I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2399 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit 
against income tax for employees who participate in qualified apprentice-
ship programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2017 
Mr. 
RODNEY
DAVIS
of 
Illinois 
(for 
himself, 
Mr. 
LIPINSKI, 
Mr. 
KRISHNAMOORTHI, and Mr. MACARTHUR) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow em-
ployers a credit against income tax for employees who 
participate in qualified apprenticeship programs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leveraging and Ener-
gizing America’s Apprenticeship Programs Act’’ or the 
‘‘LEAP Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN QUALI-
FIED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 45S. EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN QUALIFIED AP-
PRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 
apprenticeship credit determined under this section for the 
taxable year is an amount equal to the sum of the applica-
ble credit amounts (as determined under subsection (b)) 
for each of the apprenticeship employees of the employer 
that exceeds the applicable apprenticeship level (as deter-
mined under subsection (e)) during such taxable year. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABLE CREDIT AMOUNT.—For purposes 
of subsection (a), the applicable credit amount for each 
apprenticeship employee for each taxable year is equal 
to— 
‘‘(1) in the case of an apprenticeship employee 
who has not attained 25 years of age at the close 
of the taxable year, $1,500, or 
‘‘(2) in the case of an apprenticeship employee 
who has attained 25 years of age at the close of the 
taxable year, $1,000. 
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‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF YEARS WHICH 
CREDIT MAY BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The appren-
ticeship credit shall not be allowed for more than 2 taxable 
years with respect to any apprenticeship employee. 
‘‘(d) APPRENTICESHIP EMPLOYEE.—For purposes of 
this section, the term ‘apprenticeship employee’ means any 
employee who is employed by the employer— 
‘‘(1) in an officially recognized apprenticeable 
occupation, as determined by the Office of Appren-
ticeship of the Employment and Training Adminis-
tration of the Department of Labor, and 
‘‘(2) pursuant to an apprentice agreement reg-
istered with— 
‘‘(A) the Office of Apprenticeship of the 
Employment and Training Administration of 
the Department of Labor, or 
‘‘(B) a State apprenticeship agency. 
‘‘(e) APPLICABLE APPRENTICESHIP LEVEL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the applicable apprenticeship level shall be 
equal to— 
‘‘(A) in the case of any apprenticeship em-
ployees described in subsection (b)(1), the 
amount equal to 80 percent of the average 
number of such apprenticeship employees of the 
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employer for the 3 taxable years preceding the 
taxable year for which the credit is being deter-
mined, rounded to the next lower whole num-
ber; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of any apprenticeship em-
ployees described in subsection (b)(2), the 
amount equal to 80 percent of the average 
number of such apprenticeship employees of the 
employer for the 3 taxable years preceding the 
taxable year for which the credit is being deter-
mined, rounded to the next lower whole num-
ber. 
‘‘(2) FIRST
YEAR
OF
NEW
APPRENTICESHIP 
PROGRAMS.—In the case of an employer which did 
not have any apprenticeship employees during any 
taxable year in the 3 taxable years preceding the 
taxable year for which the credit is being deter-
mined, the applicable apprenticeship level shall be 
equal to zero. 
‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH OTHER CREDITS.—The 
amount of credit otherwise allowable under sections 45A, 
51(a), and 1396(a) with respect to any employee shall be 
reduced by the credit allowed by this section with respect 
to such employee. 
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‘‘(g) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar to 
the rules of subsections (i)(1) and (k) of section 51 shall 
apply for purposes of this section.’’. 
(b) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS 
CREDIT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of such Code 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) the apprenticeship credit determined 
under section 45S(a).’’. 
(c) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Subsection (a) 
of section 280C of such Code is amended by inserting 
‘‘45S(a),’’ after ‘‘45P(a),’’. 
(d) 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 fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45S. Employees participating in qualified apprenticeship programs.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to individuals commencing appren-
ticeship programs after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT PRINTING COSTS. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 
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Budget shall coordinate with the heads of Federal depart-
ments and independent agencies to— 
(1) determine which Government publications 
could be available on Government websites and no 
longer printed and to devise a strategy to reduce 
overall Government printing costs over the 10-year 
period beginning with fiscal year 2016, except that 
the Director shall ensure that essential printed docu-
ments prepared for social security recipients, Medi-
care beneficiaries, and other populations in areas 
with limited Internet access or use continue to re-
main available; 
(2) establish Government-wide Federal guide-
lines on employee printing; and 
(3) issue guidelines requiring every department, 
agency, commission, or office to list at a prominent 
place near the beginning of each publication distrib-
uted to the public and issued or paid for by the Fed-
eral Government— 
(A) the name of the issuing agency, de-
partment, commission, or office; 
(B) the total number of copies of the docu-
ment printed; 
(C) the collective cost of producing and 
printing all of the copies of the document; and 
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(D) the name of the entity publishing the 
document. 
Æ 
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