S. 3419 (112th): United States Employee Ownership Bank Act

Introduced:
Jul 23, 2012 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Sen. Bernard “Bernie” Sanders [I-VT]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.


7/23/2012--Introduced.
United States Employee Ownership Bank Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the United States Employee Ownership Bank to foster increased employee ownership and greater employee participation in company decisionmaking throughout the United States. Authorizes the Bank to make loans to employees, on a direct or guaranteed basis (which may be subordinated to the interests of all other creditors), to purchase a company through an employee stock ownership plan or eligible worker-owned cooperative which is at least 51% employee owned, or will become so as a result of Bank assistance.
Authorizes the Bank also to allow:
(1) a company that is less than 51% employee owned to become at least 51% employee owned; and
(2) allow a company that is already at least 51% employee owned to increase the level of employee ownership, expand operations, and increase or preserve employment.
Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to require the employer, if it orders a plant or facility closing in connection with the termination of its operations there, to offer its employees an opportunity to purchase that plant or facility through an employee stock ownership plan or an eligible worker-owned cooperative that is at least 51% employee owned.
Exempts from such requirement an employer that orders a plant closing if the employer:
(1) will retain the plant assets to continue or begin a business within the United States; or
(2) intends to continue the business conducted at such plant at another plant within the United States. Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to authorize the appropriate federal financial supervisory agency, in assessing and taking into account the record of a financial institution during an examination, to consider capital investments, loans, loan participation, technical assistance, financial advice, grants, and other ventures undertaken by the institution to support or enable employees to establish employee stock ownership plans or eligible worker-owned cooperatives that are at least 51% employee-owned.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.


No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

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