Internal Rev- 3 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 4 following new subsection: 5 ‘‘(n) SPECIAL ALLOWANCE FOR MEDICAL EQUIP- 6 MENT MANUFACTURERS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any qualified 8 medical equipment manufacturing property— 9 ‘‘(A) the depreciation deduction provided 10 by section 167(a) for the taxable year in which 11 such property is placed in service shall include 12 an allowance equal to the applicable percentage 13 of the adjusted basis of such property, and 14 ‘‘(B) the adjusted basis of such property 15 shall be reduced by the amount of such deduc- 16 tion before computing the amount otherwise al- 17 lowable as a depreciation deduction under this 18 chapter for such taxable year and any subse- 19 quent taxable year. 20 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes 21 of this subsection, the term ‘applicable percentage’ 22 means— 23 ‘‘(A) in the case of property described in 24 paragraph (3)(A)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3757 IS ‘‘(i) if such property is placed in serv- 1 ice within a rural area, 67 percent, or 2 ‘‘(ii) if such property is placed in serv- 3 ice within an area not described in clause 4 (i), 50 percent, and 5 ‘‘(B) in the case of property described in 6 paragraph (3)(B)— 7 ‘‘(i) which is placed in service before 8 January 1, 2027, 100 percent, 9 ‘‘(ii) which is placed in service after 10 December 31, 2026, and before January 1, 11 2028, 80 percent, 12 ‘‘(iii) which is placed in service after 13 December 31, 2027, and before January 1, 14 2029, 60 percent, 15 ‘‘(iv) which is placed in service after 16 December 31, 2028, and before January 1, 17 2030, 40 percent, and 18 ‘‘(v) which is placed in service after 19 December 31, 2029, and before January 1, 20 2031, 20 percent. 21 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED MEDICAL EQUIPMENT MANU- 22 FACTURING PROPERTY.—For purposes of this sub- 23 section, the term ‘qualified medical equipment man- 24 ufacturing property’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3757 IS ‘‘(A) any nonresidential real property 1 which is— 2 ‘‘(i) originally placed in service after 3 the date of enactment of this subsection 4 and before January 1, 2031, and 5 ‘‘(ii) used solely for the production or 6 manufacturing of COVID–19 medical 7 equipment, and 8 ‘‘(B) any qualified property (as defined in 9 subsection (k)(2), without respect to subpara- 10 graph (A)(iii) of such subsection) which is— 11 ‘‘(i) originally placed in service after 12 the date of enactment of this subsection 13 and before January 1, 2031, and 14 ‘‘(ii) used to rehabilitate, refurbish, or 15 reequip any facility which was originally 16 placed in service before the date of enact- 17 ment of this subsection to allow such facil- 18 ity to produce or manufacture COVID–19 19 medical equipment. 20 ‘‘(4) COVID–19 MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.—For 21 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘COVID–19 22 medical equipment’ means any product or equipment 23 used for the prevention or treatment of the virus 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3757 IS SARS–CoV–2 or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID– 1 19).’’. 2 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 3 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 4 the date of enactment of this Act. 5 SEC. 3. HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE CREDIT. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub- 7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 8 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 9 section: 10 ‘‘SEC. 45U. HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE CREDIT. 11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 12 amount of the health care workforce credit determined 13 under this section for the taxable year shall be equal to 14 the sum of any applicable payroll taxes paid by an em- 15 ployer during the taxable year with respect to employment 16 of any qualified employee. 17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 18 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE PAYROLL TAXES.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘applicable 20 payroll taxes’ means, with respect to any em- 21 ployer for any taxable year, the amount of the 22 taxes imposed by— 23 ‘‘(i) section 3111 on wages paid by an 24 employer with respect to employment of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3757 IS qualified employee during the applicable 1 period, and 2 ‘‘(ii) section 3221(a) on compensation 3 paid by an employer with respect to serv- 4 ices rendered by a qualified employee dur- 5 ing the applicable period. 6 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes 7 of subparagraph (A), the term ‘applicable pe- 8 riod’ means the 3-year period beginning with 9 the day the qualified employee begins work for 10 the employer. 11 ‘‘(2) DECLINING FIELD; SKILLED HEALTHCARE 12 FIELD.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 14 ‘‘(i) DECLINING FIELD.—The term 15 ‘declining field’ means any occupation or 16 field of work which has been determined by 17 the Secretary, in consultation with the Bu- 18 reau of Labor Statistics of the Department 19 of Labor, to have experienced a decline in 20 the level of average employment in such oc- 21 cupation or field in the United States of 22 not less than 8 percent over the most re- 23 cent 3-year period for which such informa- 24 tion is available. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3757 IS ‘‘(ii) SKILLED HEALTHCARE FIELD.— 1 The term ‘skilled healthcare field’ means 2 any occupation or field of work related to 3 the practice of medicine which has been 4 determined by the Secretary, in consulta- 5 tion with the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 6 the Department of Labor, to— 7 ‘‘(I) require— 8 ‘‘(aa) theoretical and prac- 9 tical application of a body of 10 highly specialized knowledge; and 11 ‘‘(bb)(AA) attainment of a 12 bachelor’s or higher degree in the 13 specific specialty (or its equiva- 14 lent); or 15 ‘‘(BB) experience in the spe- 16 cialty equivalent to the comple- 17 tion of such degree; and 18 ‘‘(II) have an insufficient number 19 of individuals who are citizens or resi- 20 dents of the United States and are 21 qualified, willing, and able to satisfy 22 the demand for labor in such occupa- 23 tion or field of work. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3757 IS ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION AND PUBLICA- 1 TION.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 2 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department 3 of Labor, shall annually— 4 ‘‘(i) determine which occupations or 5 fields of work satisfy the requirements de- 6 scribed in subparagraph (A), and 7 ‘‘(ii) publish and make available on 8 the website of the Department of the 9 Treasury a complete list of such occupa- 10 tions and fields of work. 11 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 13 employee’ means an individual who— 14 ‘‘(i) is provided wages for employment 15 by the employer (as such terms are defined 16 in section 3121), provided that such em- 17 ployment— 18 ‘‘(I) is not in a declining field, 19 and 20 ‘‘(II) is in a skilled healthcare 21 field, 22 ‘‘(ii) is not a covered employee (as de- 23 fined in section 162(m)(3)), and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3757 IS ‘‘(iii) was employed in a declining field 1 for any period during the 12-month period 2 preceding the applicable period under para- 3 graph (1)(B). 4 ‘‘(B) NONQUALIFYING REHIRES.—The 5 term ‘qualifying employee’ shall not include any 6 individual who, prior to the beginning of the ap- 7 plicable period under paragraph (1)(B), had 8 been employed by the employer at any time.’’. 9 (b) CREDIT PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.— 10 Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 11 amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (32), 12 by striking the period at the end of paragraph (33) and 13 inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following 14 new paragraph: 15 ‘‘(34) the health care workforce credit deter- 16 mined under section 45U(a).’’. 17 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 18 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 19 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add- 20 ing at the end the following new item: 21 ‘‘Sec. 45U. Health Care Workforce Credit.’’. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 22 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 23 the date of the enactment of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3757 IS SEC. 4. ENHANCEMENTS TO CERTAIN EDUCATION TAX BEN- 1 EFITS FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IN 2 SHORT SUPPLY. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 4 (1) PUBLICATION.—For each calendar year be- 5 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, 6 the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with 7 the Secretary of Labor, shall publish and make 8 available on the website of the Department of the 9 Treasury a list of any occupation or field of work 10 which qualifies as a medical short supply field for 11 such calendar year. 12 (2) MEDICAL SHORT SUPPLY FIELD.—The term 13 ‘‘medical short supply field’’ means an occupation or 14 field of work which the Secretary of the Treasury, 15 in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, has de- 16 termined— 17 (A) is related to the practice of medicine or 18 to the manufacturing of medical equipment; 19 (B) requires— 20 (i) theoretical and practical applica- 21 tion of a body of highly specialized knowl- 22 edge; and 23 (ii)(I) attainment of a bachelor’s or 24 higher degree in the specific specialty (or 25 its equivalent); or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3757 IS (II) experience in the specialty equiva- 1 lent to the completion of such degree; and 2 (C) has an insufficient number of individ- 3 uals who are citizens or residents of the United 4 States and are qualified, willing, and able to 5 satisfy the demand for labor in such occupation 6 or field of work. 7 (b) ENHANCEMENTS TO CERTAIN EDUCATION TAX 8 BENEFITS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.— 10 (A) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PRO- 11 GRAMS.—Paragraph (2) of section 127(a) of 12 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 13 by inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of an individual 14 employed in an occupation or field of work 15 which has been designated as a medical short 16 supply field for such calendar year pursuant to 17 section 4(a) of the Build Health Care Equip- 18 ment in America Act, the first $15,000 of such 19 assistance so furnished)’’ before the period at 20 the end. 21 (B) INTEREST ON EDUCATION LOANS.— 22 Paragraph (1) of section 221(b) of the Internal 23 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting 24 ‘‘(or, in the case of a individual employed in an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3757 IS occupation or field of work which has been des- 1 ignated, pursuant to section 4(a) of the Build 2 Health Care Equipment in America Act, as a 3 medical short supply field for the calendar year 4 in which such taxable year began, shall not ex- 5 ceed $8,000)’’ before the period at the end. 6 (C) QUALIFIED TUITION AND RELATED 7 EXPENSES.—Paragraph (1) of section 222(b) of 8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 9 by inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of an individual 10 employed in an occupation or field of work 11 which has been designated, pursuant to section 12 4(a) of the Build Health Care Equipment in 13 America Act, as a medical short supply field for 14 the calendar year in which such taxable year 15 began, an amount equal to the applicable dollar 16 limit multiplied by 2)’’ before the period at the 17 end. 18 (2) EXCLUSION FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYER PAY- 19 MENTS OF STUDENT LOANS.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of sec- 21 tion 127(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 22 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 23 of subparagraph (A), by redesignating subpara- 24 graph (B) as subparagraph (C), and by insert- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3757.IS S3757 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3757 IS ing after subparagraph (A) the following new 1 subparagraph: 2 ‘‘(B) in the case of an employee employed 3 in an occupation or field of work which has 4 been designated as a medical short supply field 5 for a calendar year pursuant to section 4(a) of 6 the Build Health Care Equipment in America 7 Act, the payment by an employer during such 8 calendar year, whether paid to the employee or 9 to a lender, of principal or interest on any 10 qualified education loan (as defined in section 11 221(d)(1)) incurred by the employee, and’’. 12 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT; DENIAL 13 OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Paragraph (1) of sec- 14 tion 221(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 15 1986 is amended by inserting before the period 16 the following: ‘‘, or for which an exclusion is al- 17 lowable under section 127 to [Text truncated for display. 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