I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2492
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain severance
payments from gross income and to allow a refundable credit for job
training expenses of older long-time employees who are laid off.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 17, 1997
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey 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 exclude
certain severance payments from gross income and to
allow a refundable credit for job training expenses of
older long-time employees who are laid off.
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 ‘‘Career Transition As-
sistance Act of 1997’’.
•H 2492 IH
‘‘(B) $20,000.
‘‘(2) 
ROUNDING.—Any 
amount 
determined
under paragraph (1) which is not a multiple of $10
shall be rounded to the next lowest $10.
‘‘(3) APPLICABLE DOLLAR AMOUNT.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘applicable dollar
amount’ means—
‘‘(A) in the case of a taxpayer filing a joint
return, $100,000,
‘‘(B) in the case of any other taxpayer
(other than a married individual filing a sepa-
rate return), $75,000, and
‘‘(C) in the case of a married individual fil-
ing a separate return, $50,000.
A rule similar to the rule of section 219(g)(4) shall
apply for purposes of this paragraph.
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible
individual’ means any individual if—
‘‘(A) during the taxable year or the preced-
ing taxable year, such individual separated from
employment in connection with a reduction in
the work force of his employer (other than a
seasonal reduction), and
‘‘(B) as of the date of such separation—
•H 2492 IH
‘‘(i) such individual had attained age
50, and
‘‘(ii) during the 30-year period ending
on the date of such separation, such indi-
vidual had been employed by such em-
ployer (or any predecessor of such em-
ployer) as a full-time employee for periods
aggregating 20 years or more.
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED JOB TRAINING EXPENSES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified
job training expenses’ means—
‘‘(i) tuition and fees required for the
enrollment or attendance of the eligible in-
dividual—
‘‘(I) at an eligible educational in-
stitution, or
‘‘(II) in an applicable training
program,
‘‘(ii) fees, books, supplies, and equip-
ment required for an eligible individual
for—
‘‘(I) courses of instruction at an
eligible educational institution, or
‘‘(II) an applicable training pro-
gram, and
•H 2492 IH
‘‘(iii) a reasonable allowance for meals
and lodging while attending an eligible
educational institution or an applicable
training program.
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITU-
TION.—The term ‘eligible educational institution’
means—
‘‘(i) an institution of higher education,
or
‘‘(ii) a vocational school.
‘‘(C) 
INSTITUTION
OF
HIGHER
EDU-
CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu-
cation’ means the institutions described in sec-
tion 1201(a) or 481(a) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965.
‘‘(D) VOCATIONAL
SCHOOL.—The term
‘vocational school’ means an area vocational
education school as defined in subparagraph
(C) or (D) of section 521(4) of the Carl D. Per-
kins Vocational and Applied Technology Edu-
cation Act to the extent such school is located
within any State (as defined in such section).
‘‘(E) APPLICABLE TRAINING PROGRAM.—
The 
term 
‘applicable 
training 
program’
means—
•H 2492 IH
‘‘(i) any applicable program (as de-
fined in section 314(g) of the Job Training
Partnership Act), and
‘‘(ii) any training program approved
under section 236 of the Trade Act of
1974.’’
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting
‘‘from section 35 of such Code, or’’ after ‘‘1978,’’.
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of part
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is
amended by striking the last item and inserting the
following new items:
‘‘Sec. 35. Retraining expenses for certain older long-time employ-
ees who are laid off.
‘‘Sec. 36. Overpayments of tax.’’
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 1996.
Æ