[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17] [Senate] [Pages 23457-23458] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS 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: [[Page 23458]] 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)).'' (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. ____________________