To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend and increase the above-the-line deduction for teacher classroom supplies and to expand such deduction to include qualified professional development expenses.

TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

SA 200. Mr. SANDERS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 100 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to the bill H.R.
2, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an
increase in the Federal minimum wage; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

At the appropriate place insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING EXPANDING THE MIDDLE
CLASS.

(a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
(1) the United States has the most unequal distribution of
wealth and income of any major country in the industrialized
world;
(2) over the next 4 calendar years, the cost of the 2001
and 2003 Federal tax cuts for the

[[Page S1201]]

top 1 percent of households will total nearly
$350,000,000,000;
(3) if the Federal tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 are
made permanent, households with annual incomes of more than
$1,000,000 comprising the top 3/10ths of 1 percent of the
population would receive approximately $648,000,000,000 in
tax cuts over the next decade;
(4) the wealthiest 400 Americans saw their combined net
worth increase by $120,000,000,000 from 2004 to 2005 and do
not need a tax break;
(5) households with incomes exceeding $1,000,000 received
an average tax break of $118,000 in 2006, households in the
middle-fifth of the income spectrum received tax cuts
averaging $740, and the bottom fifth of households received
tax cuts averaging $20;
(6) the increased costs of a college education, child care,
health care, and housing are creating enormous burdens on the
middle class and working families; and
(7) no veteran in this country should be forced onto a
waiting list to receive health care from the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) Congress and the President should work together to
roll-back all of the Federal tax breaks enacted since 2001
that go to households with annual incomes exceeding
$1,000,000; and
(2) Congress and the President should work together to use
the revenue gained from this action to increase investments
for the needs of our veterans, affordable housing, health
care, Pell Grants, child care, and Head Start.
______

SA 201. Mr. SANDERS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 100 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to the bill H.R.
2, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an
increase in the Federal minimum wage; as follows:

At the appropriate place insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING POVERTY.

(a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
(1) the United States has the highest rate of poverty and
the highest rate of childhood poverty among 17 major
countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development including Germany, France, Italy, the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and
Switzerland;
(2) 36,950,000 Americans are living in poverty, an increase
of 5,400,000 since 2000;
(3) 12,896,000 children in the United States under the age
of 18 lived in poverty in 2005, and the number of children
living in extreme poverty rose by 87,000 from 2004 through
2005;
(4) in 2005, an estimated 33 percent of the homeless
population were children and an estimated 1,350,000 children
will experience homelessness in a year;
(5) the number of uninsured Americans rose to 46,577,000 in
2005, 1,272,000 more than in the previous year, and the
number of Americans without health insurance has risen for 4
consecutive years;
(6) the Department of Agriculture has found that, in 2005,
35,100,000 people lived in households experiencing food
insecurity, meaning that they did not have adequate access to
enough food to meet basic dietary needs to all times due to a
lack of financial resources;
(7) households with children experience food insecurity at
more than double the rate for households without children;
(8) The United States has the largest gap between the rich
and the poor of any major industrialized country;
(9) the wealthiest 400 Americans saw their combined net
worth increase by $120,000,000,000 from 2004 to 2005;
(10) the richest 400 Americans have a combined net worth of
$1,250,000,000,000 equaling the annual income of over 45
percent of the entire world's population or 2,500,000,000
people;
(11) of the world's 793 billionaires, over 400 are
Americans;
(12) in 1989, we only had 66 billionaires in this country;
and
(13) on January 20, 2001, President Bush stated `In the
quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent
poverty is unworthy of our nation``s promise. Where there is
suffering, there is duty. Americans in need are not
strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but priorities.
And all of us are diminished when any are hopeless. And I can
pledge our nation to a goal: When we see that wounded
traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the
other side.''.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) the United States has a moral obligation to improve the
lives of the 36,950,000 Americans living in poverty and the
15,928,000 of those who live in extreme poverty;
(2) the United States has a moral obligation to reduce the
enormous gap between the rich and the poor; and
(3) the President should immediately present to Congress a
comprehensive plan to eradicate child poverty and reduce the
gap between the rich and the poor by 2017.
______

SA 202. Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Warner) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill H.R. 2, to amend
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the
Federal minimum wage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place insert the following:

SEC. ___. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF ABOVE-THE-LINE DEDUCTION FOR
CERTAIN EXPENSES OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY
SCHOOL TEACHERS.

Subparagraph (D) of section 62(a)(2) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``In the case of
taxable years beginning during 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,
or 2007, the deductions'' and inserting ``The deductions''.
______

SA 203. Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Isakson,
and Mr. Alexander) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 100 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to the bill H.R.
2, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an
increase in the Federal minimum wage; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. EMPLOYEE OPTION TIME.

(a) Biweekly Work Programs.--
(1) In general.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is
amended by inserting after section 13 (29 U.S.C. 213) the
following:

``SEC. 13A. BIWEEKLY WORK PROGRAMS.

``(a) Voluntary Participation.--
``(1) Option of employee.--Except as provided in paragraph
(2), no employee may be required to participate in a program
described in this section. Participation in a program
described in this section may not be a condition of
employment.
``(2) Collective bargaining agreement.--In a case in which
a valid collective bargaining agreement exists between an
employer and the labor organization that has been certified
or recognized as the representative of the employees of the
employer under applicable law, an employee may only be
required to participate in such a program in accordance with
the agreement.
``(b) Biweekly Work Programs.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 7, an employer
may establish biweekly work programs that--
``(A) allow the use of a biweekly work schedule--
``(i) that consists of a basic work requirement of not more
than 80 hours, over a 2-week period; and
``(ii) in which more than 40 hours of the work requirement
may occur in a week of the period, except that no more than
10 hours may be shifted between the 2 weeks involved; and
``(B) provides that an employee participating in the
program is compensated for overtime hours in accordance with
paragraph (4).
``(2) Conditions.--An employer may carry out a biweekly
work program described in paragraph (1) for employees only
pursuant to the following:
``(A) Agreement.--The program may be carried out only in
accordance with--
``(i) applicable provisions of a collective bargaining
agreement between the employer and the labor organization
that has been certified or recognized as the representative
of the employees under applicable law; or
``(ii) in the case of an employee who is not represented by
a labor organization described in clause (i), a written
agreement arrived at between the employer and employee before
the performance of the work involved if the agreement was
entered into knowingly and voluntarily by such employee and
was not a condition of employment.
``(B) Statement of voluntary participation.--The program
shall apply to an employee described in subparagraph (A)(ii)
if such employee has affirmed, in a written statement that is
made, kept, and preserved in accordance with section 11(c),
that the employee has voluntarily chosen to participate in
the program.
``(C) Minimum service.--No employee may participate, or
agree to participate, in the program unless the employee has
been employed for at least 12 months by the employer, and for
at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the
previous 12-month period.
``(3) Compensation for hours in schedule.--Notwithstanding
section 7, in the case of an employee participating in such a
biweekly work program, the employee shall be compensated for
each hour in such a biweekly work schedule at a rate not less
than the regular rate at which the employee is employed.
``(4) Overtime compensation provision.--An employee
participating in such a biweekly work program shall be
compensated for each overtime hour at a rate not less than
one and one-half times the regular rate at which the employee
is employed, in accordance with section 7(a)(1).
``(5) Discontinuance of program or withdrawal.--
``(A) Discontinuance of program.--An employer that has
established a biweekly work program under paragraph (1) may
discontinue the program for employees described in paragraph
(2)(A)(ii) after providing 30 days' written notice to the
employees who are subject to an agreement described in
paragraph (2)(A)(ii).

[[Page S1202]]

``(B) Withdrawal.--An employee may withdraw an agreement
described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) at the end of any 2-week
period described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), by submitting a
written notice of withdrawal to the employer of the employee.
``(c) Prohibition of Coercion.--
``(1) In general.--An employer shall not directly or
indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to
intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any employee for the purpose
of interfering with the rights of the employee under this
section to elect or not to elect to work a biweekly work
schedule.
``(2) Definition.--In paragraph (1), the term `intimidate,
threaten, or coerce' includes promising to confer or
conferring any benefit (such as appointment, promotion, or
compensation) or effecting or threatening to effect any
reprisal (such as deprivation of appointment, promotion, or
compensation).
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Basic work requirement.--The term `basic work
requirement' means the number of hours, excluding overtime
hours, that an employee is required to work or is required to
account for by leave or otherwise.
``(2) Collective bargaining.--The term `collective
bargaining' means the performance of the mutual obligation of
the representative of an employer and the labor organization
that has been certified or recognized as the representative
of the employees of the employer under applicable law to meet
at reasonable times and to consult and bargain in a good-
faith effort to reach agreement with respect to the
conditions of employment affecting such employees and to
execute, if requested by either party, a written document
incorporating any collective bargaining agreement reached,
but the obligation referred to in this paragraph shall not
compel either party to agree to a proposal or to make a
concession.
``(3) Collective bargaining agreement.--The term
`collective bargaining agreement' means an agreement entered
into as a result of collective bargaining.
``(4) Employee.--The term `employee' means an individual--
``(A) who is an employee (as defined in section 3);
``(B) who is not an employee of a public agency; and
``(C) to whom section 7(a) applies.
``(5) Employer.--The term `employer' does not include a
public agency.
``(6) Overtime hours.--The term `overtime hours' when used
with respect to biweekly work programs under subsection (b),
means all hours worked in excess of the biweekly work
schedule involved, in excess of the allotted 50 hours a week,
or in excess of the allotted 80 hours in the 2-week period
involved, that are requested in advance by an employer.
``(7) Regular rate.--The term `regular rate' has the
meaning given the term in section 7(e).''.
(2) Remedies.--
(A) Prohibitions.--Section 15(a)(3) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3)) is amended--
(i) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(3)'';
(ii) by adding ``or'' after the semicolon; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) to violate any of the provisions of section 13A;''.
(B) Remedies and sanctions.--Section 16 of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended--
(i) in subsection (c)--

(I) in the first sentence--

(aa) by inserting after ``7 of this Act'' the following:
``, or of the appropriate legal or monetary equitable relief
owing to any employee or employees under section 13A''; and
(bb) by striking ``wages or unpaid overtime compensation
and'' and inserting ``wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or
legal or monetary equitable relief, as appropriate, and'';

(II) in the second sentence, by striking ``wages or
overtime compensation and'' and inserting ``wages, unpaid
overtime compensation, or legal or monetary equitable relief,
as appropriate, and''; and
(III) in the third sentence--

(aa) by inserting after ``first sentence of such
subsection'' the following: ``, or the second sentence of
such subsection in the event of a violation of section
13A,''; and
(bb) by striking ``wages or unpaid overtime compensation
under sections 6 and 7 or'' and inserting ``wages, unpaid
overtime compensation, or legal or monetary equitable relief,
as appropriate, or''; and
(ii) in subsection (e)--

(I) in the second sentence, by striking ``section 6 or 7''
and inserting ``section 6, 7, or 13A''; and
(II) in the fourth sentence, in paragraph (3), by striking
``15(a)(4) or'' and inserting ``15(a)(4), a violation of
section 15(a)(3)(B), or''.

(3) Notice to employees.--Not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Labor
shall revise the materials the Secretary provides, under
regulations contained in section 516.4 of title 29, Code of
Federal Regulations, to employers for purposes of a notice
explaining the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
201 et seq.) to employees so that the notice reflects the
amendments made to the Act by this section.
(b) Congressional Coverage.--Section 203 of the
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1313) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and section 12(c)'' and
inserting ``section 12(c), and section 13A''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (3);
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``The remedy'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
remedy''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Biweekly work programs and flexible credit hours
programs.--The remedy for a violation of subsection (a)
relating to the requirements of section 13A of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 shall be such remedy as would be
appropriate if awarded under sections 16 and 17 of such Act
(29 U.S.C. 216, 217) for such a violation.''; and
(3) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (4).
(c) Termination.--The authority provided by this section
and the amendments made by this section terminates 5 years
after the date of enactment of this section.
______

SA 204. Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Warner) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 113 proposed by Mr.
Smith to the amendment SA 100 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to
the bill H.R. 2, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to
provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage; as follows:

On page 2 of the amendment, strike lines 1 through 7, and
insert the following:
(b) Expansion of Above-the-Line Deduction for Certain
Expenses of Elementary and Secondary School Teachers.--
(1) In general.--Subparagraph (D) of section 62(a)(2)
(relating to certain trade and business deductions of
employees) is amended to read as follows:
``(D) Certain expenses of elementary and secondary school
teachers.--The deductions allowed by section 162 which
consist of expenses, not in excess of $400, paid or incurred
by an eligible educator--
``(i) by reason of the participation of the educator in
professional development courses related to the curriculum
and academic subjects in which the educator provides
instruction or to the students for which the educator
provides instruction, and
``(ii) in connection with books, supplies (other than
nonathletic supplies for courses of instruction in health or
physical education), computer equipment (including related
software and services) and other equipment, and supplementary
materials used by the eligible educator in the classroom.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by this subsection
shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2006.
______

SA 205. Mr. KYL proposed an amendment to amendment SA 100 proposed by
Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to the bill H.R. 2, to amend the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal minimum
wage; as follows:

On page 4, line 21, strike ``April 1, 2008'' and insert
``January 1, 2009''.
On page 6, lines 5 and 6, strike ``April 1, 2008'' and
insert ``January 1, 2009''.
On page 99, after line 19, add the following:

SEC. ___. TERMINATION OF EXCLUSION FOR QUALIFIED TUITION
REDUCTION.

(a) In General.--Section 117(d) is amended by redesignating
the last paragraph as paragraph (4) and by adding after
paragraph (4) the following new paragraph:
``(5) Termination.--This subsection shall not apply to
taxable years beginning after December 31, 2006.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2006.
______

SA 206. Mr. BAUCUS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 100 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to the bill H.R.
2, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an
increase in the Federal minimum wage; as follows:

At the appropriate place insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING PERMANENT TAX
INCENTIVES TO MAKE EDUCATION MORE AFFORDABLE
AND MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES.

It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should make
permanent the tax incentives to make education more
affordable and more accessible for American families and
eliminate wasteful spending, such as spending on unnecessary
tax loopholes, in order to fully offset the cost of such
incentives and avoid forcing taxpayers to pay substantially
more interest to foreign creditors.
______

SA 207. Mr. BAUCUS proposed an amendment to amendment SA 100 proposed
by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to the bill H.R. 2, to amend the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal
minimum wage; as follows:

At the appropriate place insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING REPEAL OF 1993 INCOME
TAX INCREASE ON SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS.

It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should repeal
the 1993 tax increase on Social

[[Page S1203]]

Security benefits and eliminate wasteful spending, such as
spending on unnecessary tax loopholes, in order to fully
offset the cost of such repeal and avoid forcing taxpayers to
pay substantially more interest to foreign creditors.

______

SA 208. Mr. NELSON of Nebraska submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 100 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Baucus) to
the bill H.R. 2, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to
provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage; which was ordered
to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place insert the following:

SEC. ___. DISABILITY PREFERENCE PROGRAM FOR TAX COLLECTION
CONTRACTS.

(a) In General.--Section 6306 (relating to qualified tax
collection contracts) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Nothing'' in subsection (a) and inserting
``Except as provided in subsection (c), nothing'',
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) as
subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g), respectively, and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection:
``(c) Disability Preference Program for Tax Collection
Contracts.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide a qualifying
disability preference to any program under which any
qualified tax collection contract is awarded on or after the
effective date of this subsection and shall ensure compliance
with the requirements of paragraph (3).
``(2) Qualifying disability preference.--
``(A) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term `qualifying disability preference' means a preference
pursuant to which at least 10 percent (in both number and
aggregate dollar amount) of the accounts covered by qualified
tax collection contracts are awarded to persons satisfying
the following criteria:
``(i) Such person employs within the United States at least
50 severely disabled individuals.
``(ii) Such person shall agree as an enforceable condition
of its bid for a qualified tax collection contract that
within 90 days after the date such contract is awarded, not
less than 35 percent of the employees of such person employed
in connection with providing services under such contract
shall--

``(I) be hired after the date such contract is awarded, and
``(II) be severely disabled individuals.

``(B) Determination of satisfaction of criteria.--Within 60
days after the end of the period specified in subparagraph
(A)(ii), the Secretary shall determine whether such person
has met the 35 percent requirement specified in such
subparagraph, and if such requirement has not been met, shall
terminate the contract for nonperformance. For purposes of
determining whether such 35 percent requirement has been
satisfied, severely disabled individuals providing services
under such contract shall not include any severely disabled
individuals who were counted toward satisfaction of the 50-
employee requirement specified in subparagraph (A)(i), unless
such person replaced such individuals by hiring additional
severely disabled individuals who do not perform services
under such contract.
``(3) Program-wide employment of severely disabled
individuals.--Not less than 15 percent of all individuals
hired by all persons to whom tax collection contracts are
issued by the Secretary under this section, to perform work
under such tax collection contracts, shall qualify as
severely disabled individuals.
``(4) Severely disabled individual.--For purposes of this
subsection, the term `severely disabled individual' means any
one of the following:
``(A) Any veteran of the United States Armed Forces with--
``(i) a disability determined by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to be service-connected, or
``(ii) a disability deemed by statute to be service-
connected.
``(B) Any individual who is a disabled beneficiary (as
defined in section 1148(k)(2) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1320b-19(k)(2)) or who would be considered to be such
a disabled beneficiary but for having income or assets in
excess of the income or asset eligibility limits established
under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act,
respectively.''.
(b) Report by Government Accountability Office.--
(1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study of the effectiveness and
efficiency of the use of private contractors for Internal
Revenue Service debt collection. The study required by this
paragraph shall be completed in time to be taken into account
by Congress before any new contracting is carried out under
section 6306 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in years
following 2008.
(2) Study of comparable efforts.--As part of the study
required under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall--
(A) make every effort to determine the relative
effectiveness and efficiency of debt collection contracting
by Federal staff compared to private contractors, using a
cost calculation for both Federal staff and private
contractors which includes all benefits and overhead costs,
(B) compare the cost effectiveness of the contracting
approach of the Department of the Treasury to that of the
Department of Education's Office of Student Financial
Assistance, and
(C) survey State tax debt collection experiences for
lessons that may be applicable to the Internal Revenue
Service collection efforts.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to any tax collection contract awarded on or
after the date of the enactment of ths Act.

____________________