Career Preparation Legislation Introduced Recognizing that many students graduate high school with little knowledge of the careers available to them and the technical skills needed to meet the demands of the 21st century job market, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has introduced the Career Ready Act of 2015. This legislation would encourage school districts to track and report on “career readiness indicators,” i.e., factors that demonstrate a student’s preparedness, including both academic and technical knowledge and skills, for postsecondary education and the workforce. The belief is that if school districts track these data, states can send a signal to schools, communities, parents, and students that it is critical to be prepared for the workforce regardless of postsecondary education plans. In fact, 22 states already publicly report on one or more career readiness indicators, such as student participation in career and technical education (CTE) courses and completion of CTE programs of study. The Career Ready Act would expand on these efforts by encouraging more states to participate and to broaden the indicators that are followed and measured. Further, by tracking and publishing these data, much-needed information can be provided to businesses and workforce leaders. Finally, the Career Ready Act would strengthen school counselor professional development by training school counselors to use labor market information that educates students on postsecondary opportunities. DOE Establishes New Office of Technology Transitions The U.S. Department of Energy has created a new Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) to help expand the commercial impact of the department’s research. The OTT will help coordinate technology transfer activities carried out at all 17 DOE national laboratories, as well as other DOE research and production facilities, to actively support private sector commercialization activities. The Department of Energy currently spends more than $10 billion on research and development each year, conducted primarily at universities and federal laboratories. Bill Would Reestablish Research Tax Deduction H.R. 880, the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2015, would amend the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent a modified version of the tax credit for qualified research expenses that expired at the end of 2014. Specifically, the bill would make permanent the “alternative simplified method” for calculating the tax credit for qualified research expenses and generally increase the associated credit to 20% of those expenses that exceed 50% of the average qualified research expenses for the three preceding taxable years. BY HUGH K. WEBSTER America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2015 Introduced At the end of 2014, the U.S. tax code provision that for many years allowed small businesses to write off up to $500,000 in order to purchase equipment, expired, causing the amount to revert to its previous level of $25,000. H.R. 636, the America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2015, would reinstate that provision, make it permanent, and give it retroactive effect back to January 1. In addition to providing this tax incentive, the purpose of this legislation is to provide a level of certainty for small businesses in their purchasing plans. USTR, Congress Addresses International IP Protection and Enforcement The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently held a public hearing on international protection of intellectual property, particularly through enforcement of treaties and agreements. That hearing will culminate in the release of the highly anticipated annual USTR report ranking other countries based on their intellectual property practices and infrastructures. The report examines the state of intellectual property protection in countries around the world, placing countries that need stronger IP protection in different categories: Watch List, Priority Watch List, and Priority Foreign Country, according to the severity of impact of the country’s IP policies and practices on U.S. industry. In a related development, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a hearing recently on U.S. trade policies, and there was bipartisan concern expressed by Senators regarding the aggressiveness with which the U.S. government responds to intellectual property treaty and other violations by other countries. DHS Seeks to Enhance H1B Visa Program The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued proposed rules that would allow spouses of certain persons working under the H-1B visa to also work in the United States, thereby enhancing the attractiveness of the program. Under existing regulations, DHS does not extend employment authorization to dependents (also known as H-4 nonimmigrants) of H-1B nonimmigrant workers. The change proposed by DHS would allow H-4 dependent spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrant workers to request employment authorization, as long as the H-1B worker has already started the process of seeking lawful permanent residence through employment. The H-1B program is used by companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as science, engineering, or computer programming. WASHINGTON WATCHWORD HUGH K. WEBSTER, AWS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS OFFICE — Contact the AWS Washington Government Affairs Office at 1747 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20006; email hwebster@wcb. com; FAX (202) 8350243. 10 WELDING JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 WJ
Welding Journal | April 2015
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