[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1018 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1018

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the availability 
  of the refundable tax credit for health insurance costs of eligible 
  individuals and to extend the steel import licensing and monitoring 
                                program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 2003

 Mr. Bayh (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Clinton, 
        and Mr. Sarbanes) 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 expand the availability 
  of the refundable tax credit for health insurance costs of eligible 
  individuals and to extend the steel import licensing and monitoring 
                                program.

    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 ``Health Care Tax Credit Enhancement 
for Workers and Steel Security Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. HEALTH CARE TAX CREDIT ENHANCEMENT.

    (a) Decrease in Age Eligibility Requirement.--Subparagraph (A) of 
section 35(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining 
eligible PBGC pension recipient) is amended by striking ``age 55'' and 
inserting ``age 50''.
    (b) Repeal of 3-Month Requirement of Existing Coverage.--Clause (i) 
of section 35(e)(2)(B) of such Code (defining qualifying individual) is 
amended by striking ``9801(c)'' and inserting ``9801(c) (prior to the 
employment separation necessary to attain the status of an eligible 
individual)''.
    (c) Eligibility of Spouse of Certain Individuals Entitled to 
Medicare.--Subsection (b) of section 35 of such Code (defining eligible 
coverage month) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Special rule for spouse of individual entitled to 
        Medicare.--Any month which would be an eligible coverage month 
        with respect to a taxpayer (determined without regard to 
        subsection (f)(2)(A)) shall be an eligible coverage month for 
        any spouse of such taxpayer.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply as if included in the amendments made by section 201 of the Trade 
Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002.

SEC. 3. MAINTENANCE OF STEEL IMPORT LICENSING AND MONITORING PROGRAM.

    (a) Maintenance of Program.--The steel import licensing and 
monitoring program established by the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the Memorandum signed by the 
President on March 5, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 10593 through 10597) (pursuant 
to the authority of the President under section 203(g) of the Trade Act 
of 1974), shall, notwithstanding any other action taken by the 
President under section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 concerning the 
steel products described in the Memorandum, remain in effect until not 
later than March 6, 2010. In carrying out the program in accordance 
with the preceding sentence, the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Secretary of Commerce shall expand the program to include all iron and 
steel, and all articles of iron or steel, described in chapters 72 and 
73 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
    (b) Additional Authority.--The Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Secretary of Commerce are hereby authorized and directed to take such 
actions as are necessary to maintain or expand as necessary and 
appropriate the operation of the program described in subsection (a).
                                 <all>