[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 344 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 344
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit to
employers who provide paid family and medical leave, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 8 (legislative day, February 6), 2017
Mrs. Fischer (for herself and Mr. King) 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 provide a credit to
employers who provide paid family and medical leave, 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 ``Strong Families Act''.
SEC. 2. EMPLOYER CREDIT FOR PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE.
(a) In General.--
(1) Allowance of credit.--Subpart D 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 new section:
``SEC. 45S. EMPLOYER CREDIT FOR PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE.
``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38, in the case of an
eligible employer, the paid family and medical leave credit is an
amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of wages paid to qualifying
employees during any period in which such employees are on family and
medical leave.
``(b) Limitations.--
``(1) In general.--The credit allowed under subsection (a)
with respect to any employee for any taxable year shall not
exceed the lesser of--
``(A) $3,000, or
``(B) the product of the wages normally paid to
such employee for each hour (or fraction thereof) of
services performed for the employer and the number of
hours (or fraction thereof) for which family and
medical leave is taken.
For purposes of subparagraph (B), in the case of any employee
who is not paid on an hourly basis, the wages of such employee
shall be prorated to an hourly basis under regulations
established by the Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Labor.
``(2) Maximum amount of leave subject to credit.--The
amount of family and medical leave that may be taken into
account with respect to any employee under subsection (a) for
any taxable year shall not exceed 12 weeks.
``(c) Eligible Employer.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) In general.--The term `eligible employer' means any
employer who has in place a policy that meets the following
requirements:
``(A) The policy provides--
``(i) all qualifying full-time employees
with not less than 2 weeks of annual paid
family and medical leave, and
``(ii) all qualifying employees who are not
full-time employees with an amount of annual
paid family and medical leave that bears the
same ratio to 2 weeks as--
``(I) the number of hours the
employee is expected to work during any
week, bears to
``(II) the number of hours an
equivalent qualifying full-time
employee is expected to work during the
week.
``(B) The policy requires that the rate of payment
under the program is not less than 100 percent of the
wages normally paid to such employee for services
performed for the employer.
``(2) Special rule for certain employers.--
``(A) In general.--An added employer shall not be
treated as an eligible employer unless such employer
provides paid family and medical leave under a policy
with a provision that states that the employer--
``(i) will not interfere with, restrain, or
deny the exercise of or the attempt to
exercise, any right provided under the policy,
and
``(ii) will not discharge or in any other
manner discriminate against any individual for
opposing any practice prohibited by the policy.
``(B) Added employer; added employee.--For purposes
of this paragraph--
``(i) Added employee.--The term `added
employee' means a qualifying employee who is
not covered by title I of the Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993.
``(ii) Added employer.--The term `added
employer' means an eligible employer
(determined without regard to this paragraph),
whether or not covered by that title I, who
offers paid family and medical leave to added
employees.
``(3) Treatment of state-paid benefits.--For purposes of
paragraph (1), any leave which is paid by a State or local
government shall not be taken into account in determining the
amount of paid family and medical leave provided by the
employer.
``(4) No inference.--Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed as subjecting an employer to any penalty, liability,
or other consequence (other than ineligibility for the credit
allowed by reason of subsection (a)) for failure to comply with
the requirements of this subsection.
``(d) Qualifying Employees.--For purposes of this section, the term
`qualifying employee' means any employee (as defined in section 3(e) of
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938) who has been employed by the
employer for 1 year or more.
``(e) Family and Medical Leave.--For purposes of this section, the
term `family and medical leave' means leave for any purpose described
under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph (1), or
paragraph (3), of section 102(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993, whether the leave is provided under that Act or by a policy of
the employer. Such term shall not include any leave provided as paid
vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or sick leave (within the
meaning of those 3 terms under section 102(d)(2) of that Act).
``(f) Wages.--For purposes of this section, the term `wages' has
the meaning given such term by subsection (b) of section 3306
(determined without regard to any dollar limitation contained in such
section). Such term shall not include any amount taken into account for
purposes of determining any other credit allowed under this subpart.
``(g) Election To Have Credit Not Apply.--
``(1) In general.--A taxpayer may elect to have this
section not apply for any taxable year.
``(2) Other rules.--Rules similar to the rules of
paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 51(j) shall apply for
purposes of this subsection.
``(h) Termination.--This section shall not apply to wages paid in
any taxable year beginning after the date which is 2 years after the
date of the enactment of the Strong Families Act.''.
(b) Credit Part of General Business Credit.--Section 38(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``plus'' at the
end of paragraph (35), by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(36) and inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(37) in the case of an eligible employer (as defined in
section 45S(c)), the paid family and medical leave credit
determined under section 45S(a).''.
(c) Credit Allowed Against AMT.--Subparagraph (B) of section
38(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
redesignating clauses (vii) through (ix) as clauses (vii) through (x),
respectively, and by inserting after clause (vi) the following new
clause:
``(vii) the credit determined under section
45S,''.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Denial of double benefit.--Section 280C(a) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting
``45S(a),'' after ``45P(a),''.
(2) Election to have credit not apply.--Section 6501(m) of
such Code is amended by inserting ``45S(g),'' after
``45H(g),''.
(3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for subpart
D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 45S. Employer credit for paid family and medical leave.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to wages paid in taxable years beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY OF IMPACT OF TAX CREDIT TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO PAID
FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE.
(a) Study.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation
with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor, shall--
(1) complete a study that--
(A) examines the effectiveness of the tax credit
for paid family and medical leave authorized under
section 45S of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as
added by this Act) in terms of--
(i) increasing access to paid family and
medical leave among qualifying employees;
(ii) promoting the creation of new paid
family and medical leave policies among
eligible employers;
(iii) increasing the generosity of existing
paid family and medical leave policies among
eligible employers; and
(iv) incenting employee or employer
behavior that might not otherwise have occurred
in the absence of the credit;
(B) provides recommendations for ways to modify or
enhance the tax credit to further promote access to
paid family and medical leave for qualifying employees;
and
(C) provides suggestions of alternative policies
that Federal and State governments could implement to
increase access to paid family and medical leave,
particularly among qualifying employees; and
(2) prepare and submit a report to the Committee on Finance
of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House
of Representatives setting forth the conclusions of the study
conducted under paragraph (1) in such a manner that the
recommendations included in the report can inform future
legislative action. Such report shall also be made publicly
available via the website of the Government Accountability
Office.
(b) Prohibition.--In carrying out the requirements of this section,
the Comptroller General of the United States may request qualitative
and quantitative information from employers and employees claiming the
credit under section 45S of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, but
nothing in this section shall be construed as mandating additional
reporting requirements for such employers or employees beyond what is
already required by law.
SEC. 4. REDUCTION OF THE NUMBER OF NONESSENTIAL VEHICLES PURCHASED AND
LEASED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
(a) Review of Nonessential Vehicle Purchase.--The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the head of the
relevant Executive agency, shall complete each of the following:
(1) Determine the total dollar amount obligated by each
Executive agency to purchase civilian vehicles in fiscal year
2010.
(2) Determine the total dollar amount obligated by each
Executive agency to lease civilian vehicles in fiscal year
2010.
(3) Determine the total number of civilian vehicles
purchased by each Executive agency in fiscal year 2010.
(4) Determine the total number of civilian vehicles leased
by each Executive agency in fiscal year 2010.
(5) Determine the total dollar amount that would be 10
percent less than the dollar amount determined under paragraphs
(1) and (2) for each Executive agency.
(b) Reduction of Nonessential Vehicle Purchase.--For each of fiscal
years 2017 through 2021, each Executive agency may not obligate more
than the dollar amount determined under subsection (a)(5) for the
Executive agency to purchase or lease civilian vehicles.
(c) Sharing.--The Administrator of General Services shall ensure
that an Executive agency may share excess or unused vehicles with
another Executive agency that may need temporary or long-term use of
additional vehicles through the Federal Fleet Management System.
(d) National Security Exception.--The limits on the purchase and
procurement of vehicles under this section shall not apply to the
purchase or procurement of any vehicle that has been determined by the
President to be essential for reasons of national security.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Civilian vehicle.--The term ``civilian vehicle'' means
a vehicle that is not used for purposes of military combat, the
training or deployment of members of the Armed Forces, or such
other uses as determined by the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator
of General Services.
(2) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has
the meaning given that term under section 105 of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES ENRICHMENT CORPORATION FUND.
(a) Rescission.--Subject to subsection (b), all unobligated amounts
in the United States Enrichment Corporation Fund are permanently
rescinded.
(b) Exclusions From Rescission.--The rescission under subsection
(a) shall not apply to amounts that were designated by Congress as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C.
901(b)(2)(A)(i)).
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