[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 74 (Thursday, May 23, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SMALL BUSINESS JOB PROTECTION ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 22, 1996

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in 
support of H.R. 3448 and to not only lend my support for it, but to 
also discuss how this legislation is a textbook example of opportunity 
missed. Mr. Speaker, while this bill makes several important changes to 
the current law in areas such as pensions, equipment investment, and 
educational tax-deductions, there are other changes not included which 
could have made it much better legislation and much better for the 
American people.
  One of the most important issues this bill addresses is that of 
employee pensions. Under this legislation, employees of tax-exempt 
organizations, will for the first time, be eligible for 401(k) plans. 
In addition, firms with less than 100 workers would be permitted to set 
aside pension funds for workers without satisfying many of the complex 
reporting standards they must now meet for contributions to 401(k) 
plans. Finally, Mr. Speaker, this bill addresses the needs of union 
workers such as construction workers who frequently change jobs. This 
legislation corrects problems for small businesses and their employees 
which are long overdue. Now, those who were previously unable to take 
advantage of retirement options solely due to their occupation can now.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill also provides tax incentives for businesses to 
hire employees on welfare, high-risk youth, qualified veterans or 
qualified summer youth employees. I have spoken a great deal on this 
floor about summer jobs and while I am extremely opposed to Republican 
efforts to eliminate the Summer Jobs Program, I am pleased that this 
provision was included. I am gratified to see that the majority party 
recognizes the fact that these populations sometimes need assistance in 
obtaining work and I believe that the work opportunity tax credit is 
one more method by which we can give honest people a chance at a job.
  While these are good initiatives, this bill does not go far enough. 
The legislation will allow individuals to deduct up to $5,250 per year 
for employer-provided educational assistance for undergraduate tuition, 
but what about graduate education? Do not people who pursue advanced 
degrees deserve the same opportunity? This indeed seems like a case of 
education bigotry. During committee markup of this bill, my Democratic 
colleague, Mr. Levin tried to address this issue with an amendment to 
include graduate education. After initially agreeing to the amendment, 
the Republican Members changed their vote to defeat it.
  Also missing from this bill are pension provisions contained within 
the Gephardt-Daschle proposal which would improve the bill even further 
by allowing penalty-fee IRA withdrawals for education and training, 
first home purchases, major medical expenses, and during long-term 
unemployment.
  Mr. Chairman, this bill is good and I support it, but it could be and 
deserves to be better than it is.

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