[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H598-H605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND TAX REINSTATEMENT ACT OF 1997

  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 668) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reinstate 
the Airport and Airway Trust Fund excise taxes, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 668

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Airport 
     and Airway Trust Fund Tax Reinstatement Act of 1997''.
       (b) Amendment of 1986 Code.--Except as otherwise expressly 
     provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
     expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a 
     section or other provision, the reference shall be considered 
     to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986.

     SEC. 2. REINSTATEMENT OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND EXCISE 
                   TAXES.

       (a) Fuel Taxes.--
       (1) Aviation fuel.--Subparagraph (A) of section 4091(b)(3) 
     is amended to read as follows:
       ``(A) The rate of tax specified in paragraph (1) shall be 
     4.3 cents per gallon--

[[Page H599]]

       ``(i) after December 31, 1996, and before the date which is 
     7 days after the date of the enactment of the Airport and 
     Airway Trust Fund Tax Reinstatement Act of 1997, and
       ``(ii) after September 30, 1997.''
       (2) Aviation gasoline.--Subsection (d) of section 4081 is 
     amended by striking the paragraph (3) added by section 
     1609(a) of the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 and 
     by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the 
     following new paragraphs:
       ``(1) In general.--The rates of tax specified in clauses 
     (i) and (iii) of subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be 4.3 cents per 
     gallon after September 30, 1999.
       ``(2) Aviation gasoline.--The rate of tax specified in 
     subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii) shall be 4.3 cents per gallon--
       ``(A) after December 31, 1996, and before the date which is 
     7 days after the date of the enactment of the Airport and 
     Airway Trust Fund Tax Reinstatement Act of 1997, and
       ``(B) after September 30, 1997.''
       (3) Noncommercial aviation.--Paragraph (3) of section 
     4041(c) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(3) Termination.--The rate of the taxes imposed by 
     paragraph (1) shall be 4.3 cents per gallon--
       ``(A) after December 31, 1996, and before the date which is 
     7 days after the date of the enactment of the Airport and 
     Airway Trust Fund Tax Reinstatement Act of 1997, and
       ``(B) after September 30, 1997.''
       (b) Ticket Taxes.--
       (1) Persons.--Subsection (g) of section 4261 is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(g) Application of Taxes.--
       ``(1) In general.--The taxes imposed by this section shall 
     apply to--
       ``(A) transportation beginning during the period--
       ``(i) beginning on the 7th day after the date of the 
     enactment of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Tax 
     Reinstatement Act of 1997, and
       ``(ii) ending on September 30, 1997, and
       ``(B) amounts paid during such period for transportation 
     beginning after such period.
       ``(2) Refunds.--If, as of the date any transportation 
     begins, the taxes imposed by this section would not have 
     applied to such transportation if paid for on such date, any 
     tax paid under paragraph (1)(B) with respect to such 
     transportation shall be treated as an overpayment.''
       (2) Property.--Subsection (d) of section 4271 is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(d) Application of Tax.--
       ``(1) In general.--The tax imposed by subsection (a) shall 
     apply to--
       ``(A) transportation beginning during the period--
       ``(i) beginning on the 7th day after the date of the 
     enactment of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Tax 
     Reinstatement Act of 1997, and
       ``(ii) ending on September 30, 1997, and
       ``(B) amounts paid during such period for transportation 
     beginning after such period.
       ``(2) Refunds.--If, as of the date any transportation 
     begins, the taxes imposed by this section would not have 
     applied to such transportation if paid for on such date, any 
     tax paid under paragraph (1)(B) with respect to such 
     transportation shall be treated as an overpayment.''
       (c) Transfers to Airport and Airway Trust Fund.--
       (1) In general.--Subsection (b) of section 9502 is amended 
     to read as follows:
       ``(b) Transfers to Airport and Airway Trust Fund.--There 
     are hereby appropriated to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund 
     amounts equivalent to--
       ``(1) the taxes received in the Treasury under--
       ``(A) subsections (c) and (e) of section 4041 (relating to 
     aviation fuels),
       ``(B) sections 4261 and 4271 (relating to transportation by 
     air),
       ``(C) section 4081 (relating to gasoline) with respect to 
     aviation gasoline (to the extent that the rate of the tax on 
     such gasoline exceeds 4.3 cents per gallon), and
       ``(D) section 4091 (relating to aviation fuel) to the 
     extent attributable to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund 
     financing rate, and
       ``(2) the amounts determined by the Secretary of the 
     Treasury to be equivalent to the amounts of civil penalties 
     collected under section 47107(n) of title 49, United States 
     Code.''
       (2) Termination of financing rate.--Paragraph (3) of 
     section 9502(f) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(3) Termination.--Notwithstanding the preceding 
     provisions of this subsection, the Airport and Airway Trust 
     Fund financing rate shall be zero with respect to taxes 
     imposed during any period that the rate of the tax imposed by 
     section 4091(b)(1) is 4.3 cents per gallon.''
       (d) Floor Stocks Taxes on Aviation Gasoline and Aviation 
     Fuel.--
       (1) Imposition of tax.--In the case of any aviation liquid 
     on which tax was imposed under section 4081 or 4091 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 before the tax effective date 
     and which is held on such date by any person, there is 
     hereby imposed a floor stocks tax of--
       (A) 15 cents per gallon in the case of aviation gasoline, 
     and
       (B) 17.5 cents per gallon in the case of aviation fuel.
       (2) Liability for tax and method of payment.--
       (A) Liability for tax.--A person holding, on the tax 
     effective date, any aviation liquid to which the tax imposed 
     by paragraph (1) applies shall be liable for such tax.
       (B) Method of payment.--The tax imposed by paragraph (1) 
     shall be paid in such manner as the Secretary shall 
     prescribe.
       (C) Time for payment.--The tax imposed by paragraph (1) 
     shall be paid on or before the first day of the 5th month 
     beginning after the tax effective date.
       (3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
       (A) Tax effective date.--The term ``tax effective date'' 
     means the date which is 7 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (B) Aviation liquid.--The term ``aviation liquid'' means 
     aviation gasoline and aviation fuel.
       (C) Aviation gasoline.--The term ``aviation gasoline'' has 
     the meaning given such term in section 4081 of such Code.
       (D) Aviation fuel.--The term ``aviation fuel'' has the 
     meaning given such term by section 4093 of such Code.
       (E) Held by a person.--Aviation liquid shall be considered 
     as ``held by a person'' if title thereto has passed to such 
     person (whether or not delivery to the person has been made).
       (F) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate.
       (4) Exception for exempt uses.--The tax imposed by 
     paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
       (A) aviation liquid held by any person on the tax effective 
     date exclusively for any use for which a credit or refund of 
     the entire tax imposed by section 4081 or 4091 of such Code 
     (as the case may be) is allowable for such liquid purchased 
     on or after such tax effective date for such use, or
       (B) aviation fuel held by any person on the tax effective 
     date exclusively for any use described in section 4092(b) of 
     such Code.
       (5) Exception for certain amounts of fuel.--
       (A) In general.--No tax shall be imposed by paragraph (1) 
     on any aviation liquid held on the tax effective date by any 
     person if the aggregate amount of such liquid (determined 
     separately for aviation gasoline and aviation fuel) held by 
     such person on such date does not exceed 2,000 gallons. The 
     preceding sentence shall apply only if such person submits to 
     the Secretary (at the time and in the manner required by the 
     Secretary) such information as the Secretary shall require 
     for purposes of this paragraph.
       (B) Exempt fuel.--Any liquid to which the tax imposed by 
     paragraph (1) does not apply by reason of paragraph (4) shall 
     not be taken into account under subparagraph (A).
       (C) Controlled groups.--For purposes of this paragraph--
       (i) Corporations.--

       (I) In general.--All persons treated as a controlled group 
     shall be treated as 1 person.
       (II) Controlled group.--The term ``controlled group'' has 
     the meaning given such term by subsection (a) of section 1563 
     of such Code; except that for such purposes, the phrase 
     ``more than 50 percent'' shall be substituted for the phrase 
     ``at least 80 percent'' each place it appears in such 
     subsection.

       (ii) Nonincorporated persons under common control.--Under 
     regulations prescribed by the Secretary, principles similar 
     to the principles of clause (i) shall apply to a group of 
     persons under common control where 1 or more of such persons 
     is not a corporation.
       (6) Other laws applicable.--All provisions of law, 
     including penalties, applicable with respect to the taxes 
     imposed by section 4081 or 4091 of such Code shall, insofar 
     as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of 
     this subsection, apply with respect to the floor stocks taxes 
     imposed by paragraph (1) to the same extent as if such taxes 
     were imposed by such section 4081 or 4091, as the case may 
     be.
       (e) Effective Dates.--
       (1) Fuel taxes.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply to periods beginning on or after the 7th day 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (2) Ticket taxes.--
       (A) In general.--The amendments made by subsection (b) 
     shall apply to transportation beginning on or after such 7th 
     day.
       (B) Exception for certain payments.--Except as provided in 
     subparagraph (C), the amendments made by subsection (b) shall 
     not apply to any amount paid before such 7th day.
       (C) Payments of property transportation tax within 
     controlled group.--In the case of the tax imposed by section 
     4271 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, subparagraph (B) 
     shall not apply to any amount paid by 1 member of a 
     controlled group for transportation furnished by another 
     member of such group. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 
     all persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) 
     or (b) of section 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
     shall be treated as members of a controlled group.
       (f) Application of Look-Back Safe Harbor for Deposits.--
     Nothing in the look-back safe harbor prescribed in Treasury 
     Regulation section 40.6302(c)-1(c)(2) shall be construed to 
     permit such safe harbor to be used with respect to any tax 
     unless such tax was imposed throughout the look-back period.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Archer] and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel] each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Archer].

[[Page H600]]

  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry. Is either 
the gentleman from Texas or the gentleman from New York opposed to the 
bill? If not, I would like to request the time in opposition.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman from New York opposed to 
the motion?
  Mr. RANGEL. No, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman from Tennessee opposed?
  Mr. HILLEARY. Yes, I am, Mr. Speaker, in its present form.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel] 
does not qualify as opposed. The Chair will recognize the gentleman 
from Tennessee [Mr. Hilleary] to manage the 20 minutes in opposition.


                         Parliamentary Inquiry

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state it.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, may the chairman of the full committee 
advance time to the minority?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas may yield time by 
the minute or he may yield the gentleman such time as he may consume.
  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I was prepared for the inquiry by the 
gentleman from Tennessee and I ask unanimous consent to yield 10 
minutes of my time to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel] to 
assign as he may see fit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Archer].


                             General Leave

  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous matter on H.R. 668.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I bring before the House a bill, H.R. 668, the 
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Tax Reinstatement Act of 1997. This 
bipartisan legislation was requested by the administration and is urged 
by airport authorities and operators across the country to restore 
funding to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
  It is critical that the House pass H.R. 668 without delay or change. 
Absent the additional trust fund revenues this bill provides, essential 
aviation capital programs, including safety enhancements, will not 
proceed beyond the end of February.
  H.R. 668 corrects a $1.2 billion shortfall in the trust fund and 
reinforces the trust fund finances by restoring temporarily, through 
September 30, 1997, the 10-percent passenger ticket tax and other 
Airport and Airway Trust Fund excise taxes which lapse after 1996. In 
addition, the bill renews expired authority for the transfer of 
aviation taxes from general revenues into the trust fund.
  I cannot overstate the importance of moving this bill swiftly. Within 
5 days the FAA will start sending out notices canceling or suspending 
contracts which involve safety expenditures and airport improvements. 
We do not have the luxury of time to deliberate alternatives which 
carry no guarantee of speedy consideration in this Chamber or in the 
Senate. Rather, an informal Committee Transportation Task Force is 
examining in depth the issue of long-term financing for our Federal 
aviation system so that this kind of crisis does not occur again.
  So that my colleagues have a clear understanding of the consequences 
of delay or inaction, the Federal Aviation Administration has informed 
me that some 850 airports located in every State, Guam, and Puerto Rico 
will be impacted. Furthermore, of the $1.3 billion total at risk, more 
than half is attributable to small- and medium-sized airports.
  In summary, this bill addresses the safety concerns of the airports, 
pilots, and air travelers in every State. The House should also be 
aware that the Senate Finance Committee has already acted upon 
identical legislation to expedite Senate floor consideration of this 
measure and expected White House approval.
  Again, I urge my colleagues to allow this bill to move forward 
immediately. A delay will only jeopardize important air safety 
improvements and, worse, cast doubt on Congress's ability to act 
responsibly and effectively where essential Government safety programs 
face sudden financial disruptions.
  Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of all of our Members, this is not a tax 
increase. This is a reinstitution of an expired provision. These funds 
are used for only one purpose, and that is our airports and airways. 
Passengers deserve to know that when they fly, they will fly safely, 
and this bill is essential in that regard.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I rise to support our chairman in this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill expired because of an attempt at budgetary 
gimmickry that has almost jeopardized the safety of our airports and 
our passengers and our pilots, but that is behind us, and I think we 
have learned a lesson, and in order to ensure the safe operation of the 
Nation's air transportation system, I join with the chairman in sharing 
the urgency with which we act, and that is why this matter is on the 
suspension calendar.
  This bill will extend a ticket tax through the end of September, 
1997, which will give the Congress and our committee an opportunity to 
come up with a long-term funding plan because, as pointed out by the 
chairman of the committee, this is merely the reinstitution of an 
existing tax that nobody challenges is necessary if we are going to 
safeguard our airways.
  The bill also extends the Treasury Department authority to transfer 
tax revenue to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is a critical 
issue for the Federal Aviation Administration. Without the necessary 
transfer of tax revenue, the FAA will be unable to commit to capital 
projects as early as March, and March is, of course, just a couple of 
days away.
  We have to make certain that there is confidence felt by Americans, 
and we have the responsibility to provide that for Americans who fly 
for work or for pleasure. As a matter of fact, it impedes the 
efficiency of our commerce, as we have to transfer our goods and 
services to all parts of our country and to the world.
  I think it is very important that this tax be extended to give the 
committee an opportunity to assure this Congress and the Nation that 
this will not happen again and that we are going to work it out in such 
a way that it cannot happen again. I certainly know that Members on our 
side are prepared to work with the majority party and with the 
President in making certain that we come up with a proper solution of 
this very serious problem.
  If it has not been said, I think the Congress should know that this 
bill passed out of the Committee on Ways and Means on a voice vote 
without objection.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 668, the Airport and Airway 
Trust Fund Tax Reinstatement Act. I oppose the bill in its present form 
precisely because, as its title indicates, it is a tax increase, a $2.7 
billion tax increase.
  We will probably hear debate from supporters about how reasonable and 
sensible this tax increase is. We have already heard it is a user fee, 
and that it is. We may hear about how this is simply putting a tax back 
that has been in existence for many years. We may hear about how this 
is only a temporary extension of an old tax. We may hear about how 
there is a plan to make this an even better tax or user fee in the next 
fall. But one fact remains, Mr. Speaker. To quote a letter I received 
Monday from the National Taxpayers Union, quote, ``This bill standing 
alone indisputably raises taxes.''

                              {time}  1430

  To quote a letter I received Monday from Americans for Tax Reform, 
quote, ``ATR does not support renewing this tax,'' unquote.
  To quote a letter I received this morning from Citizens Against 
Government Waste, quote, ``We are greatly

[[Page H601]]

concerned that one of the first substantive pieces of legislation 
considered by the 105th Congress is one that will raise taxes. That is 
exactly what H.R. 668, the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Tax 
Reinstatement Act, will do, raise taxes on American travelers,'' 
unquote.
  To quote another letter I received this morning, quote, ``Citizens 
for a Sound Economy strongly oppose H.R. 668, the Airport and Airway 
Trust Fund Tax Reinstatement Act of 1997. This tax will cost U.S. 
taxpayers $2.7 billion,'' unquote.
  And just as I came to the floor someone handed me yet another letter 
from the American Conservative Union, and I will quote part of it:
  ``As it stands now, this legislation will have the effect of raising 
taxes on American consumers by another $2.7 billion between now and the 
end of September 1997. We find it unconscionable that such legislation 
should be allowed to come to the floor of the House without an 
offsetting tax cut provision.''
  I know we can call this tax by many different names. We can call it 
an excise tax, we can call it a user fee, we can call it an assessment 
on air travelers, we can call it revenue enhancement. But you know, 
back home in Tennessee that old story about if it looks like a duck, 
walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it is probably a duck. That is 
what we say back home, and that is what a lot of people say.
  You can call this tax whatever you want. You can dress the tax up 
however you want. But it still quacks like a duck. It is not just me 
and the people of Tennessee calling this a tax, but the National 
Taxpayers Union, American Conservative Union, the Counsel for Citizens 
Against Government Waste, Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the 
Americans for Tax Reform also call it a tax.
  Mr. Speaker, this year the Federal Government is expected to spend $1 
trillion 631 billion. The problem here is that we are not taxing 
Americans too little, but the Federal Government continues to spend too 
much.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not understand what all the rush is about to raise 
this tax. The report filed by the Committee on Ways and Means clearly 
states the current balance in the trust fund is sufficient to fund the 
FAA's operating expenses to the end of the 1997 fiscal year. As I 
understand that, planes will continue to fly, flight controllers will 
continue to remain in their towers, and they will continue to provide 
safe and efficient air travel for Americans.
  If the problem is that we will run out of funding for capital 
improvement projects at airports, that can be solved very quickly 
without any tax increase. I have been advised that if we pass simple 
transfer authority to the Treasury, capital projects will be able to 
continue for several months while we figure out how to get an agreement 
on a revenue-neutral bill to pass.
  More than $1 billion in excise taxes have been collected by the 
airlines last fall, but they do not send the check to the Treasury 
until the end of this week. The problem we have is that the Treasury 
has no legal authority to transfer the money to the airport trust fund. 
We could pass a simple bill giving the Treasury the authority it needs 
to transfer the money to the airport trust fund. Then we can figure out 
how to give the American taxpayers a break, or at least not give them 
another black eye.
  There is no reason why we need to be steamrolling taxpayers just to 
continue paving runways. Instead we should try to give them a break.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this tax increase.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Ramstad], a member of the committee.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report that this legislation 
before us today represents a bipartisan and unanimous effort on the 
part of the Committee on Ways and Means to find an immediate solution 
to the very real crisis threatening the solvency of the airport and 
airway trust fund.
  In my home State of Minnesota, the Metropolitan Airports Commission 
was seriously concerned when the trust fund was expected to run out of 
money in June or July of this year. Now that we know the expected date 
of insolvency is March, there is absolutely no time for delay. And I 
just want to say, Mr. Speaker, as the No. 1 ranked Member of Congress 
last session by the National Taxpayers Union, I take a back seat to 
nobody when it comes to protecting American taxpayers. And as this 
letter I have, which I will submit for the Record, from Grover Norquist 
of Americans for Tax Reform clearly states, this is not a tax increase, 
as the chairman also stated. It is the reinstatement of an existing and 
necessary tax.
  Mr. Speaker, it is also worth noting that this is a temporary 
measure. A transportation task force, in fact, of the Committee on Ways 
and Means is working hard right now in developing fair alternatives to 
the present excise tax, and I hope a fair funding mechanism will be 
developed later this year in the context of FAA funding and our larger 
budget negotiations.
  But while we consider the equities of reforming the system, it is 
absolutely crucial for national air safety that we temporarily and 
immediately restore the aviation excise taxes. Our Nation's safety 
depends on this action, and it is too important, Mr. Speaker, to fall 
victim to political posturing or political grandstanding.
  I urge my colleagues to do the right thing for Americans who travel 
by air, and support this bill.
  The letter referred to is as follows:

                                     Americans for Tax Reform,

                                Washington, DC, February 24, 1997.
     Congressman John Boehner,
     House Republican Conference.
       Dear John: I sincerely appreciate your commitment to the 
     Pledge and all of the work that you have done to uphold and 
     strengthen it. You have been one of the leaders in the House 
     of Representatives concerning the Pledge, and I wanted you to 
     know that your efforts are recognized.
       I would also like to thank you for your question regarding 
     the pledge and the air ticket tax. Although ATR does not 
     support renewing this tax, voting for it will not violate the 
     Federal Taxpayer Protection Pledge, because it does not 
     ``increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/
     or businesses,'' and it does not ``reduc[e] or eliminat[e] 
     deductions and credits.'' In addition, ATR will not include 
     this vote in our next rating of Congress.
       If you have any further questions or concerns, please do 
     not hesitate to contact me.
       Thanks again for all of your help!
           Sincerely,
                                               Grover G. Norquist,
                                                        President.

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts [Mr. Neal] a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, today we are debating a very 
serious piece of legislation. This legislation reinstates Federal 
aviation taxes which expired at the end of the year. Due to our failure 
to reach a budget agreement and only the willingness to enact short-
term extensions, we are now faced with this serious situation.
  The House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Finance 
Committee, acting in a bipartisan manner, moved quickly on this 
legislation, and we have indeed offered what I think is a correction. 
But unfortunately there are those who will have people believe that 
this is a tax increase. This is an extension of a tax that expired 
because of the Congress' inability to promptly renew the tax.
  I do not think any of us here are in favor of raising taxes, and what 
we must remember is that this is not a new tax. One of the criticisms 
frequently leveled in this institution of tax increases as they are 
proposed is that they contribute to unnecessary spending and that there 
is no accounting of how indeed those dollars are spent.
  Well, that is certainly untrue of Federal aviation taxes. Revenue 
from these taxes are placed in the airport and airway trust fund, and I 
underscore the term trust fund. The fund provides 100 percent of the 
Federal funding for airport improvements, facilities, equipment, 
research, engineering, planning, and development projects and about 75 
percent of the Federal Aviation Administration's operating funds. This 
fund is solely based upon aviation excise tax revenue. We ought to act 
promptly.
  Last week the FAA stopped all fiscal 1997 airport improvement grants, 
and in my State of Massachusetts this affects 14 projects.
  The extension of this Federal aviation tax is an issue which impacts 
all

[[Page H602]]

of our constituents, as we know, from time to time based upon a 
headline that grips all of us. We all benefit from safe and effective 
air transport.
  I have a letter from Chairman Saltmarsh of the Massachusetts 
Aeronautics Commission and I think a line from this letter succinctly 
summarizes this debate.

       If the aviation excise taxes are not reinstated quickly, 
     the FAA fiscal crisis could result in a degradation of air 
     transportation safety.

  We should heed this message and enact the reinstatement of the 
aviation ticket taxes. The extension through the end of this fiscal 
year serves all of our constituents well, and I currently serve on a 
task force which is reviewing all of these excise tax proposals.
  I urge my colleagues today to let common sense prevail. It is our 
responsibility to reinstate these aviation taxes. These taxes are of 
necessary purpose and provide a purpose and service which benefits all 
of us.
  I also think it is interesting that a year ago we were in the midst 
of a stalemate in this institution over how much authority the 
Secretary of the Treasury ought to have. Today the suggestion is being 
made in one quarter that we ought to refrain from action on this 
aviation tax proposal, and instead turn the authority for this issue 
over to the Treasury Secretary so that he might assemble a solution. 
That is not the role of the executive branch in this instance.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Paul].
  (Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, if I could be convinced that this piece of 
legislation was truly the honoring of a user fee, I believe I could 
give it some support. I believe user fees and trust funds may be a way 
to go in many of the areas of our system that overtaxes and overspends. 
But I have come to the conclusion that this so-called reinstatement is 
a tax increase. Not only would I not be satisfied with even maintaining 
a tax, I would like to see taxes go down. The fact that there will be 
$2.7 billion more extracted from the American taxpayers, I feel 
compelled to oppose this piece of legislation.
  But at the same time, I would like to put in a good word for the 
trust funds. Truly, if we would follow our commitment to the trust 
funds and not use these trust funds for spending in the general 
revenues, I think we would all be better off. Whether it is the Social 
Security trust fund or whether it is the highway trust fund or the 
airport trust fund or the port trust fund, I think it would be much 
better if they were true user fees, and since I conclude that this is 
not a true user fee and it is an actual increase of taxes going into 
the general revenues, I feel compelled to oppose this piece of 
legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to vote no on H.R. 668.
  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee [Mr. Duncan].
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the reinstatement of 
the 10 percent ticket tax. I want to commend the gentleman from Texas 
[Mr. Archer] for his leadership on this issue. Chairman Archer is 
chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, has never supported an 
increase in taxes, and neither have I.
  We have the safest and most efficient aviation system in the world, 
but it is growing by leaps and bounds due to great increases in both 
air passenger and air cargo traffic. We simply cannot operate a safe, 
efficient, rapidly growing system for free. We have to spend money on 
it, and this means either some type of tax or some type of user fee or 
some combination of both.
  Speaker Gingrich has asked the Subcommittee on Aviation, which I 
chair, to look into a user fee system. We have already held 2 days of 
hearings on this and have heard from many outstanding witnesses, but we 
are still a long way from reaching any type of consensus on this. In 
the meantime while we consider user fees or other types of taxes, we 
need to reinstate the 10 percent ticket tax.
  Aviation is one of the few major fields in which the United States 
still leads the world, but we need to support Chairman Archer and take 
this very necessary step today to make sure that we maintain a safe and 
efficient aviation system.
  I urge my colleagues to support the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Archer] 
and the Committee on Ways and Means and reinstate this tax. This is not 
a tax increase and we need to take this step at this time.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on my side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Solomon). The gentleman from Tennessee 
has 12 minutes remaining, the gentleman from Texas has 3 minutes 
remaining, and the gentleman from New York has 4 minutes remaining. So 
the gentleman from Tennessee has substantial time ahead of them.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, would the gentleman from New York wish to 
speak again on this before we wind up?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Tennessee have no 
further speakers at this point?
  Mr. HILLEARY. I have no further speakers other than myself.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I will leave it up to you how we handle 
this. I have one more speaker and I assume we want to end it all 
together, so if the gentleman intends to use all of his time, I think 
it is important to know that.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has the right to 
close, and the gentleman from Tennessee has the right to speak just 
before the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. RANGEL. I only have one more speaker.
  Mr. HILLEARY. I will be speaking and I will be consuming the rest of 
my time and then yielding back.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Texas have no 
further speakers except himself to close?
  Mr. Archer. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time other 
than my closing speech.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In that case, the Chair will recognize the 
gentleman from New York to close for his side.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I have one speaker. I did want to make some 
closing comments.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. 
Oberstar], who is the ranking senior member on the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank our Democratic leader on the 
committee for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, to characterize this bill as a tax increase is a 
disservice to truth, to history, and to aviation. The truth simply is 
that this bill represents the reinstatement of a fee. It is called a 
tax, but it has been treated as a fee, a fee that was the unintended 
victim of the budgetary train wreck that we engaged in at the end of 
1995 and the beginning of 1996. Nobody intended that this fee, that 
these funds should lapse. It is only fair, it is only fair to air 
travelers that we reinstate this fee and these funds into the Aviation 
Trust Fund.
  The history that we would be disserving is that in 1970 air travelers 
of this country, through the Congress, agreed to impose a fee to be 
deposited in a trust fund like the Highway Trust Fund for the purposes 
of aviation, to serve the needs of a growing sector of our economy, 
which sector today represents $600 billion, 10 percent of our gross 
domestic product in the United States.
  To allow this fee to lapse and the funding that goes into the 
Aviation Trust Fund to lapse would be a disservice to aviation. It 
would mean that there would be no money for airport construction unless 
we are prepared to appropriate funds out of the general revenues, 
which, in effect, would be a real tax increase on the rest of the 
American economy. There would be no funds for airport improvement 
projects, runways, taxiways, overlays, parking aprons on the side of 
airports.
  There would be no funds to continue the modernization of the air 
traffic control system, the $32 billion modernization program which we 
get a monthly report on the status; 87 to 90 percent of a $32 billion 
program is already in place and we are making progress toward finishing 
the job by the end of this decade; and air traffic controllers would 
not be paid.
  All of us in this body who travel on weekends would find our travel 
schedules grinding to a halt unless we are

[[Page H603]]

prepared to appropriate funds from some other source. Again, air 
travelers agreed to impose this fee on themselves in 1970. For 27 years 
this revenue stream has funded the needs of aviation.
  As the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, I say those 
funds are wisely invested in stimulating the most dynamic sector of the 
Nation's economy, which in international affairs generates for the 
United States a huge surplus balance of payments in aviation trade, in 
cargo and passengers with the Pacific Rim and the European Community, 
and we ought not to do such a disservice to aviation, to that important 
economic sector, by allowing this fee to expire.
  So I commend the chairman of the committee for undertaking this 
initiative, and our Democratic leader for moving it forward. We look 
forward to working with the committee on developing an alternative 
means of financing air traffic control in the coming months.
  Mr. Speaker, I am in strong support of this measure, and I appreciate 
it being scheduled in an expeditious manner. With this bill, the 
aviation trust fund will not go broke a month from now. If the bill is 
not passed, there will be a forced curtailment of about three-fourths 
of our planned and already appropriated aviation capital development 
spending for the balance of this fiscal year.
  We are responding to a crisis created when the taxes expired at the 
end of last December and the airline industry, legally, did not remit 
the taxes collected last fall until this week. But traveling public 
needs to understand that this is a created crises, not one that just 
happened.
  Rather than provide a steady stream of revenues to fund most of the 
Federal Government's aviation safety and security programs and the 
operation of the air traffic control system, the Congress allowed the 
aviation taxes to expire twice in the past 14 months, and with this 
bill, there is the distinct possibility that the taxes will expire 
again 7 months from now.
  We have fallen into the mode of funding long-term capital 
improvements and the day-in-and-day-out operations of the Federal 
Aviation Administration in a hand-to-mouth fashion. This is no way to 
proceed.
  We should be establishing a long-term source of funding for the 
Nation's aviation programs, so that we are not in what has grown to 
become a perpetual funding crisis. The reason we are not doing so is 
clear: Our budget scorekeeping rules will permit these expired taxes to 
be counted as new revenue when they are reinstated, and hence, under 
our budget scorekeeping rules, the Congress can forgo, much more 
easily, tough budget and tax choices later. This is a neat trick; a 
cute gimmick; but it plays games with our Nation's aviation system.
  There is no choice but to support this bill, but we should be doing 
something for a much longer term. And if we need to change our system 
of funding our aviation programs when we get recommendations from the 
National Civil Aviation Review Commission later this year, let us do 
so. But we should not have to do so in the artificially created crisis 
atmosphere that we will find ourselves at the end of this fiscal year.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida [Mr. Scarborough].
  Mr. Scarborough. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman 
from Tennessee for yielding me this time.
  Let me say first of all that as a father of two children, ages 9 and 
6, as somebody that goes up in the air two times a week, three times a 
week, every time I step onto an airplane I obviously am concerned, 
because I do not want my boys growing up without a father. The more I 
travel, the more I realize I am taking my life into my own hands.
  Despite that fact, I think that we have come to a point as a country 
where we are taxing our citizens 50.2 percent of every dollar they 
earn. This is another $3 billion tax increase, any way you want to put 
it, that is not being offset right now.
  Let me say that on any tax policy, I trust the chairman of the Ways 
and Means Committee more than anybody else, and if the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Archer] had his way over the past 2 years, America would be 
on its way to tax reform in such a way that would save the United 
States of America and make us the strongest Nation in the world.
  I would vote for the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Archer] for President 
2000, but he is not the man who is going to be making the final 
decisions on whether we can offset the $3 billion that we need to 
offset. That man is on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue. He has 
demagogued the tax issue for 2 years, and we cannot trust the 
administration to play straight.
  So I refuse to take part in voting for any bill that will make 
Americans pay more than the 50.2 percent of every dollar that they earn 
in the future. I hope that we can vote down this bill and that Chairman 
Archer can be given the leeway he needs to go ahead and find the $3 
billion to offset the tax increase, because I will tell my colleagues 
this: Neither Chairman Archer, neither the gentleman from Tennessee 
[Mr. Hilleary] nor myself came up to Washington to raise taxes any more 
than what the other side of the aisle has been doing for the past 30 
years. So I respectfully will vote against this bill and would ask 
other conservatives to do the same.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. 
Hilleary] for proving that any issue coming before this House can be 
debated and that there are two sides to every story. However, the 
gentleman should know that as a result of this tax expiring, it has not 
been of any lesser cost to the traveler, and so the airports are 
collecting this money and it is not being transferred for the purposes 
that the Congress intended.
  So my colleague may get caught in a Catch-22 that in your effort to 
reduce the cost to passengers, that is not happening, and at the same 
time you are not providing the service which this Congress has an 
obligation to provide. So I would hope that the Members take that into 
consideration in supporting this bill.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.
  Let me just finish up this debate on my side by commending the 
chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from Texas 
[Mr. Archer]. I would echo what the gentleman from Florida said. I know 
that he is not for tax increases; everybody knows that, and I know he 
has worked hard on this. I am going to support an increase in funding 
for the FAA and airline safety. That is not really at issue.
  I just want to say, though, that this has been a tax that we have 
reinstated before. This is reinstating it this time, it has been 
reinstated before. The last time we reinstated it, we did so with a 
corresponding tax cut so that it was not really a net tax increase. 
That is all we are asking for this time, is a corresponding tax cut.
  I do not really care what we call it. We can call it a tax increase, 
we can call it a user fee increase, we can call it whatever we want. I 
do not think that is a big issue; it is really a mute issue. I think a 
lot has been said about airline safety. That is a mute issue. Everybody 
is for that, and they are not in danger of losing funding that would 
bring their operations below any kind of safety standards. But this is 
a big issue to me, and it kind of goes to the essence of what I think 
we are as conservatives.
  Mr. Speaker, when we left this town last fall, we were asked to vote 
for billions of dollars of new spending that was going to eventually go 
on the backs of our grandchildren, and we had to do that because we 
were being beaten up back home politically and we had to get back to 
defend ourselves. Sometimes you have to do those things. Sometimes you 
have to take a step backward so you can live to fight again another 
day, and we did live in the elections and we are here to fight another 
day. This is that other day. We took that step backwards last fall so 
we could take two steps forward in the 105th Congress.
  Well, this is the first substantive bill that we are going to be 
voting on, and it is a $2.7 billion increase in revenue, however you 
characterize it. Is this what the conservative 105th Congress is going 
to stand for, if the first substantive bill we vote on is a tax 
increase?
  It goes to the very essence of what we are as conservatives. We are 
for balancing the budget and shrinking the Federal Government so that 
those folks back in Tennessee or Florida, or wherever, that are working 
two jobs just trying to make ends meet, both spouses working two jobs, 
do not have yet another program that they have to pay for.

[[Page H604]]

  Mr. Speaker, this is a tax on people who buy jet fuel and it is a tax 
on people who buy tickets from airlines, but these are real people, 
ordinary people; these are not high income people, all of them. I had a 
lady a couple of years ago, about a year-and-a-half ago call me, and 
her son was being sent off to Bosnia and he had been in the Army and he 
had been in Korea, and he had just come back, was in California, and 
then he got orders to go to Bosnia. She could not afford to go out to 
California to see him and she was distraught. She could not afford that 
ticket, at whatever cost it was. I managed to find her a way to get out 
there to see him, but there are other folks. The grandmother who wants 
to go out and see that grandchild that has just been born, she has 
never seen that grandchild.
  These are not all high income people. These are regular folks. This 
is another increase on their backs, call it a user fee, call it a tax, 
call it whatever we want. This is not really something that I oppose, 
the increase of this user fee/tax. But we must have an offsetting tax 
cut so it is not yet another tax increase, so that this very bond, this 
very cord that bonds all conservatives.
  Mr. Speaker, we disagree on abortion and this and that and the other, 
but one thing that we all agree on is that we do not want to feed the 
Federal Government, that monster, any more money in any form. That is 
the one thing we can all agree on, and the first thing that we are 
being asked to vote on of substance in the 105th Congress is an 
enhancement or increase of that fee or that tax or whatever you want to 
call it.
  That is why I rise in opposition to this bill as it is presently 
formed. I would move to support it if it had an offsetting tax 
decrease.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand the position of the gentleman from 
Tennessee [Mr. Hilleary], but I must say that the funds that will be 
raised from this tax go for a very special purpose, and they are 
limited to go for that very special purpose, and that is to provide 
safety for the air travelers.
  I wish that we could have tickets sold all over this country without 
a tax in it so that we could have lower air fares for every passenger, 
but it takes money to build a safety infrastructure, and if we do not 
pass this bill, many improvements in safety infrastructure will not 
occur.
  Antiquated radar systems that have already had repairs will not be 
replaced with modern radar systems. I would not want to be on that 
plane that does not get that infrastructure as a result of failing to 
pass this tax. Deicing capabilities in airports across this country 
that need to be available will not be done, and on and on and on.
  Yes, the air traffic controllers will be there, but what kind of 
computer backup, what kind of technology are they going to have? Will 
we continue to depend upon computers that still use the old vacuum 
tube, which none are made in the U.S. today? We have to go to Poland to 
buy the replacement, repair parts, because we have not updated those 
computers, and that now will be put on the sidelines if we do not pass 
this bill.
  The Americans for Tax Reform, and I have a letter here signed by 
Grover Farquist, the president, says that they support this bill, that 
this is not an increase in the personal or corporate income tax. 
Members should know that.
  I am sure the gentleman from Tennessee did not intentionally 
misrepresent their position. But this is a good bill, it is a needed 
bill. It is a bill that will pass sometime this year if it does not 
pass now, and in the meantime, if we do not pass it now, we are 
potentially jeopardizing improvements in the safety infrastructure that 
is essential to all of us as air travelers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of the bill.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 668. This measure is 
critical to ensure that funds will continue to flow to the aviation 
trust fund. The Memphis and Shelby County airport authority, which is 
located in my congressional district is due to receive approximately 
$11,000,000 in airport improvement grants this fiscal year to construct 
a new third parallel runway at Memphis International Airport. The 
airport authority is also expecting an additional $4,000,000 for the 
Noise Compatibility Program.
  Mr. Speaker, my congressional district is one of the Nation's top 
distribution centers in part because the largest cargo airline in the 
world operates from our international airport. H.R. 668 is essential to 
commerce not only in the Ninth Congressional District but throughout 
the Nation and the world. I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 668.
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of a short-term 
reimposition of the aviation excise taxes through the end of the 
current fiscal year. I want to take this opportunity to reiterate my 
strong support of the work underway by Chairman Bill Archer's Ways and 
Means Committee Transportation Tax Task Force, led by Congressman Mac 
Collins, to examine alternative means of assessing aviation costs. The 
short-term renewal which we are considering today in no way diminishes 
the efforts of the task force to identify a long-term solution to FAA 
financing. This extension will provide the task force with the time 
needed to study the issues and make recommendations to Chairman Archer.
  I commend Chairman Archer and Representative Collins for the fair, 
thorough and deliberative manner in which the task force is conducting 
its review, and I look forward to reviewing the task force's report.
  Aviation is a vital sector of our national economy. If we are to 
maintain our preeminent aviation status in the world, we must ensure 
that the FAA has the resources to procure state-of-the-art equipment 
and employ the most efficient processes. At the same time, we must 
determine an equitable and efficient way possible to charge users for 
aviation services and cover the costs of the FAA.
  This short-term extension will give FAA the necessary resources to 
perform its important duties as we examine and develop possible 
alternative methods of financing the FAA. I urge my colleagues to 
support the short-term extension and the long-term effort to reform FAA 
operations and financing.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I join Chairman Archer and the ranking member 
in strong support of H.R. 668. It is vital that the House take action 
today to reinforce funding for the airport and airway trust fund.
  H.R. 668 temporarily restores the 10 percent passenger ticket tax and 
other airport and airway trust fund excise taxes which lapsed last 
December 31. This legislation extends these excise taxes through 
September 30, 1997. Prompt enactment of this legislation is essential 
to our Nation's air transportation system. Failure to do so would 
result in the airport trust fund having inadequate revenues to support 
airport capital improvements and safety enhancements beyond March 1997.
  While H.R. 668 addresses the short-term solvency of the airport and 
airway trust fund, Congress must do a better job of ensuring a 
dependable revenue stream to support our Nation's air transportation 
system.
  The excise taxes supporting the airport trust fund first expired at 
midnight on December 31, 1995. Despite pleas from some of us for 
immediate action, Congress sat on its hands for nearly 9 months before 
reinstating the excise taxes on August 27, 1996. Then, 5 months later, 
Congress let the excise taxes lapse again. Now, once again, we're 
temporarily extending the taxes until September 30.
  Certainly, there's a lot of interest in restructuring the ticket 
taxes that support the airport trust fund. I personally believe the 
current excise tax is inequitable and should be restructured so that 
the financial cost of maintaining our Nation's air transportation 
system is more fairly spread among those who use the system. Congress 
should explore all the options to make the ticket tax as fair as 
possible. I hope my colleagues will agree that we should resolve this 
matter promptly so this debate will never again disrupt the air 
transportation system.
  Mr. GANSKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of extending the 
user fees that fund the our airports and airways. Extending this 
program renews our commitment to providing our constituents with safe 
and modern air travel without breaking our commitment against new 
taxes.
  The surcharge on airline tickets has been in place for more than a 
quarter of a century and is a critical step in ensuring that those who 
use the airway infrastructure contribute to its maintenance and 
improvement.
  The ticket tax expired at the end of last year. At the time, Congress 
chose to delay action on extension of the tax. Congress and the 
administration agreed that there was sufficient money in the trust 
funds to cover expenses between then and the start of fiscal year 1998. 
It was thought that during the intervening months, Congress could 
consider changes to the ways in which money is collected for the trust 
funds and include those reforms in a broader budget bill.
  Unfortunately, however, the need for immediate action has become 
apparent. If the surcharge on airline tickets is not immediately 
extended, there could be significant shortfalls in

[[Page H605]]

these critical accounts, delaying needed airport improvement programs 
such as those going on in Des Moines today.
  More importantly, a depletion of the trust fund poses a very real and 
very serious safety threat to our already strained air traffic 
infrastructure. I believe that we will be gambling with public safety 
if we fail to act promptly to extend the ticket tax.
  The ticket tax has been a regular feature of airline travel since 
1970. Although it lapsed at the end of last year, passage of this bill 
is not a new tax. It is an extension of an existing one which has 
expired.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this important 
legislation.

                              {time}  1500

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Solomon). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Archer] that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 668.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________