[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5225 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5225

    To provide an exemption for low-income senior citizens from the 
communications excise tax and other fees and charges collected for the 
purpose of recovering some of the costs to telecommunications carriers 
 of providing universal service and connecting the telephone exchange 
       network to telephone toll service, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2004

   Mr. Nadler (for himself, Mr. Simmons, and Ms. Carson of Indiana) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
    Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide an exemption for low-income senior citizens from the 
communications excise tax and other fees and charges collected for the 
purpose of recovering some of the costs to telecommunications carriers 
 of providing universal service and connecting the telephone exchange 
       network to telephone toll service, 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 ``Telephone Tax Relief for Seniors 
Act''.

SEC. 2. COMMUNICATIONS EXCISE TAX.

    (a) Exemption.--Section 4253 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by redesignating subsection (k) as subsection (l) and 
inserting after subsection (j) the following new subsection:
    ``(k) Exemption for Low-Income Senior Citizens.--No tax shall be 
imposed under section 4251 on any amount paid by a low-income senior 
citizen for services furnished to such individual. For purposes of this 
subsection, the term `low-income senior citizen' means an individual 
who is certified as such by the Federal Communications Commission.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 4253(l) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by striking 
``or (j)'' and inserting ``(j), or (k)''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 3. TELEPHONE SERVICE FEES AND CHARGES.

    (a) Exemption for Low-Income Senior Citizens.--A telecommunications 
carrier shall not require a subscriber of the carrier's telephone 
exchange service or telephone toll service who is certified by the 
Federal Communications Commission as a low-income senior citizen to 
pay--
            (1) a fee or other charge collected for the purpose of 
        contributing to the preservation or advancement of universal 
        service pursuant to section 254 of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 254);
            (2) a subscriber line charge or any other per line fee or 
        charge collected for the purpose of recovering some of the 
        costs to the local exchange carrier of connecting the telephone 
        exchange network to telephone toll service; or
            (3) a local number portability charge.
The fees and other charges described in this subsection shall not 
include fees or charges imposed by State or local governments.
    (b) Implementation.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
implement subsection (a) by amending its regulations not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``low-income senior citizen'' means an 
        individual age 65 or older who has an income which does not 
        exceed 200 percent of the poverty level, as determined in 
        accordance with criteria established by the Director of the 
        Office of Management and Budget; and
            (2) the terms ``local exchange carrier'', 
        ``telecommunications carrier'', ``telephone exchange service'', 
        and ``telephone toll service'' have the meanings given to those 
        terms in section 153 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
        U.S.C. 153).

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal 
Communications Commission $20,000,000 for the purpose of educating low-
income senior citizens about the benefits to which they are entitled 
pursuant to this Act.
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