,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #agg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #ag1 #bjai,mr4 ,roberts 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,portman1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 ,mr4 ,isakson1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 ,hoeven1 ,mr4 ,thune1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,tester1 ,ms4 ,collins1 and ,mr4 ,coons7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and the ,small ,business ,act to expand the availability of employee stock ownership plans in ,s corporations1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,promotion and ,expansion of ,private ,employee ,ownership ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 on ,january #a1 #aiih--nearly #be years after the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd was enacted and the employee stock ownership plan 7hereafter in this section referred to as an ,,esop7 was created--employees were first permitted to be owners of subchapter ,s corporations pursuant to the ,small ,business ,job ,protection ,act of #aiif 7,public ,law #ajd-ahh72 7#b7 with the passage of the ,taxpayer ,relief ,act of #aiig 7,public ,law #aje-cd71 ,congress designed incentives to encourage businesses to become ,,esop-owned ,s corporations2 7#c7 since that time1 several thousand companies have become ,,esop-owned ,s corporations1 creating an ownership interest for several million ,americans in companies in every ,state in the country1 in industries ranging from heavy manufacturing to technology development to services2 7#d7 while estimates show that #dj percent of working ,americans have no formal retirement account at all1 every ,united ,states worker who is an employee-owner of an ,s corporation company through an ,,esop has a valuable qualified retirement savings account2 7#e7 recent studies have shown that employees of ,,esop-owned ,s corporations enjoy greater job stability than employees of comparable companies2 7#f7 studies also show that employee-owners of ,s corporation ,,esop companies have amassed meaningful retirement savings through their ,s ,,esop accounts that will give them the means to retire with dignity2 7#g7 under the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fca et seq47 and the regulations promulgated by the ,administrator of the ,small ,business ,administration1 a small business concern that was eligible under the ,small ,business ,act for the numerous preferences of the ,act is denied treatment as a small business concern after an ,,esop acquires more than #di percent of the business1 even if the number of employees1 the revenue of the small business concern1 and the racial1 gender1 or other criteria used under the ,act to determine whether the small business concern is eligible for benefits under the ,act remain the same1 solely because of the acquisition by the ,,esop2 and 7#h7 it is the goal of ,congress to both preserve and foster employee ownership of ,s corporations through ,e,s,o,ps4 #c4 ,deferral of tax for certain sales of employer stock to employee stock ownership plan sponsored by ,s corporation 7a7 ,in general ,subparagraph 7,a7 of section #ajdb7;c77#a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking domestic ,c corporation and inserting domestic corporation4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by subsection 7a7 shall apply to sales after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,department of the ,treasury ,technical ,assistance ,office 7a7 ,establishment required ,before the end of the #ij-;day period beginning on the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall establish the ,s ,corporation ,employee ,ownership ,assistance ,office to foster increased employee ownership of ,s corporations4 7b7 ,duties of the office ,the ,s ,corporation ,employee ,ownership ,assistance ,office shall provide-- 7#a7 education and outreach to inform companies and individuals about the possibilities and benefits of employee ownership of ,s corporations2 and 7#b7 technical assistance to assist ,s corporations in sponsoring employee stock ownership plans4 #e4 ,small business and employee stock ownership 7a7 ,in general ,the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fca et seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating section #di as section #ej2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #dh the following3 #di4 ,employee stock ownership plans 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term ,,esop means an employee stock ownership plan1 as defined in section #dige7;e77#g7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 as amended2 and 7#b7 the term ,,esop business concern means a business concern that was a small business concern eligible for a loan1 preference1 or other program under this ,act before the date on which more than #di percent of the business concern was acquired by an ,,esop4 7b7 ,continued eligibility ,in determining whether an ,,esop business concern qualifies as a small business concern for purposes of a loan1 preference1 or other program under this ,act1 each ,,esop participant shall be treated as directly owning his or her proportionate share of the stock in the ,,esop business concern owned by the ,,esop4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on ,january #a of the first calendar year beginning after the date of the enactment of this ,act4