,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #caje ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #cj1 #bjbe,mr4 ,kelly of ,pennsylvania 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,panetta1 ,mr4 ,estes1 ,mr4 ,schneider1 ,mrs4 ,miller of ,west ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,davis of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,moore of ,utah1 and ,ms4 ,sewell7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,small ,business1 and ,education and ,workforce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,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 #bjbe4 #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 construction 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 ,full deferral of tax for certain sales of employer stock to employee stock ownership plan sponsored by ,s corporation 7a7 ,acceleration of deferral ,section #aad7;c7 of the ,,secure #b4j ,act of #bjbb is amended by striking ,december #ca1 #bjbg and inserting the date of the enactment of the ,promotion and ,expansion of ,private ,employee ,ownership ,act of #bjbe4 7b7 ,repeal of limitation 7#a7 ,in general ,section #ajdb of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 as amended by section #aad of the ,,secure #b4j ,act of #bjbb1 is amended by striking subsection 7h74 7#b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by paragraph 7#a7 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 #aihf2 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 #f4 ,establishment of the advocate for employee ownership 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,a of title ,,iii of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #abja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cjje4 ,advocate for employee ownership 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,labor shall appoint an ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership within the ,employee ,ownership ,initiative established under section #cdf7;b77#a7 of the ,,secure #b4j ,act of #bjbb 7division ,t of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbc 7,public ,law #aag-cbh774 ,the appointment shall be made without regard to the provisions of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 relating to appointments in the competitive service or ,senior ,executive ,service4 7b7 ,duties ,the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership shall-- 7#a7 consult with the head of the ,employee ,ownership ,initiative established under section #cdf7;b77#a7 of the ,,secure #b4j ,act of #bjbb 7division ,t of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbc 7,public ,law #aag-cbh772 7#b7 act as a liaison between the ,department of ,labor1 employee ownership advocates1 employers considering employee ownership1 workers interested in employee ownership1 and other stakeholders1 including employee stock ownership plan sponsors and participants2 7#c7 provide public education and assistance related to the expansion of employee ownership through the establishment and maintenance of practices that promote employee ownership1 including the use of employee stock ownership plans2 7#d7 provide assistance for purposes of resolving a dispute with the ,department of ,labor to any employee stock ownership plan sponsor1 fiduciary1 or participant and help facilitate communication between such entities and the ,department of ,labor for such purposes2 7#e7 in consultation with the ,s ,corporation ,employee ,ownership ,assistance ,office of the ,department of the ,treasury established under section #d of the ,promotion and ,expansion of ,private ,employee ,ownership ,act of #bjbe1 identify and recommend potential legislative and administrative changes1 including related to access to capital issues1 to increase practices that promote employee ownership plans1 including the use of employee stock ownership plans2 and 7#f7 coordinate with other ,federal agencies1 including the ,administrator of the ,small ,business ,administration1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 and the ,secretary of ,commerce1 and ,state and local governments on outreach and education to inform employees and employers about the possibilities and benefits of employee ownership as a business ownership succession planning option4 7c7 ,consultation and input ,the ,secretary shall solicit advice and input from the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership in developing regulations or interpretations of this ,act that relate to employee stock ownership plans4 7d7 ,compensation ,the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the rate of basic pay in effect for a position at level ,v of the ,executive ,schedule under section #ecaf of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7e7 ,annual report 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than ,december #ca of each calendar year beginning after the date of enactment of this section1 the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership shall submit a report to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,education and ,workforce of the ,house of ,representatives on the activities of the ,office of the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership during the fiscal year ending during such calendar year1 including the contents described in paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,content ,each report submitted under paragraph 7#a7 shall-- 7,a7 summarize the assistance requests received by the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership during the fiscal year ending during the calendar year of such report2 7,b7 describe the activities1 including the activities described under paragraphs 7#c7 and 7#d7 of subsection 7b71 and evaluate the effectiveness of the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership during such fiscal year2 7,c7 describe any significant problems the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership has identified during such fiscal year and ways to mitigate such problems2 7,d7 contain recommendations for any administrative or legislative action that may be appropriate to resolve barriers to1 and to incentivize1 practices that promote employee ownership1 including the use of employee stock ownership plans2 and 7,e7 describe progress related to employee ownership in businesses in the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,concurrent submission ,the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership shall submit a copy of each report submitted under paragraph 7#a7 to the ,secretary of ,labor1 and any other appropriate official1 at the same time such report is submitted under paragraph 7#a74 7#d7 ,public availability ,the ,advocate for ,employee ,ownership shall make a copy of each report submitted under paragraph 7#a7 available to the public4 7#e7 ,definition of employee stock ownership plan ,for purposes of this section1 the term employee stock ownership plan has the meaning given the term in section #dige7;e77#g7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out subsection 7d74 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents in section #a of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja note7 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #cjjd the following new item3 ,sec4 #cjje4 ,advocate for employee ownership4 4