American Opportunity Accounts Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 835 To establish American opportunity accounts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CARSON, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MENG, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. OMAR, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. BOWMAN, and Ms. BUSH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To establish American opportunity accounts, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘American Opportunity Accounts Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. American Opportunity Fund. Sec. 4. AO accounts. VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 835 IH Sec. 5. Assignment, alienation, and treatment of deceased individuals. Sec. 6. Rules governing AO accounts relating to investment, accounting, and reporting. Sec. 7. American Opportunity Fund Board. Sec. 8. Fiduciary responsibilities. Sec. 9. Accounts disregarded in determining eligibility for Federal benefits. Sec. 10. Reports. Sec. 11. Programs for promoting financial capability. Sec. 12. Tax treatment. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 For purposes of this title— 2 (1) AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY FUND.—The term 3 ‘‘American Opportunity Fund’’ means the fund es- 4 tablished under section 3. 5 (2) AO ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘AO account’’ 6 means an American opportunity account established 7 under section 4. 8 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 9 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del- 10 egate. 11 (4) AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY FUND BOARD.— 12 The term ‘‘American Opportunity Fund Board’’ 13 means the board established pursuant to section 7. 14 (5) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Execu- 15 tive Director’’ means the executive director ap- 16 pointed pursuant to section 7. 17 SEC. 3. AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY FUND. 18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 19 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 20 ‘‘American Opportunity Fund’’. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 835 IH (b) AMOUNTS HELD BY FUND.—The American Op- 1 portunity Fund consists of the sum of all amounts paid 2 into the Fund under this title, increased by the total net 3 earnings from investments of sums held in the Fund or 4 reduced by the total net losses from investments of sums 5 held in the Fund, and reduced by the total amount of pay- 6 ments made from the Fund (including payments for ad- 7 ministrative expenses). 8 (c) USE OF FUND.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sums in the American 10 Opportunity Fund are appropriated and shall re- 11 main available without fiscal year limitation— 12 (A) to make contributions to AO accounts; 13 (B) to invest under section 6; 14 (C) to make distributions in accordance 15 with this title; 16 (D) to pay the administrative expenses of 17 carrying out this title; and 18 (E) to purchase insurance as provided in 19 section 8(c)(2). 20 (2) EXCLUSIVE PURPOSES.—The sums in the 21 American Opportunity Fund shall not be appro- 22 priated for any purpose other than the purposes 23 specified in this section and may not be used for any 24 other purpose. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 835 IH (d) TRANSFERS TO AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY 1 FUND.—The Secretary shall make transfers from the gen- 2 eral fund of the Treasury to the American Opportunity 3 Fund as follows: 4 (1) INITIAL CONTRIBUTION FOR ELIGIBLE INDI- 5 VIDUALS BORN AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2021.—Upon 6 receipt of a certification under section 4(b)(2) with 7 respect to an individual born after December 31, 8 2021, the Secretary shall transfer $1,000 to the AO 9 account of the individual. 10 (2) ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each year which occurs 12 after the year in which an AO account is estab- 13 lished for an eligible individual and before the 14 year the eligible individual attains the age of 15 18, the Secretary shall transfer the annual con- 16 tribution amount to the AO account of the indi- 17 vidual. 18 (B) ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT.— 19 The annual contribution amount shall be the 20 amount such that the annual contribution 21 amount for any taxpayer whose household in- 22 come is within an income tier specified in the 23 following table shall decrease, on a sliding scale 24 in a linear manner, from the initial amount to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 835 IH the final amount specified in such table for 1 such income tier: 2 In the case of household income (expressed as a percent of the poverty line) within the following income tier: The initial amount is— The final amount is— Up to 100 percent .................................................. $2,000 $2,000 100 percent up to 125 percent ............................... 2,000 1,500 125 percent up to 175 percent ............................... 1,500 1,000 175 percent up to 225 percent ............................... 1,000 500 225 percent up to 325 percent ............................... 500 250 325 percent up to 500 percent ............................... 250 0 500 percent or more ............................................... 0 0 (C) APPLICABLE HOUSEHOLD INCOME; 3 POVERTY LINE.—For purposes of this para- 4 graph— 5 (i) APPLICABLE HOUSEHOLD IN- 6 COME.—The term ‘‘applicable household 7 income’’ means household income (as de- 8 fined in section 36B(d) of the Internal 9 Revenue Code of 1986), except that— 10 (I) with respect to any calendar 11 year, the Secretary shall use the in- 12 come of the second calendar year pre- 13 ceding the calendar year for which the 14 contribution relates; and 15 (II) in determining household in- 16 come the Secretary shall aggregate 17 the income of married individuals fil- 18 ing separate tax returns. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 835 IH (ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS 1 NOT FILING RETURNS.— 2 (I) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 3 any taxpayer who was not required to 4 file a return of tax for the tax im- 5 posed by section 1 for the taxable 6 year described in clause (i)(I) or for 7 whom the information described in 8 clause (i) is not available for such 9 year, such taxpayer shall be treated as 10 a taxpayer with a household income 11 which is less than 100 percent of the 12 poverty line. 13 (II) USE OF OTHER DATA.—Sub- 14 clause (I) shall not apply if the Sec- 15 retary determines, based on such 16 other information from any agency of 17 the United States as the Secretary de- 18 termines is reliable, that the tax- 19 payer’s household income for such 20 year is 100 percent of the poverty line 21 or greater. 22 (iii) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘pov- 23 erty line’’ has the meaning given such term 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 835 IH under section 36B(d) of the Internal Rev- 1 enue Code of 1986. 2 (D) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE TAX INFOR- 3 MATION.— 4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(l) of 5 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 6 amended by adding at the end the fol- 7 lowing new paragraph: 8 ‘‘(23) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION 9 TO CARRY OUT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR 10 CERTAIN PROGRAMS.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 12 disclose to officers and employees of the De- 13 partment of Treasury or the American Oppor- 14 tunity Fund Board return information of any 15 taxpayer whose income is relevant in deter- 16 mining any annual contribution to an American 17 Opportunity Account under section 3 of the 18 American Opportunity Accounts Act. Such re- 19 turn information shall be limited to— 20 ‘‘(i) taxpayer identity information 21 with respect to such taxpayer, 22 ‘‘(ii) the filing status of such tax- 23 payer, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 835 IH ‘‘(iii) the number of individuals for 1 whom a deduction is allowed under section 2 151 with respect to the taxpayer (including 3 the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse), 4 ‘‘(iv) the modified adjusted gross in- 5 come (as defined in section 36B) of such 6 taxpayer, of any spouse of such taxpayer 7 who filed a separate return, and of each of 8 the other individuals included under clause 9 (iii) who are required to file a return of tax 10 imposed by chapter 1 for the taxable year, 11 ‘‘(v) such other information as is pre- 12 scribed by the Secretary by regulation as 13 might indicate whether the taxpayer is eli- 14 gible for such an annual contribution (and 15 the amount thereof), and 16 ‘‘(vi) the taxable year with respect to 17 which the preceding information relates or, 18 if applicable, the fact that such informa- 19 tion is not available. 20 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED 21 INFORMATION.—Return information disclosed 22 under subparagraph (A) may be used by offi- 23 cers and employees of the Department of Treas- 24 ury or the American Opportunity Fund Board 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 835 IH for the purposes of, and to the extent necessary 1 in establishing eligibility for, and verifying the 2 appropriate amount of, any annual contribution 3 described in subparagraph (A).’’. 4 (ii) PROCEDURES AND RECORD- 5 KEEPING RELATED TO DISCLOSURES.— 6 Paragraph (4) of section 6103(p) of such 7 Code is amended by striking ‘‘or (22)’’ 8 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘(22), 9 or (23)’’. 10 (E) STUDY ON INCORPORATION OF OTHER 11 WEALTH FACTORS.—Not later than 2 years 12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 13 Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 14 and the Secretary of Treasury a report on the 15 feasibility and distributive impacts of a new 16 measure for determining the amount of the an- 17 nual contribution amount under this paragraph 18 based on family wealth, total assets, and overall 19 net worth. Such measure may— 20 (i) include financial assets, the value 21 of family home, retirement accounts, busi- 22 ness and entrepreneurial ventures, poten- 23 tial future inheritances, and any other as- 24 sets or debts; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 835 IH (ii) continue to factor in current or 1 past income to the extent such information 2 is useful in estimating overall household 3 wealth. 4 (3) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—For each calendar year 6 beginning after 2022, each of the dollar 7 amounts under paragraphs (1) and (2)(B)(i) 8 shall be increased by such dollar amount multi- 9 plied by the cost-of-living adjustment deter- 10 mined under section 1(f)(3) of the Internal 11 Revenue Code of 1986 determined by sub- 12 stituting ‘‘calendar year 2021’’ for ‘‘calendar 13 year 2016’’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof. 14 (B) ROUNDING.—If any amount adjusted 15 under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $50, 16 such amount shall be rounded to the next low- 17 est multiple of $50. 18 (e) PROHIBITION ON USE OF PAYROLL TAXES TO 19 FUND AO ACCOUNTS.—The American Opportunity Fund 20 and AO accounts are wholly separate and unique from the 21 Social Security system. No amount from any tax on em- 22 ployment may be contributed to the American Opportunity 23 Fund or AO accounts. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 835 IH SEC. 4. AO ACCOUNTS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.— 2 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Executive Director 3 shall establish in the American Opportunity Fund an 4 account (to be known as an ‘‘American Opportunity 5 account’’ or an ‘‘AO account’’) for each eligible indi- 6 vidual certified under subsection (b). Each such ac- 7 count shall be identified to its account holder by 8 means of a unique personal identifier currently rec- 9 ognized by the Internal Revenue Service and shall 10 remain in the American Opportunity Fund. 11 (2) ACCOUNT BALANCE.—The balance in an ac- 12 count holder’s AO account at any time is the excess 13 of— 14 (A) the sum of— 15 (i) all deposits made into the Amer- 16 ican Opportunity Fund and credited to the 17 account under paragraph (3); and 18 (ii) the total amount of allocations 19 made to and reductions made in the ac- 20 count pursuant to paragraph (4); over 21 (B) the amounts paid out of the account 22 with respect to such individual under subsection 23 (c). 24 (3) CREDITING OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Pursuant 25 to regulations which shall be prescribed by the Exec- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H835.IH H835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 835 IH utive Director, the Executive Director shall credit to 1 each AO account the amounts paid into the Amer- 2 ican Opportunity Fund under section 3(d) which are 3 attributable to the account holder of such account. 4 (4) ALLOCATION OF EARNINGS AND LOSSES.— 5 The Executive Director shall allocate to each AO ac- 6 count an amount equal to the net earnings and net 7 losses from each investment of sums in the Amer- 8 ican Opportunity Fund which are attributable, on a 9 pro rata basis, to sums credited to such account, re- 10 duced by an appropriate share of the administrative 11 expenses paid out of the net earnings, as determined 12 by the Executive Director. 13 (b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 14 title— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible indi- 16 vidual’’ means any individual who— 17 (A) was born after December 31, 2005; 18 (B) has not yet attained the age of 18 19 years; and 20 (C) has a valid, unique, Federal Govern- 21 ment issued identification number recognized by [Text truncated for display. 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