I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 244 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against 

income for certain education and training expenses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2007 

Mr. WELLER of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a 

credit against income for certain education and training 

expenses, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Technology Retraining 

5 and Investment Now Act for the 21st Century’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress hereby finds the fol8 lowing: 

9 (1) The value added by workers in the United 

10 States and in other countries is increasingly a funcVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:12 Jan 14, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H244.IH H244

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1 tion of the aggregate knowledge acquired by workers 

2 through the aggregate educational and training in3 vestments of both governments and businesses. 

4 (2) The aggregate investment by governments 

5 of many of the trading partners of the United States 

6 in the education and training of knowledge workers 

7 in those countries has exceeded the aggregate per8 worker investment by Federal, State, and local gov9 ernments in the United States. 

10 (3) The disparity is evidenced by the declining 

11 educational performance of students in the United 

12 States compared to their counterparts in other coun13 tries. 

14 (4) In an increasingly global and competitive 

15 marketplace it is becoming increasingly difficult for 

16 United States-based businesses to fund worker edu17 cation and training that is provided at no cost for 

18 similar workers in other countries by their govern19 ments. 

20 (5) The current global workforce environment 

21 creates increasing competitive pressures on domestic 

22 companies to utilize highly educated knowledge 

23 workers in other countries. 

24 (6) It is in the interest of the United States 

25 government, national security, the preservation of a 


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1 strong middle class, and the welfare of our Nation’s 

2 workers to reverse this trend in a fashion that is 

3 consistent with trade obligations and the ability of 

4 domestic companies to compete globally. 

5 (7) Public-private partnerships work well in the 

6 United States to advance the needs of our citizens, 

7 businesses and communities. The research and de8 velopment tax credit under section 41 of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code of 1986 is just one example of maxi10 mizing the use of each sector’s strength, reducing 

11 development risk and public capital investment, and 

12 improving cost effectiveness. 

13 (8) Businesses are most adept at training our 

14 workforce because they train employees for available 

15 jobs, develop and utilize new training methods, and 

16 eliminate ineffective trainers and training programs. 

17 (9) With a substantial number of baby boomers 

18 retiring over the next 20 years, the United States 

19 has to ensure that it is capable of training its work20 force for the high paying information and commu21 nications technology jobs, whose payroll contribu22 tions will help support the benefit programs of these 

23 retirees, as well as providing incentives to help ma24 ture workers retrain for new jobs after they retire, 

25 if they desire. 


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1 (b) PURPOSES.— 

2 (1) It is the purpose of this Act to encourage 

3 businesses and individuals to support the edu4 cational development of knowledge workers in the 

5 United States by providing incentives for informa6 tion and communications technology education and 

7 training investments, for workers requiring the use 

8 of those skills in professions such as information or 

9 communications technology, engineering, manufac10 turing and other fields, and for other purposes. 

11 (2) By encouraging employers to train more in12 cumbent workers and potential employees in the 

13 areas necessary to expand and maintain their busi14 nesses, the United States will better utilize available 

15 training dollars and maximize the ability of newly 

16 trained individuals to utilize their acquired skills. 

17 SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS 

18 TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND TRAINING 

19 PROGRAM EXPENSES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub21 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 30D. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECH2 NOLOGY EDUCATION AND TRAINING PRO3 GRAM EXPENSES. 

4 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed as a 

6 credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for 

7 the taxable year an amount equal to 50 percent of 

8 information and communications technology edu9 cation and training program expenses paid or in10 curred by the taxpayer for the benefit of— 

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of a taxpayer engaged in 

12 a trade or business, an employee of the tax13 payer, or 

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of a taxpayer who is an 

15 individual not so engaged, such individual. 

16 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION OF CREDITS.—Credit shall 

17 be allowable to the employer with respect to an em18 ployee only to the extent that the employee assigns 

19 some or all of the limitation applicable to such em20 ployee under subsection (b) to such employer. 

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of expenses 

23 with respect to any individual which may be taken 

24 into account under subsection (a) for the taxable 

25 year shall not exceed $4,000. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INCREASE IN CREDIT AMOUNT FOR PAR2 TICIPATION IN CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND FOR CER3 TAIN INDIVIDUALS.—Paragraph (1) shall be applied 

4 by substituting ‘$5,000’ for ‘$4,000’ in the case of 

5 expenses— 

6 ‘‘(A) with respect to a program operated— 

7 ‘‘(i) in an empowerment zone or en8 terprise community designated under part 

9 I of subchapter U or a renewal community 

10 designated under part I of subchapter X, 

11 ‘‘(ii) in a school district in which at 

12 least 50 percent of the students attending 

13 schools in such district are eligible for free 

14 or reduced-cost lunches under the school 

15 lunch program established under the Rich16 ard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 

17 ‘‘(iii) in an area designated as a dis18 aster area by the Secretary of Agriculture 

19 under section 321 of the Consolidated 

20 Farm and Rural Development Act or by 

21 the President under the Robert T. Stafford 

22 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

23 Act in the taxable year or the 4 preceding 

24 taxable years, 


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1 ‘‘(iv) in a rural enterprise community 

2 designated under section 766 of the Agri3 culture, Rural Development, Food and 

4 Drug Administration, and Related Agen5 cies Appropriations Act, 1999 (112 Stat. 

6 2681–37), 

7 ‘‘(v) in an area designated by the Sec8 retary of Agriculture as a Rural Economic 

9 Area Partnership Zone, 

10 ‘‘(vi) in an area over which an Indian 

11 tribal government (as defined in section 

12 7701(a)(40)) has jurisdiction, or 

13 ‘‘(vii) by an employer who has 200 or 

14 fewer employees for each business day in 

15 each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the 

16 current or preceding calendar year, or 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual with a 

18 disability. 

19 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND

20 TRAINING PROGRAM EXPENSES.—For purposes of this 

21 section— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘information 

23 technology education and training program expenses’ 

24 means expenses paid or incurred by reason of the 

25 participation of the taxpayer (or any employee of the 


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1 taxpayer) in any information and communications 

2 technology education and training program. Such ex3 penses shall include expenses paid in connection 

4 with— 

5 ‘‘(A) course work, 

6 ‘‘(B) certification testing, 

7 ‘‘(C) programs carried out under the Act 

8 of August 16, 1937 (50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 

9 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) which are registered by 

10 the Department of Labor, and 

11 ‘‘(D) other expenses that are essential to 

12 assessing skill acquisition. 

13 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

14 AND TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term ‘information 

15 technology education and training program’ means a 

16 training program in information and communica17 tions technology workplace disciplines or other skill 

18 sets which is provided in the United States by an ac19 credited college, university, private career school, 

20 postsecondary educational institution, a commercial 

21 information technology provider, or an employer22 owned information technology training organization. 

23 ‘‘(3) COMMERCIAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

24 TRAINING PROVIDER.—The term ‘commercial infor25 mation technology training provider’ means a private 


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1 sector organization providing an information and 

2 communications technology education and training 

3 program. 

4 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYER-OWNED INFORMATION TECH5 NOLOGY TRAINING ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘em6 ployer-owned information technology training organi7 zation’ means a private sector organization that pro8 vides information technology training to its employ9 ees using internal training development and delivery 

10 personnel. The training programs must use industry11 recognized training disciplines and evaluation meth12 ods, comparable to institutional and commercial 

13 training providers. 

14 ‘‘(d) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DISALLOWANCE OF OTHER CREDITS AND

16 DEDUCTIONS.—No deduction or credit shall be al17 lowed under any other provision of this chapter for 

18 expenses taken into account in determining the cred19 it under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION FOR HOPE AND LIFETIME

21 LEARNING CREDITS.—The amount taken into ac22 count under subsection (a) shall be reduced by the 

23 information technology education and training pro24 gram expenses taken into account in determining the 

25 credits under section 25A. 


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1 ‘‘(e) CERTAIN RULES MADE APPLICABLE.—For pur2 poses of this section, rules similar to the rules of section 

3 45A(e)(2) and subsections (c), (d), and (e) of section 52 

4 shall apply. 

5 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION WITH OTHER CREDITS.—The 

6 credit allowed by subsection (a) for any taxable year shall 

7 not exceed the excess (if any) of— 

8 ‘‘(1) the regular tax for the taxable year re9 duced by the sum of the credits allowable under the 

10 subpart A and the previous sections of this subpart, 

11 over 

12 ‘‘(2) the tentative minimum tax for the taxable 

13 year.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 for subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

16 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 30D. Information and communications technology education and training 

program expenses.’’. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax20 able years beginning after December 31, 2006. 

21 SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 25A(f)(2) of the Internal 

23 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to eligible educational in24 stitution) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.— 

2 The term ‘eligible educational institution’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) an institution— 

4 ‘‘(i) which is described in section 

5 101(b) or 102(a) of the Higher Education 

6 Act of 1965, and 

7 ‘‘(ii) which is eligible to participate in 

8 a program under title IV of such Act, or 

9 ‘‘(B) a commercial information and com10 munications technology training provider (as 

11 defined in section 30D(c)(3)).’’ 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The second sen13 tence of section 221(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 

14 of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘section 25A(f)(2)’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘section 25A(f)(2)(A)’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

18 December 31, 2006. 

19 SEC. 5. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRAINING CERTIFI20 CATION ADVISORY BOARD. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Infor22 mation Technology Training Certification Advisory Board 

23 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Board’’). 


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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed of 

2 not more than seven members appointed by the Secretary 

3 of the Treasury from among individuals— 

4 (1) associated with information technology cer5 tification and training associations and businesses; 

6 and 

7 (2) who are not officers or employees of the 

8 Federal Government. 

9 (c) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less often 

10 than annually. 

11 (d) CHAIRPERSON.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

13 the Board shall elect a Chairperson from among its 

14 members. 

15 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson shall be 

16 an individual who is a member of an information 

17 technology industry trade association. 

18 (e) DUTIES.—The Board shall develop guidelines for 

19 computer science, information technology and directly re20 lated subjects for the college courses, and a list of the in21 formation technology training and certifications that qual22 ify for the credit under section 30D of the Internal Rev23 enue Code of 1986, for approval by the Secretary of the 

24 Treasury. 


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1 (f) SUBMISSION OF LIST.—Not later than October 1, 

2 2007, and each year thereafter, the Board shall submit 

3 the list required under subsection (e) to the Secretary of 

4 the Treasury. 

5 (g) BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

6 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each mem7 ber of the Board shall serve without compensation. 

8 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the 

9 Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

10 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 

11 employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

12 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 

13 their homes or regular places of business in the per14 formance of services for the Board. 

15 (h) TERMINATION OF THE BOARD.—Section 14(b) of 

16 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall 

17 not apply to the Board. 

Æ 


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