[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2620 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2620
To bolster the domestic workforce by encouraging communication between
career and technical education institutions and emphasizing potential
employment opportunities, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
treat certain costs relating to career and technical education as
qualified higher education expenses for purposes of section 529
programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 17, 2019
Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To bolster the domestic workforce by encouraging communication between
career and technical education institutions and emphasizing potential
employment opportunities, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
treat certain costs relating to career and technical education as
qualified higher education expenses for purposes of section 529
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 ``Generating Real Opportunities for
Workforce Training and Hiring Act'' or the ``GROWTH Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS.
It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) consistent communication between institutions providing
career and technical education, as defined in section 3 of the
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20
U.S.C. 2302), and employment entities regarding curriculum and
industry need is paramount to producing a truly skilled and
viable domestic workforce;
(2) employment opportunities provided through recognized
postsecondary credentials, as defined in section 3 of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102), are
as important to the advancement of the economy of the United
States as any other domestic business sector; and
(3) elementary schools and secondary schools (as such terms
are defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) should highlight
enrollment in career and technical professions as desirable and
often high-skill, high-wage occupations.
SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF TRANSPORTATION AND STUDENT LOAN EXPENSES OF CAREER
AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (3) of section 529(e) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) Certain costs of career and technical
education students.--
``(i) In general.--In the case of an
individual who is enrolled in (or, for purposes
of subclause (II), who is enrolled in or has
graduated from) career and technical education,
such term shall also include--
``(I) costs for transportation in
the course of attendance of such
program, and
``(II) amounts paid by the
individual in repayment of a student
loan incurred to finance the
individual's enrollment in such
program.
``(ii) Career and technical education.--For
purposes of this subparagraph, the term `career
and technical education' means a program of
organized educational activities which offers a
sequence of courses which--
``(I) provides individuals with
coherent and rigorous content aligned
with challenging academic standards and
relevant technical knowledge and skills
needed to prepare for further education
and careers in current or emerging
professions,
``(II) provides technical skill
proficiency, an industry-recognized
credential, a certificate, or an
associate degree, and
``(III) includes competency-based
applied learning which contributes to
the academic knowledge, higher-order
reasoning and problem-solving skills,
work attitudes, general employability
skills, technical skills, occupation-
specific skills, and knowledge of all
aspects of an industry, including
entrepreneurship, of an individual.
Such program may include prerequisite courses
(other than a remedial course) which meet the
requirements of this clause.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to distributions made after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 4. HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.
Section 504 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(i) Highway Construction Workforce Development Initiatives.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall provide grants
under this subsection to eligible entities described in
paragraph (3) to establish highway construction workforce
development initiatives (referred to in this subsection as the
`initiatives') to attract, train, and place workers into
highway construction careers.
``(2) Cooperative efforts.--The initiatives established
with a grant under this subsection shall encourage cooperative
efforts between--
``(A) the highway construction industry;
``(B) the Federal Highway Administration;
``(C) State departments of transportation;
``(D) State and local workforce development boards;
``(E) community colleges and technical schools; and
``(F) labor organizations.
``(3) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a grant
under this subsection to a public or private entity for use in
accordance with this subsection.
``(4) Authorized uses.--An eligible entity described in
paragraph (3) shall use a grant provided under this subsection
to carry out an initiative--
``(A) to promote highway construction worker career
opportunities;
``(B) to support relevant outreach and awareness
efforts;
``(C) to develop relevant education and training
materials;
``(D) to provide life skills training, including
rudimentary math and other basis skills; and
``(E) for related support services.''.
SEC. 5. MILITARY SPOUSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.
(a) Extension and Expansion of Reimbursement of Members of the
Uniformed Services Undergoing a Permanent Change of Station for
Professional Relicensing Costs of Accompanying Spouses.--
(1) Extension.--Paragraph (4) of section 476(p) of title
37, United States Code, is amended by striking ``December 31,
2022'' and inserting ``December 31, 2024''.
(2) Expansion of qualifying relicensing costs.--Paragraph
(5)(A) of that section is amended by striking ``the original
duty station'' and inserting ``a previous duty station or home
of record''.
(b) Expansion and Improvement of MyCareer Advancement Account
Program.--
(1) Expansion of grades of members whose spouses are
eligible.--The grades of members of the Armed Forces whose
spouses are eligible for the MyCareer Advancement Account
(MyCAA) Program of the Department of Defense shall include
members in the additional grades as follows:
(A) O-3.
(B) E-6.
(2) Additional benefits.--The benefits available under the
MyCareer Advancement Account Program shall include scholarships
usable by military spouses to attend or participate in any of
the following:
(A) Vocational school.
(B) Professional licensure classes or tests.
(C) Clinical supervision hours in connection with
pursuit of a medical or health care degree.
SEC. 6. LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.
Section 501(d)(3) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15
U.S.C. 695(d)(3)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (L) as
subparagraphs (B) through (M), respectively;
(2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as redesignated
by paragraph (1), the following:
``(A) workforce development through work-based or
work-integrated training, which shall be satisfied by
demonstrating that a small business concern that is a
subject of the project has--
``(i) a documented in-house training
program, the duration of which is not shorter
than 12 weeks; or
``(ii) entered into a contract with an
entity--
``(I) to provide trained applicants
for any open position of employment at
the small business concern; and
``(II) that ensures that any
applicant provided to the small
business concern under subclause (I)
has undergone not fewer than 12 weeks
of training that is relevant to the
open position described in that
subclause,''; and
(3) in the flush text following subparagraph (M), as
redesignated by paragraph (1), in the second sentence, by
striking ``subparagraphs (J) and (K)'' and inserting
``subparagraphs (K) and (L)''.
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