Young’s bipartisan bill aims to retrain pandemic-impacted workers

U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) on Aug. 4 unveiled the bipartisan Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act, which would give employers the tools to hire and retrain workers who may have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We must invest in our workforce and equip workers with the right skills for high-demand jobs,” said Sen. Young, who sponsored S. 4436 with lead cosponsor U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH). 

Specifically, S. 4436 would make two changes to Section 127 of the tax code to modernize and expand the use of educational program assistance that employers may provide to their workers, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Young’s office.

First, S. 4436 would enact an emergency expansion of the tax exclusion from $5,250 to $12,000 for the next two years to account for the last three decades of inflation. Secondly, the bill would expand the tax exclusion to cover the cost of education-related tools and technology, including hand tools, construction equipment, computers and software, and other items related to the costs of a worker completing an education program, according to the bill summary.

“The bipartisan Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act would temporarily boost this important education assistance tax provision to scale up workforce development programs and provide more training for American workers during this pandemic and as the economy begins to recover,” Sen. Young said.

S. 4436 has garnered the support of numerous entities, including Jobs for the Future, the Society for Human Resource Management, Starbucks Coffee Co., the Coalition to Preserve Employer-Provided Education Assistance, the American Council on Education, the National Retail Federation, and the National Tooling and Machining Association, among many others.

The measure has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.