,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hcad  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #ae1 #bjbf,mr4
 ,steube 7for himself and ,ms4          
,del,bene7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,ways and ,means  ,a      
,,bill  ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue
 ,code of #aihf to establish that       
employers may offer employees a choice  
among tax-favored employer              
contributions4  #a4 ,short title  ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,optimizing    
,participant ,tax ,incentives through   
,optional ,noncash ,selections ,act or  
the ,,options ,act4  #b4 ,exclusion of  
certain employer-provided benefits under
 a qualified benefit options plan  7a7  
,in general ,part ,,iii of subchapter ,b
 of chapter #a of the ,internal ,revenue
 ,code of #aihf is amended by inserting 
after section #abe the following new    
section3  #abe;,a4 ,qualified benefit   
options plans  7a7 ,in general ,except  
as provided in subsection 7c71 no amount

 shall be included in the gross income  
of a participant in a qualified benefit 
options plan solely because1 under the  
plan1 the participant may choose among  
the benefits of the plan4  7b7          
,qualified benefit options plan ,for    
purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,in     
general ,the term qualified benefit     
options plan means a written plan or    
arrangement offered by an employer to   
employees and former employees          
7including retired employees7 of the    
employer1 under which participants--    
7,a7 may elect to allocate employer     
contributions among qualified benefits1 
and  7,b7 may not elect to receive cash 
or any other taxable benefit instead of 
qualified benefits4  7#b7 ,qualified    
benefits ,the term qualified benefits   
includes-- 7,a7 non-elective employer   
contributions which are excluded from   
gross income under section #djb or #djc1
  7,b7 contributions to a health        
reimbursement arrangement or health     
savings account which are excluded from 

gross income under section #aje or #ajf1
  7,c7 amounts paid by an employer      
pursuant to a qualified educational     
assistance program which are excluded   
from gross income under section #abg1   
and  7,d7 other benefits which are      
excluded from gross income under any    
other provision of this chapter4  7c7   
,exception for highly compensated       
participants and key employees1 etc     
,rules similar to the rules of          
subsections 7b71 7c71 7e71 and 7g7 of   
section #abe shall apply for purposes of
 this section4  7d7 ,application of     
nondiscrimination rules ,for purposes of
 applying the requirements of sections  
#dja7;a77#d7 and #daf1 in the case of   
any qualified plan described in section 
#dja7;a7 that is included as a qualified
 benefit under this section1 the amount 
of any employer contribution made       
available to a participant shall be     
treated as an employer contribution made
 to such plan1 without regard to whether
 the participant elects to have any     

portion of such amount contributed to   
such plan4  7e7 ,cross-,reference ,for  
reporting and recordkeeping             
requirements1 see section #fjci;,d4  4  
7b7 ,reporting and recordkeeping        
,subsection 7d7 of section #fjci;,d of  
the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is
 amended-- 7#a7 by inserting 1 #abe;,a  
after #abe in paragraph 7#a71 and  7#b7 
by adding at the end of paragraph 7#b7  
the following3 ,in the case of a        
qualified benefit options plan under    
section #abe;,a1 such term means1 with  
respect to such plan1 the section under 
which each qualified benefit 7as defined
 in section #abe;,a7b77#b77 included in 
the plan is excludable from gross       
income44  7c7 ,clerical amendment ,the  
table of sections for part ,,iii of     
subchapter ,b of chapter #a of the      
,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is    
amended by inserting after the item     
relating to section #abe the following  
new item3  ,sec4 #abe;,a4 ,qualified    
benefit options plans4  4  7d7          

,effective date ,the amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable     
years beginning after ,december #ca1    
#bjbe4