119-s2474

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2474 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2474

 To require the Secretary of Labor to appoint an Advocate for Employee 
 Ownership within the Employee Ownership Initiative, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 28, 2025

Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
 Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of Labor to appoint an Advocate for Employee 
 Ownership within the Employee Ownership Initiative, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Advocate for Employee Ownership 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADVOCATE FOR EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle A of title III of the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``

SEC. 3005. ADVOCATE FOR EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor shall appoint an Advocate 
for Employee Ownership within the Employee Ownership Initiative 
established under 

section 346

    (b)

    (1) of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 
(division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 
117-328)). The appointment shall be made without regard to the 
provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in 
the competitive service or Senior Executive Service.
 ``

    (b) Duties.--The Advocate for Employee Ownership shall--
 ``

    (1) consult with the head of the Employee Ownership 
 Initiative established under 

section 346

    (b)

    (1) of the SECURE 
 2.0 Act of 2022 (division T of the Consolidated Appropriations 
 Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328));
 ``

    (2) act as a liaison between the Department of Labor, 
 employee ownership advocates, employers considering employee 
 ownership, workers interested in employee ownership, and other 
 stakeholders, including employee stock ownership plan sponsors 
 and participants;
 ``

    (3) provide public education and assistance related to 
 the expansion of employee ownership through the establishment 
 and maintenance of practices that promote employee ownership, 
 including the use of employee stock ownership plans;
 ``

    (4) provide assistance for purposes of resolving a 
 dispute between the Department of Labor and any employee stock 
 ownership plan sponsor, fiduciary, or participant and help 
 facilitate communication between such entities and the 
 Department of Labor for such purposes;
 ``

    (5) identify and recommend potential legislative and 
 administrative changes, including related to access to capital 
 issues, to increase practices that promote employee ownership 
 plans, including the use of employee stock ownership plans; and
 ``

    (6) coordinate with other Federal agencies, including the 
 Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the 
 Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Commerce, and 
 State and local governments on outreach and education to inform 
 employees and employers about the possibilities and benefits of 
 employee ownership as a business ownership succession planning 
 option.
 ``
            (c) Consultation and Input.--The Secretary of Labor shall solicit 
advice and input from the Advocate for Employee Ownership in developing 
regulations or interpretations of this Act that relate to employee 
stock ownership plans.
 ``
            (d) Compensation.--The Advocate for Employee Ownership shall be 
entitled to compensation at the same rate as the rate of basic pay in 
effect for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
 ``

    (e) Annual Report.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than December 31 of each 
 calendar year beginning after the date of enactment of this 
 section, the Advocate for Employee Ownership shall submit a 
 report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 
 Workforce of the House of Representatives on the activities of 
 the Office of the Advocate for Employee Ownership during the 
 fiscal year ending during such calendar year, including the 
 contents described in paragraph

    (2) .
 ``

    (2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph

    (1) shall--
 ``
        (A) summarize the assistance requests received by 
 the Advocate for Employee Ownership during the fiscal 
 year ending during the calendar year of such report;
 ``
        (B) describe the activities, including the 
 activities described under paragraphs

    (3) and

    (4) of 
 subsection

    (b) , and evaluate the effectiveness of the 
 Advocate for Employee Ownership during such fiscal 
 year;
 ``
            (C) describe any significant problems the 
 Advocate for Employee Ownership has identified during 
 such fiscal year and ways to mitigate such problems;
 ``
            (D) contain recommendations for any 
 administrative or legislative action that may be 
 appropriate to resolve barriers to, and to incentivize, 
 practices that promote employee ownership, including 
 the use of employee stock ownership plans; and
 ``
        (E) describe progress related to employee 
 ownership in businesses in the United States.
 ``

    (3) Concurrent submission.--The Advocate for Employee 
 Ownership shall submit a copy of each report submitted under 
 paragraph

    (1) to the Secretary of Labor, and any other 
 appropriate official, at the same time such report is submitted 
 under paragraph

    (1) .
 ``

    (4) Public availability.--The Advocate for Employee 
 Ownership shall make a copy of each report submitted under 
 paragraph

    (1) available to the public.
 ``

    (5) Definition of employee stock ownership plan.--For 
 purposes of this section, the term `employee stock ownership 
 plan' has the meaning given the term in 

section 4975

    (e)

    (7) of 
 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
 ``

    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out subsection
            (d) .''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in 

section 1 of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 note) 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

section 3004 the 
following new item:

``

Sec. 3005. Advocate for employee ownership.''.
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