[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 30, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10177-S10178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 3655. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude 
from an employee's gross income any employer-provided supplemental 
instructional services assistance, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce legislation to 
increase access for our Nation's children to affordable, quality 
tutoring. The Affordable Tutoring for Our Children Act would enable 
middle-class families to purchase supplemental instructional services 
on a pre-tax basis, ensuring greater utilization of critical 
educational tools.
  A sound education for every American child is fundamental to the 
well-being and prosperity of our society, both now and in the future. 
Yet, as we are all acutely aware, not every child learns at the same 
pace, nor in the same manner, and some face unique challenges that 
cannot be overcome simply in a typical classroom setting. Many children 
require--and greatly benefit from--additional help in academics. 
Regrettably, our nation's middle-class families are increasingly unable 
to afford this essential ancillary support for their children. These 
families find themselves under considerable and ever-increasing 
financial strain, with more and more income going to pay for gasoline, 
health care, groceries, and a multitude of other expenses. Furthermore, 
according to a 2007 report from Demos and the Institute on Assets & 
Social Policy at Brandeis University, more than half of middle-class 
families have no financial assets, or worse, their debts exceed their 
assets.
  At present, employees may set aside a portion of their earnings to 
establish a flexible spending account, or FSA, allowing them to pay for 
qualified medical or dependent care expenses free from income and 
payroll taxes. Our legislation would permit employees to use their 
dependent care FSAs to cover supplemental instructional expenses, 
thereby saving themselves up to 40 percent of their cost. Critically, 
this bill is targeted to middle-class families, those who most 
necessitate our assistance. Indeed, only those employees making 
$105,000 or less per year would be able to exclude amounts paid for 
these services from their taxable income. Additionally, supplemental 
instructional expenses would be subject to a combined $5,000 cap with 
other dependent care expenses.
  This bill would help more middle-class children to receive extra 
assistance for a host of subjects ranging from English and mathematics 
to science, government, and foreign languages. At a time when graduates 
who attain a bachelor's degree earn roughly 96 percent more than high 
school graduates, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, it is 
vital that our Nation's children get the help they need to succeed.
  With middle-class families feeling the squeeze from every angle, our 
legislation would provide essential relief for those parents seeking to 
ensure that their children have the best educational experience 
possible. I urge my colleagues to consider the dramatic advantage our 
children will gain from this crucial bill, and look forward to its 
passage in a timely manner.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3655

       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 ``Affordable Tutoring of Our 
     Children Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF EMPLOYER-PROVIDED SUPPLEMENTAL 
                   INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES ASSISTANCE.

       (a) In General.--Section 129 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 (relating to dependent care assistance programs) is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``and supplemental instructional services 
     assistance'' after ``dependent care assistance'' each place 
     it appears (except in subsections (d)(4) and (e)(1) thereof), 
     and
       (2) by inserting ``and supplemental instructional 
     services'' after ``dependent care services'' both places it 
     appears in subsection (a)(2).
       (b) Supplemental Instructional Services Assistance.--
     Section 129(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 
     to definitions and services) is amended by redesignating 
     paragraphs (2) through (9) as paragraphs (3) through (10), 
     respectively, and by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Supplemental instructional services assistance.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `supplemental instructional 
     services assistance' means the payment of, or provision of, 
     supplemental instructional services to an employee's 
     dependent (as defined in subsection (a)(1) of section 152, 
     determined without regard to subsection (c)(1)(C) thereof) 
     who--
       ``(i) has attained the age of 5 but not the age of 19 as of 
     the close of the calendar year in which the taxable year of 
     the employee begins, and
       ``(ii) has not obtained a high school diploma or been 
     awarded a general education degree.
       ``(B) Supplemental instructional services.--The term 
     `supplemental instructional services' means instructional or 
     other academic enrichment services which are--
       ``(i) in addition to instruction provided during the school 
     day,
       ``(ii) specifically designed to increase the academic 
     achievement of such dependent,
       ``(iii) in the core academic studies of English, reading or 
     language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, 
     civics and government, economics, arts, social studies, and 
     geography, and
       ``(iv) provided by a State certified instructor or 
     accredited organization.''.
       (c) No Exclusion for Supplemental Instructional Services 
     Assistance Provided to Highly Compensated Employees.--Section 
     129(a)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 
     to limitation of exclusion) is amended by inserting ``, 
     except that no amount may be excluded under paragraph (1) for 
     supplemental instructional services paid or incurred by an 
     employee who is a highly compensated employee (within the 
     meaning of section 414(q))'' after ``individual)''.
       (d) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Section 21(b)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     sentence: ``Such term shall not include any amount paid for 
     supplemental instructional services (as defined in section 
     129(e)(2)(B)).''

[[Page S10178]]

       (2) The second sentence of section 21(c) of such Code is 
     amended by inserting ``of dependent care assistance'' after 
     ``aggregate amount''.
       (3) Section 6051(a)(9) of such Code is amended by inserting 
     ``and supplemental instructional services assistance'' after 
     ``dependent care assistance'' both places it appears.
       (e) Clerical Amendments.--
       (1) The heading for section 129 of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ``AND SUPPLEMENTAL 
     INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES ASSISTANCE'' after ``ASSISTANCE''.
       (2) The item relating to section 129 in the table of 
     sections for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such 
     Code is amended by inserting ``and supplemental instructional 
     services assistance'' after ``assistance''.
       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2008.

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