I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1353 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for 

higher education expenses in a program of study in science, technology, 

engineering, or mathematics. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2013 

Mr. HANNA (for himself and Mr. ISRAEL) 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 

deduction for higher education expenses in a program 

of study in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. 

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 ‘‘STEM Education Op5 portunity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STEM QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VII of subchapter B of chap3 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

4 by inserting after section 222 the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 222A. STEM QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION EX6 PENSES. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

8 there shall be allowed as a deduction an amount equal to 

9 the STEM higher education expenses paid by the taxpayer 

10 during the taxable year. 

11 ‘‘(b) STEM HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES.—For 

12 purposes of this section, the term ‘STEM higher education 

13 expense’ means any expense of a type which is taken into 

14 account in determining the cost of attendance (as defined 

15 in section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 1087ll)) at an eligible educational institution with 

17 respect to the attendance of an individual— 

18 ‘‘(1) at such institution for the academic period 

19 for which the deduction under this section is being 

20 determined, 

21 ‘‘(2) majoring in a course of study at such in22 stitution leading to an associate degree or higher 

23 in— 

24 ‘‘(A) science, technology, engineering, or 

25 mathematics (within the meaning of section 


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1 131(g)(4) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 1015(g)(4)), or 

3 ‘‘(B) education with a focus on any area 

4 described in subparagraph (A), and 

5 ‘‘(3) who at all times during such period is 

6 making satisfactory academic progress (as defined in 

7 section 668.34 of title 34, Code of Federal Regula8 tions, or any successor regulation) in the pursuit of 

9 such degree. 

10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur11 poses of this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.— 

13 The term ‘eligible educational institution’ has the 

14 meaning given the term ‘institution of higher edu15 cation’ in section 102 of the Higher Education Act 

16 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

17 ‘‘(2) ROOM AND BOARD INCLUDED FOR STU18 DENTS WHO ARE AT LEAST HALF-TIME.—Subsection 

19 (a) shall not apply to any costs of an individual for 

20 room and board while attending an eligible edu21 cational institution, unless such individual is an eli22 gible individual (as defined in section 25A(b)(3)). 

23 ‘‘(3) CARRYFORWARD OF UNUSED DEDUC24 TION.—If for any taxable year the deduction allow25 able under subsection (a) exceeds the taxpayer’s taxVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:47 Mar 28, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1353.IH H1353

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1 able income (determined without regard to this sec2 tion), the amount of STEM higher education ex3 penses of the taxpayer attributable to such excess 

4 shall be treated as STEM higher education expenses 

5 paid by the taxpayer in the succeeding taxable year. 

6 ‘‘(4) IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No de7 duction shall be allowed under subsection (a) to a 

8 taxpayer with respect to STEM higher education ex9 penses of an individual unless the taxpayer includes 

10 the name and taxpayer identification number of the 

11 individual on the return of tax for the taxable year. 

12 ‘‘(5) CERTAIN PREPAYMENTS ALLOWED.—If 

13 STEM higher education expenses are paid by the 

14 taxpayer during a taxable year for an academic pe15 riod which begins during the first 3 months fol16 lowing such taxable year, such academic period shall 

17 be treated for purposes of this section as beginning 

18 during such taxable year. 

19 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION WITH OTHER EDUCATION

20 INCENTIVES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DENIAL OF DEDUCTION IF OTHER

22 CREDIT ELECTED.—No deduction shall be al23 lowed under subsection (a) for any taxable year 

24 with respect to the STEM higher education ex25 penses with respect to an individual if the taxVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:47 Mar 28, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1353.IH H1353

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1 payer or any other person elects to have section 

2 25A apply with respect to such individual for 

3 such year. 

4 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION WITH EXCLUSIONS.— 

5 The total amount of STEM higher education 

6 expenses shall be reduced by the amount of 

7 such expenses taken into account in deter8 mining any amount excluded under section 135, 

9 529(c), or 530(d)(2). For purposes of the pre10 ceding sentence, the amount taken into account 

11 in determining the amount excluded under sec12 tion 529(c)(1) shall not include that portion of 

13 the distribution which represents a return of 

14 any contributions to the plan. 

15 ‘‘(7) ADJUSTMENT FOR CERTAIN SCHOLAR16 SHIPS.—Rules similar to the rules of 25A(g)(2) shall 

17 apply for purposes of this section. 

18 ‘‘(8) DEPENDENTS.—No deduction shall be al19 lowed under subsection (a) to any individual with re20 spect to whom a deduction under section 151 is al21 lowable to another taxpayer for a taxable year begin22 ning in the calendar year in which such individual’s 

23 taxable year begins. 

24 ‘‘(9) NONRESIDENT ALIENS.—If the taxpayer is 

25 a nonresident alien individual for any portion of the 


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1 taxable year, this section shall only apply if such in2 dividual is treated as a resident alien of the United 

3 States for purposes of this chapter by reason of an 

4 election under subsection (g) or (h) of section 6013. 

5 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

6 taxable years beginning more than 10 years after the date 

7 of the enactment of the STEM Education Opportunity 

8 Act.’’. 

9 (b) DEDUCTION ALLOWED WHETHER OR NOT TAX10 PAYER ITEMIZES OTHER DEDUCTIONS.—Subsection (a) 

11 of section 62 of such Code is amended by inserting after 

12 paragraph (21) the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(22) STEM QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION

14 EXPENSES.—The deduction allowed by section 

15 222A.’’. 

16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 

18 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

19 222 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 222A. STEM qualified higher education expenses.’’. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply to payments made in taxable years 

22 beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. CREDITS FOR CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS BENEFIT2 TING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, 

3 AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION AT THE ELE4 MENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub6 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 45S. CONTRIBUTIONS BENEFITTING SCIENCE, TECH10 NOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS 

11 EDUCATION AT THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC12 ONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

14 elementary and secondary school STEM contributions 

15 credit determined under this section for the taxable year 

16 is an amount equal to the qualified STEM contributions 

17 made by the taxpayer during the taxable year to one or 

18 more elementary or secondary schools. 

19 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM CREDIT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PER TAXPAYER.—The amount of qualified 

21 STEM contributions made to any school which may 

22 be taken into account under this section by the tax23 payer for the taxable year shall not exceed the por24 tion of the limitation under paragraph (2) which is 

25 allocated by such school to the taxpayer for such 

26 year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PER SCHOOL.—The amount of qualified 

2 STEM contributions made to any school which may 

3 be allocated under this section by the school to all 

4 taxpayers for all taxable years shall not exceed 

5 $100,000. 

6 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED STEM CONTRIBUTIONS.—For pur7 poses of this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified STEM 

9 contributions’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) STEM property contributions, 

11 ‘‘(B) STEM service contributions, and 

12 ‘‘(C) STEM student and educator training 

13 contributions. 

14 ‘‘(2) STEM PROPERTY CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘STEM 

16 property contribution’ means the amount which 

17 would (but for subsection (d)) be allowed as a 

18 deduction under section 170 for a charitable 

19 contribution of STEM property if— 

20 ‘‘(i) the donee is an elementary or sec21 ondary school, 

22 ‘‘(ii) substantially all of the use of the 

23 property by the donee is within the United 

24 States for STEM education in any of the 


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1 grades K–12 for use during the school day 

2 or in after-school programs, 

3 ‘‘(iii) the original use of the property 

4 begins with the donee, 

5 ‘‘(iv) the property will fit productively 

6 into the donee’s education plan, 

7 ‘‘(v) the property is not transferred by 

8 the donee in exchange for money, other 

9 property, or services, except for shipping, 

10 installation and transfer costs, and 

11 ‘‘(vi) the donee’s use and disposition 

12 of the property will be in accordance with 

13 the provisions of clauses (ii) through (v). 

14 ‘‘(B) STEM PROPERTY.—The term 

15 ‘STEM property’ means— 

16 ‘‘(i) computer equipment and soft17 ware, 

18 ‘‘(ii) microscopes, 

19 ‘‘(iii) lab equipment, including glass20 ware, digital scales, and temperature meas21 uring devices, 

22 ‘‘(iv) property used to maintain, ren23 ovate, or improve laboratory facilities, 

24 ‘‘(v) STEM education curricula, and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) whiteboards, smartboards, cam2 eras, and other relevant STEM education 

3 materials. 

4 ‘‘(3) STEM SERVICE CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘STEM 

6 service contributions’ means the amount paid or 

7 incurred during the taxable year to provide 

8 STEM services in the United States for the ex9 clusive benefit of students at an elementary or 

10 secondary school but only if no charge is im11 posed for providing such services. 

12 ‘‘(B) STEM SERVICES.—The term ‘STEM 

13 services’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) providing students the oppor15 tunity to engage in hands-on technical 

16 equipment training in a STEM education 

17 field, and 

18 ‘‘(ii) bringing experts in a STEM edu19 cation field into the classroom or after 

20 school programs for demonstrations, talks, 

21 or mentoring exercises. 

22 ‘‘(4) STEM STUDENT AND EDUCATOR TRAIN23 ING CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘STEM stu25 dent and educator training contributions’ 


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1 means the amount paid or incurred during the 

2 taxable year to provide STEM student and edu3 cator training services in the United States for 

4 the exclusive benefit of students at an elemen5 tary or secondary school but only if no charge 

6 is imposed for providing such services. 

7 ‘‘(B) STEM STUDENT AND EDUCATOR

8 TRAINING SERVICES.—The term ‘STEM stu9 dent and educator training services’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) on-site technical equipment train11 ing in a STEM education field, 

12 ‘‘(ii) field trips to research or related 

13 facilities in a STEM education field, 

14 ‘‘(iii) student internships or long term 

15 on-site training in a STEM education field, 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(iv) educator training exercises in a 

18 STEM education field. 

19 ‘‘(5) STEM EDUCATION.—The term ‘STEM 

20 education’ means education in the biological 

21 sciences, mathematics, earth and physical sciences, 

22 computer and information science, engineering, geo23 sciences, and social and behavioral sciences. 

24 ‘‘(6) ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘elementary 

2 or secondary school’ means any school which 

3 provides elementary education or secondary 

4 education (kindergarten through grade 12), as 

5 determined under State law. 

6 ‘‘(B) GROUPINGS OF SCHOOLS.—Such 

7 term includes consortia or other groupings of 

8 such schools if all such schools in the consortia 

9 or grouping are located within the same State. 

10 ‘‘(d) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction 

11 shall be allowed under this chapter for any amount allowed 

12 as a credit under this section.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (35), by 

16 striking the period at the end of paragraph (36), 

17 and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the 

18 following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(37) the elementary and secondary school 

20 STEM contributions credit determined under section 

21 45S.’’. 

22 (2) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

23 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new 

25 item: 


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‘‘Sec. 45S. Contributions benefitting science, technology, engineering, and 

mathematics education at the elementary and secondary school 

level.’’. 

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

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 4. GAO STUDY. 

5 Not later than 5 years after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Government Accountability Office, 

7 in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 

8 submit to Congress a report detailing— 

9 (1) the efficacy of the STEM Education Oppor10 tunity Act in increasing higher education enrollment 

11 in the fields of math, science, engineering, and tech12 nology, and 

13 (2) any effect such Act has had on the price of 

14 higher education tuition in such fields. 

Æ 


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