Financial Relief Noting The Large Impact Of Our Nation’s Essential Employees (FRNT LINE) Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4213 To exclude from income and payroll taxes compensation received by front- line employees during the COVID–19 emergency. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 20, 2020 Ms. ERNST introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To exclude from income and payroll taxes compensation re- ceived by front-line employees during the COVID–19 emergency. 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 ‘‘Financial Relief Not- 4 ing The Large Impact Of Our Nation’s Essential Employ- 5 ees (FRNT LINE) Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 For purposes of this Act: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4213.IS S4213 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4213 IS (1) COVID–19 FRONT-LINE EMPLOYEE.—The 1 term ‘‘COVID–19 front-line employee’’ means an 2 employee— 3 (A) whose principal place of employment 4 during the COVID–19 emergency period is on 5 the employer’s premises or at a prescribed work 6 place that is not home of the employee, and 7 (B) who— 8 (i) is identified as essential critical in- 9 frastructure workforce pursuant to the 10 guidance issued on March 19, 2020, by 11 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 12 Agency of the Department of Homeland 13 Security (including any revisions to such 14 guidance made after such date), 15 (ii) performs restaurant and 16 foodservice work, including carryout, drive- 17 thru, or food delivery work, requiring phys- 18 ical interaction with individuals or food 19 products, or 20 (iii) performs educational work, school 21 nutrition work, and other work required to 22 operate a school facility, including early 23 childhood programs, preschool programs, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4213.IS S4213 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4213 IS elementary and secondary education, and 1 higher education. 2 (2) COVID–19 EMERGENCY PERIOD.—The 3 term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency period’’ means the pe- 4 riod— 5 (A) beginning on April 1, 2020, and 6 (B) ending on the earlier of— 7 (i) the last day of the first month in 8 which the emergency involving Federal pri- 9 mary responsibility determined to exist by 10 the President under section 501(b) of the 11 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 12 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 13 5191(b)) with respect to the Coronavirus 14 Disease 2019 (COVID–19) is no longer in 15 effect, or 16 (ii) December 31, 2020. 17 (3) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in this Act 18 which is used in chapter 2 of the Internal Revenue 19 Code of 1986 shall have the meaning given such 20 term under such chapter. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4213.IS S4213 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4213 IS SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME FOR CERTAIN 1 COMPENSATION OF FRONT-LINE EMPLOYEES 2 FOR ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES DURING THE 3 COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal Rev- 5 enue Code of 1986, gross income shall not include any 6 wages received during the COVID–19 emergency period 7 by an individual who is a COVID–19 front-line employee 8 for employment as a COVID–19 front-line employee. 9 (b) LIMITATION.—The amount of wages excluded 10 from gross income under subsection (a) for any month 11 shall not exceed $8,803.50 for any month during any part 12 of which such COVID–19 front-line employee earned in- 13 come as an essential critical infrastructure employee. 14 (c) SPECIAL RULE FOR CHILD TAX CREDIT AND 15 EARNED INCOME CREDIT.—For purposes of sections 24 16 and 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, an taxpayer 17 may elect to treat amounts excluded from gross income 18 by reason of subsection (a) as earned income. 19 (d) REPORTING.—Any employer that makes a pay- 20 ment described in subsection (a) during a calendar year 21 shall include the amount of such payment as a separately 22 stated item on any written statement required under sec- 23 tion 6051 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4213.IS S4213 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4213 IS SEC. 4. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF PAYROLL TAXES. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 2 sion of law, with respect to remuneration received by a 3 COVID–19 front-line employee for pay periods ending 4 after the effective date of this Act and before the date 5 described in section 2(3)(B), the rate of tax under 3101(a) 6 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be 0 percent 7 (including for purposes of determining the applicable per- 8 centage under sections 3201(a) and 3211(a) of such 9 Code). 10 (b) LIMITATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall not 12 apply to any COVID–19 front-line employee whose 13 annual wages for the calendar year is expected to ex- 14 ceed $50,000. 15 (2) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall prescribed 16 regulations or other guidance for purposes of deter- 17 mining the amount of expected annual wages for 18 nonsalaried employees, including for situations in 19 which an employee expects annual wages in excess of 20 the amount described in paragraph (1) from more 21 than 1 employer. 22 (c) EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of the 23 Treasury shall notify employers of the payroll tax suspen- 24 sion period in any manner the Secretary deems appro- 25 priate. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4213.IS S4213 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4213 IS (d) TRANSFERS OF FUNDS.— 1 (1) TRANSFERS TO FEDERAL OLD-AGE AND 2 SURVIVORS INSURANCE TRUST FUND.—There are 3 hereby appropriated to the Federal Old-Age and 4 Survivors Trust Fund and the Federal Disability In- 5 surance Trust Fund established under section 201 6 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401) amounts 7 equal to the reduction in revenues to the Treasury 8 by reason of the application of section 4. Amounts 9 appropriated by the preceding sentence shall be 10 transferred from the general fund at such times and 11 in such manner as to replicate to the extent possible 12 the transfers which would have occurred to such 13 Trust Fund had such amendments not been enacted. 14 (2) TRANSFERS TO SOCIAL SECURITY EQUIVA- 15 LENT BENEFIT ACCOUNT.—There are hereby appro- 16 priated to the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Ac- 17 count established under section 15A(a) of the Rail- 18 road Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231n–1(a)) 19 amounts equal to the reduction in revenues to the 20 Treasury by reason of the application of section 4. 21 Amounts appropriated by the preceding sentence 22 shall be transferred from the general fund at such 23 times and in such manner as to replicate to the ex- 24 tent possible the transfers which would have oc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4213.IS S4213 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4213 IS curred to such account had such amendments not 1 been enacted. 2 (e) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.— 3 For purposes of applying any provision of Federal law 4 other than the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code 5 of 1986, the rate of tax in effect under section 3101(a) 6 of such Code shall be determined without regard to the 7 reduction in such rate under this section. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4213.IS S4213 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS