[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 127 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 127

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the 
 exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance programs, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 21, 1997

  Mr. Moynihan (for himself, Mr. Roth, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. 
  Boxer, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Craig, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. Ford, Mr. 
       Glenn, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry of 
 Massachusetts, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McConnell, Ms. 
Moseley-Braun, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Robb, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Shelby, Mr. 
  Torricelli, and Mr. Wyden) 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 make permanent the 
 exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance programs, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Employee Educational Assistance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. EMPLOYER-PROVIDED EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Permanent Extension.--Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 (relating to exclusion for educational assistance programs) is 
amended by striking subsection (d) and by redesignating subsection (e) 
as subsection (d).
    (b) Repeal of Limitation on Graduate Education.--The last sentence 
of section 127(c)(1) of such Code is amended by striking ``, and such 
term also does not include any payment for, or the provision of any 
benefits with respect to, any graduate level course of a kind normally 
taken by an individual pursuing a program leading to a law, business, 
medical, or other advanced academic or professional degree''.
    (c) Effective Dates.--
            (1) Extension.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
        apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1996.
            (2) Graduate education.--The amendment made by subsection 
        (b) shall apply with respect to expenses relating to courses 
        beginning after June 30, 1996.
            (3) Expedited procedures.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
        shall establish expedited procedures for the refund of any 
        overpayment of taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 which is attributable to amounts excluded from gross 
        income during 1996 or 1997 under section 127 of such Code, 
        including procedures waiving the requirement that an employer 
        obtain an employee's signature where the employer demonstrates 
        to the satisfaction of the Secretary that any refund collected 
        by the employer on behalf of the employee will be paid to the 
        employee.
                                 <all>