[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8506-S8507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 1363. A bill for the relief of Valdas Adamkus, President of the 
Republic of Lithuania; to the Committee on Finance.


    private relief legislation for his excellency valdas adamkus of 
                               lithuania

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am introducing legislation today on 
behalf of the current President of Lithuania, His Excellency Valdas 
Adamkus. President Adamkus is a Lithuanian native and a former U.S. 
citizen with more than a quarter century of distinguished service to 
our nation. His election last year to the Lithuanian presidency made 
necessary his renunciation of his U.S. citizenship. My legislation 
provides an exemption for President Adamkus from several consequences 
associated with his renunciation. More specifically, my bill exempts 
President Adamkus from any expatriate taxes, restores President 
Adamkus' Social Security benefits, ensures his right to his federal 
pension, and grants President Adamkus the right to travel freely 
throughout the United States.
  Valdas Adamkus was born on November 3, 1928 in Kaunas, Lithuania. 
Before immigrating to the United States in 1949, he was involved with 
Lithuanian resistance efforts against both Nazi Germany and Soviet 
Russian invaders. Settling in Chicago, President Adamkus remained 
active in Lithuanian Emigre organizations and helped raise public 
awareness of Lithuania's occupation by the Soviet Union. Following the 
return of independence to the Baltics, President Adamkus served as a 
Coordinator for the United States Aid to the Baltic States, 
specializing in environmental issues and academic coordination.
  President Adamkus is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of 
Technology, where he earned a B.S. in civil engineering before spending 
ten years as a consulting engineer. In 1970, President Adamkus joined 
the newly-created United States Environmental Protection Agency where 
he initially served as the Deputy Regional Administrator of the fifth 
region--which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. 
In 1981, President Adamkus was promoted to Regional Administrator for 
the fifth region, a position he held until his retirement in 1997.
  In a distinguished EPA career which stretched 27 years, President 
Adamkus held a number of leadership positions, including Chairman of 
the Great Lakes Water Quality Board and Chairman of the United States 
group that worked with the Soviet Union on water pollution issues. In 
1975, he was appointed Advisor to the UN World Health Organization and 
represented the EPA on environmental issues in the Soviet Union, 
Eastern Europe, Japan, and China.
  In 1985, President Reagan personally presented President Adamkus with 
the Executive Presidential Rank Award--the highest honor for a civil 
servant. Other honors he earned include the EPA's highest award, the 
gold medal for exceptional service, and the EPA's first Fitzhugh Green 
Award in 1988 for outstanding contributions to environmental protection 
internationally.
  To President Adamkus, the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 
1980s and subsequent liberation of the Baltics marked the successful 
culmination of his lifelong commitment to Lithuania's freedom. As 
Lithuania began the long and painful transition from a communist 
totalitarian system to a free-market economy, Mr. Adamkus emerged as an 
ideal candidate for the Lithuanian presidency, not only because of his 
past work for Lithuanian freedom, but also because of the experience he 
gained through his career as a U.S. civil servant.
  Mr. Adamkus was elected President of the Republic of Lithuania on 
January 4 of last year and took office on February 25. Before assuming 
the Lithuanian presidency, Mr. Adamkus was required to renounce his 
U.S. citizenship. As I mentioned at the beginning of my statement, the 
bill I am offering today provides a limited exemption for President 
Adamkus from some of the negative consequences associated with 
renunciation. More specifically, my bill:
  (1) Exempts President Adamkus from the expatriate tax. As an 
expatriate, President Adamkus is subject to sections 877 and 2107 of 
the Internal Revenue Code, provided it is determined that his 
renunciation had ``for one of its principal purposes the avoidance of 
taxes.'' My bill exempts President Adamkus from sections 877 and 2107 
by stating that his renunciation shall not ``be treated as having as 
one of its purposes the avoidance of any Federal tax.''
  (2) Restores President Adamkus' Social Security benefits and ensures 
his right to his federal pension. Title 42 Section 402(t) of the US 
code denies Social Security benefits to non-citizens residing outside 
the United States. While Section 433 of that title allows our President 
to enter agreements with foreign countries which allow non-resident 
non-citizens to receive pension benefits based on periods of coverage 
in the United States, the U.S. currently has no such agreement with 
Lithuania. As a result, President Adamkus is not entitled to the Social 
Security benefits he earned from 37 years of work in the United States. 
My bill restores these benefits. My bill also ensures that Mr. Adamkus 
retains the federal pension he earned as an employee of the EPA.
  (3) Restores President Adamkus' right to travel in the United States. 
As a non-resident alien, Mr. Adamkus no longer has the right to travel 
freely in the U.S. My bill restores this privilege.
  Mr. President, with this bill, I do not suggest that we trivialize 
the act of renouncing one's U.S. citizenship. Renunciation of U.S. 
citizenship is an act of

[[Page S8507]]

the highest gravity that should not be undertaken without fully 
considering its consequences. I believe it appropriate, however, that 
we provide President Adamkus with special treatment in light of his 
long and distinguished service to our nation, his lifelong commitment 
to freedom and democracy in Lithuania, and his reason for renunciation. 
Indeed, it is in the interest of the United States that developing 
countries--particularly the former Soviet Republics--succeed in 
establishing free-market democratic societies. Hence, even in 
renouncing his citizenship, President Adamkus continues to serve our 
nation admirably. I thank my colleagues for their consideration and 
urge them to join me in supporting this bill.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this bill be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1363

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law, the renunciation 
     of United States citizenship by Valdas Adamkus on February 
     25, 1998, in order to become the President of the Republic of 
     Lithuania shall not--
       (1) be treated under any Federal law as having as one of 
     its purposes the avoidance of any Federal tax,
       (2) result in the denial of any benefit under title II or 
     XVIII of the Social Security Act, or under title 5, United 
     States Code, or
       (3) result in any restriction on the right of Valdas 
     Adamkus to travel or be admitted to the United States.
                                 ______