WASHINGTON (April 12, 2001)—A bipartisan group of congressmen have introduced a bill to give small businesses a tax credit for training employees.
The Skilled Workforce Enhancement Act of 2001 would offer employers with 250 or fewer workers a tax credit of up to $15,000 a year for up to four years for providing an apprentice with at least 1,500 hours of job training in a "highly skilled" trade.
The credit, in turn, would go toward long-term employee training. Groups such as the Tire Association of North America and the Automotive Service Association, which have often decried the lack of skilled auto and tire technicians, support the legislation.
The bill was introduced March 6 by Reps. Mark Foley, R-Fla., and Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., with 29 co-sponsors. No hearings have yet been scheduled, although Sens. Michael DeWine, R-Ohio, and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., are supposed to introduce a companion bill in the Senate.