President Ronald Reagan on Employee Ownership.

The 118th Congress (2023-2025) has adjourned.  Once a Congress adjourns, at the end of its two-year cycle, all bills that have been introduced in either the House or the Senate that have not made it through the entire legislative process and signed into law are dead. A historical archive of ESOP legislation is provided below:

• ESOP legislation introduced during the 115^th Congress is available at the following link .
• ESOP legislation introduced during the 116^th Congress is available at the following link.
• ESOP Legislation introduced during the 117^th Congress is available at the following link.
• ESOP Legislation introduced during the 117^th Congress is available at the following link.
• ESOP Legislation introduced during the 118^th Congress is available at the following link.

The 119th Congress will convene Jan 3, 2025 and run through Jan 3 2027.  This page provides a link to the bills associated with Employee Ownership that were introduced during this legislative session, a short summary, the numbers of co-sponsors and which Indiana Senator or Representative(s) has supported these bills.

Last update: March 2, 2026

Senate:

S.1645 – American Ownership and Resilience Act; A bill to establish a domestic ownership investment facility, and for other purposes. Introduced by Senator Van Hollen (D-MD), cosponsors 6 total 4 Republican and 3 Democrat.  Senator Tod Young is a cosponsor of this bill.

S.1727 – A bill to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to permit employee stock ownership plan participants to benefit from the full amount of beneficial ownership that can be accrued in the plan while also fully realizing the benefits of saving for retirement in a defined contribution plan. Introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA).  This bill has 0 cosponsors.

S.1728 – A bill to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to expand the membership of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans to include representatives of employee ownership organizations.  Introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA). This bill has 2 cosponsors 2 Democrat.  On October 9th Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent, the bill is passed to the House of Representatives for action.

S.2458 – Employee Ownership Financing Act – A bill To require the Secretary of Labor to establish the Office of Employee Ownership to carry out the Employee Ownership Initiative and establish and carry out the Employee Ownership Loan Program, and for other purposes. Introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders I-Vermont. This bill has 4 cosponsors 0 Republican, 4 Democrat.

S.2403 – Retire Through Ownership Act – A bill that would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide a clear definition of adequate consideration for certain closely held stock, and for other purposes. Introduced by Senator Roger Marshall. This Bill has 1 cosponsor 1-Democrat  On Oct 9 Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.

S.1727 – Employee Ownership Fairness Act – A bill which revise ERISA rules to exclude ESOP contributions from annual defined contribution limits, currently capped at $23,500 for 2025. Introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA).  his bill has 0 cosponsors.

S.1728 – Employee Ownership Representation Act – A Bill which would assign two designated representatives to the ERISA Advisory Council, which advises the Department of Labor on employee benefits policy.  Introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA).  This bill has 2 cosponsors 0 Republican, 2 Democrat.

S.2461 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Small Business Act to expand the availability of employee stock ownership plans in S corporations, and for other purposes. Introduced by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT). This bill has 23 cosponsors 11 Republican, 10 Democrat, 2 Independent.  Indiana Senator Todd Young has supported/cosponsored this bill.

House:

H.R. 6492 – Empowering Small-Business Ownership Participation (ESOP) act, a bill that will align the DOW’s rule with the long-standing federal definition of an ESOP, which requires 30% employee ownership. Changing the program standard from “wholly-owned” to “owned” opens the door for thousands of legitimate ESOP businesses to finally compete, increasing competition, innovation, and supply-chain resilience across the Defense Industrial Base.  Introduced by Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL-7).

H.R. 5958 – National Worker Cooperative Development and Support Act, a bill to direct the heads of certain Federal agencies to develop and support worker-owned cooperative businesses, and for other purposes.  Introduced by Rep Ro Khanna (D-CA-17) and has 0 cosponsors.

H.R. 5778 – Improving SBA Engagement on Employee Ownership Act.  To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to improve outreach and education on employee ownership, and for other purposes. Introduced by Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10) and has 5 cosponsors 3 Democrat 2 Republican.

H.R. 5169 – The Retire Through Ownership Act.  To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide a clear definition of adequate consideration for certain closely held stock, and for other purposes. Introduced by Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA-12), and has 4 cosponsors 3 Republican 1 Democrat.  Indiana Rep Mark Messmer has supported/cosponsored this bill.

H.R.4739 – Share Holder Allocation for Rewards to Employees Plan Act.  The “Share Holder Allocation for Rewards to Employees Plan Act” (SHARE Plan Act) proposes changes to the Internal Revenue Code to encourage corporations to distribute company stock to their employees through a specific plan, known as a SHARE plan. Introduced by Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY-3), and has 13 cosponsors 6 Democrat, 7 Republican.

H.R.3248 – American Ownership and Resilience Act; bill to establish a domestic ownership investment facility, and for other purposes. Introduced by Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT-1), with 8 cosponsors, 5 Democrat, 3 Republican.

HR3105 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Small Business Act to expand the availability of employee stock ownership plans in S corporations, and for other purposes. Introduced by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), cosponsors 46, 25 Republican and 21 Democrat.  Indiana Rep’s Rudy Yakym (R-IN-2), Frank Mrvan (D-IN-1), and Jefferson Shreve (R-IN-6)  have supported/cosponsored this bill.

HR2993 – To establish a position in the Small Business Administration to provide to small businesses assistance with establishing employee stock ownership plans, and for other purposes. Introduced by Rep. Ed Case (D-HI-1), cosponsors 7, 3 Republican and 5 Democrat.  Indiana Rep Andre Carson has supported/cosponsored this bill.

Don’t see your Senator/ Representatives supporting the above bills?  Want to get involved?  Not sure whom to contact (Senators, Representatives)? The ESOP Association has an Advocacy kit that is available FREE, the kit contains sample letters and information which you may use when contacting your elected representatives.  Need help, have a question? contact INCEO.