[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5004 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5004

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow credit against 
income tax for information technology training expenses, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2000

 Mr. Weller (for himself, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Cox, Mr. Tauzin, 
   Mr. Davis of Virginia, Mr. Salmon, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mrs. 
  Tauscher, and Mr. Dreier) introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the 
Committee on Science, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow credit against 
income tax for information technology training expenses, 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 ``Technology Education and Training 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM EXPENSES.

    (a) In General.--Subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``SEC. 30B. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM EXPENSES.

    ``(a) General Rule.--There shall be allowed as a credit against the 
tax imposed by this chapter an amount equal to 100 percent of 
information technology training program expenses paid or incurred by 
the taxpayer during the taxable year.
    ``(b) Limitation.--
            ``(1) In general.--The amount of information technology 
        training program expenses with respect to an individual which 
        may be taken into account under subsection (a) for the taxable 
        year shall not exceed $1,500.
            ``(2) Larger credit for participation in certain 
        programs.--The dollar amount in paragraph (1) shall be 
        increased (but not above $2,000) by the amount information 
        technology training program expenses paid or incurred by the 
        taxpayer with respect to a program operated--
                    ``(A) in an empowerment zone or enterprise 
                community designated under part I of subchapter U,
                    ``(B) in a school district in which at least 50 
                percent of the students attending schools in such 
                district are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches 
                under the school lunch program established under the 
                National School Lunch Act,
                    ``(C) in an area designated as a disaster area by 
                the Secretary of Agriculture or by the President under 
                the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in the 
                taxable year or the 4 preceding taxable years,
                    ``(D) in a rural enterprise community designated 
                under section 766 of the Agriculture, Rural 
                Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 
                Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999,
                    ``(E) in an area designated by the Secretary of 
                Agriculture as a Rural Economic Area Partnership Zone, 
                or
                    ``(F) by an employer who has 200 or fewer employees 
                for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar 
                weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
            ``(3) Limitation on employees.--In the case of an employee, 
        the limitation under this subsection for any taxable year shall 
        be reduced by the credit determined under this section for 
        expenses with respect to such employee paid or incurred by such 
        employee's employer during the taxable year of the employer 
        ending with or within the employee's taxable year.
    ``(c) Information Technology Training Program Expenses.--For 
purposes of this section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `information technology 
        training program expenses' means expenses incurred by reason of 
        the participation of the taxpayer (or any employee of the 
        taxpayer) in any information technology training program if 
        such expenses lead to an industry-accepted IT Training 
        Certification for the participant. Such term includes expenses 
        paid for certification testing which is essential to assessing 
        skill acquisition.
            ``(2) Information technology training program.--The term 
        `information technology training program' means a program for 
        recognized information technology certifications--
                    ``(A) by any information technology trade 
                association or corporation, and
                    ``(B) involving--
                            ``(i) employers, and
                            ``(ii) State training programs, school 
                        districts, university systems, higher education 
                        institutions (as defined in section 101(b) of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965), or approved 
                        commercial information technology training 
                        providers.
            ``(3) Approved commercial information technology training 
        providers.--The term `approved commercial information 
        technology training providers' means a private sector provider 
        of educational products and services utilized for training in 
        information technology which is approved with respect to--
                    ``(A) the curriculum that is used for the training, 
                or
                    ``(B) the technical knowledge of the instructors of 
                such provider,
        by the information technology association sponsoring such 
        certifications or by 1 or more software publishers or hardware 
        manufacturers the products of which are a subject of the 
        training.
    ``(e) Denial of Double Benefit.--No deduction or credit under any 
other provision of this chapter shall be allowed with respect to 
information technology training program expenses (determined without 
regard to the limitation under subsection (c)).
    ``(f) Allocations.--For purposes of this section, rules similar to 
the rules of section 41(f)(2) shall apply.''
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart B of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:

                              ``Sec. 30B. Information technology 
                                        training program expenses.''
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to amounts paid or incurred after the date of enactment of this 
Act in taxable years ending after such date.
    (d) Certifications.--The National Science Foundation shall 
establish an advisory group (to be known as the ``Information 
Technology Training Certification Board'') composed of information 
technology certification and training associations and companies to 
develop a list of the latest industry certifications that will qualify 
for the credit under section 30B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
The Information Technology Training Certification Board shall be 
chaired by an information technology industry trade association and 
composed of not more than 15 members. Such Board shall meet at least 
annually and shall submit its annual recommended list of such 
certifications to the National Science Foundation not later than 
October 1 of each calendar year.
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