Central Virginia Chapter
Legislative Director,
Curtis Crews, Speaks at Town Hall
 |
| L-R, Tim McConville, former VASHRM Legislative Director, and Central VA SHRM board members:
Curtis Crews, Legislative director; Colleen McLaughlin, President-elect; and Donn Schnarr, President |
Curtis Crews, legislative director for the Central Virginia Chapter,
spoke at a town hall meeting held by Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA-5). Crews
made a passionate plea for the provision that allows up to $5,250 per year
in tax-free employer-provided educational assistance. He urged Rep. Perriello
to co-sponsor and support H.R. 5600, a pending bi-partisan bill that would
permanently renew Section 127. For more information, check out http://www.shrm.org/Advocacy/GovernmentAffairsNews/HRIssuesUpdatee-Newsletter/Pages/101410_2.aspx.
Federal Legislative Action Alert
YOUR ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED! As Congress gets ready to adjourn
for the month of October, be sure to urge your Representative to support
H.R.
5600, the Employee Educational Assistance Act of 2010, which would make
permanent the tax free status of employer provided education assistance.
Background
Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code allows an employee to exclude from
income up to $5,250 per year in assistance provided by their employer for
any type of educational course at the associate, undergraduate and graduate
level. Section 127 will expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts
to renew it or make it permanent.
Issue
Providing tax-free educational assistance is an important tool for employers.
Section 127 helps to build and maintain an increasingly skilled workforce,
and positions the United States to remain competitive in the global economy.
Almost 20 percent of Section 127 recipients are pursuing science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees. According to the National
Postsecondary Student Aid study of the most recent data on the use of
this benefit, utilization of Section 127 has doubled since 1994. Today,
more than 1 million employees use Section 127 benefits.
Status
On June 24, 2010, Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Representative
Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced H.R.
5600, the Employee Educational Assistance Act of 2010. This bill would
make Section 127 a permanent part of the U.S. tax code. This bill will
likely be incorporated into broader tax legislation that will extend some
or all of the Bush 2001 tax cuts.
SHRM Position
SHRM co-chairs the Coalition
to Preserve Employer Provided Education Assistance, a broad-based
collection of groups representing business, labor and education. SHRM
strongly supports the permanent extension of Section 127 for associate,
undergraduate and graduate degrees. We believe that providing tax-free
educational assistance is an important tool for employers to attract and
retain the best employees, build a skilled workforce, and position the
U.S. economy to compete globally. Furthermore, with the current economic
downturn, both employees and employers benefit from this tax provision.
Through re-skilling and professional development, organizations invest
in their most precious resource – their employees.
Action Needed
Urge your Representative to support H.R. 5600, the Employee Educational
Assistance Act of 2010. To write your elected official in
the U.S. House of Representatives, follow these simple steps:
1. Log onto the SHRM Advocacy Action Center by clicking
here.
2. Sign in using your Member ID and last name.
3. Once you have completed the HR Advocacy e-list form and / or been directed
to the SHRM Advocacy Center homepage, click the "Take action here"
tab at the bottom of the featured federal alert highlighted in blue and
to the left.
For questions regarding Section 127, please contact Kathleen Coulombe,
SHRM's Manager, Tax and Benefits, at Kathleen.Coulombe@shrm.org.
If you encounter any problems with this site, please contact David Lusk,
SHRM's Senior Associate, Member Advocacy, at David.Lusk@shrm.org.
Want to know what is hot or pending with our government?
Check out SHRM’s new Pending U.S. and State Legislation Report.
You can check by the HR subject areas listed whether legislation is pending
in the U.S. Congress or in Virginia. Just click on the subject area. When
the "US Fed" tab at the right of the map is highlighted in blue,
legislation is also pending before Congress relating to that subject area.
To see all legislation pending in your state (or in Congress) relating
to these subject areas, click
HERE.
Looking to get involved on the local level?
Participate in a Day inside the District or Day inside the Beltway.
If you are looking to do joint events with sister chapters, this is
an excellent way to get a few involved.
• Day
Inside the Beltway (DITB)
• Day
Inside the District (DITD)
Other Helpful Government Websites:
• U.S. House
of Representatives
• U.S. Senate
• The White
House
• U.S. Department
of Labor
• U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
• U.S.
Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Department
of the Treasury
• National Labor
Relations Board
• Office
of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
• U.S.
Supreme Court |