[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 118 (Thursday, September 28, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9552-S9553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VESSEL WORKER TAX FAIRNESS ACT

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 830, S. 893.

[[Page S9553]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 893) to amend title 46, United States Code, to 
     provide equitable treatment with respect to State and local 
     income taxes for certain individuals who perform duties on 
     vessels.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today the Senate is considering S. 893, 
the Vessel Worker Tax Fairness Act. The bill will provide men and women 
working our nation's inland waterways the same treatment with respect 
to State and local income taxes as other men and women employed in 
interstate transportation of commerce receive. This measure was passed 
unanimously out of the Senate Commerce Committee on June 15 of this 
year.
  S. 893 declares individuals engaged on a vessel to perform assigned 
duties in more than one State to be exempt from income taxation laws of 
States or political subdivisions of which that individual is not a 
resident.
  While the Interstate Commerce Act exempts truck drivers, airline 
pilots, and railroad employees from being taxed by state and local 
jurisdictions in which they do not reside, it does not recognize 
merchant mariners who operate vessels in more than one state. It is 
time we correct this oversight and afford merchant mariners the same 
tax treatment similar transport operators are provided due to the 
interstate nature of their business.
  By passing this measure today, we will be providing much needed 
relief to merchant mariners. Under existing law, water transportation 
workers, including marine pilots, tow and tugboat workers and others 
who work aboard vessels are often subjected to filing and tax 
requirements by states other than their state of residence leading to 
possible double taxation. I do not believe that double taxation is what 
Congress intended for any transportation worker when it crafted the 
Interstate Commerce Act. By passing S. 893 today, we can make that 
intent reality.
  I thank Senator Gorton for his efforts in bringing this bill forward. 
I hope my colleagues will join us in supporting passage of this 
legislation so we can move it on to the President for his signature.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I am glad that the U.S. Senate is finally 
passing the Transportation Worker Tax Fairness Act. This bi-partisan 
legislation, which I introduced with Senator Murray, will ensure that 
transportation workers who toil away on our nation's waterways receive 
the same tax treatment afforded their peers who work on the nation's 
highways, railroads, or navigate the skies.
  Truck drivers, railroad personnel, and airline personnel are 
currently covered by the Interstate Commerce Act, which exempts their 
income from double taxation. Water carriers, who work on tugboats or 
ships, were not included in the original legislation. This treatment is 
patently unfair. The Transportation Worker Tax Fairness Act will 
rectify this situation by extending the same tax treatment to personnel 
who work on the navigable waters of more than one state.
  Mr. President, this legislation will have no impact on the federal 
treasury. This measure simply allows those who work our navigable 
waterways protection from double taxation.
  This matter came to my attention through a series of constituent 
letters from Columbia River tug boat operators who are currently facing 
taxation from Oregon as well as Washington state. I am committed to 
securing this relief for my constituents, as well as hard working tug 
boat operators across the nation, before the end of the 106th Congress.
  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be read 
the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 893) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                 S. 893

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

     SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 111 OF TITLE 46, UNITED 
                   STATES CODE.

       Section 11108 of title 46, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a) Withholding.--'' before ``Wages''; 
     and
        (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Liability.--
       ``(1) Limitation on jurisdiction to tax.--An individual to 
     whom this subsection applies is not subject to the income tax 
     laws of a State or political subdivision of a State, other 
     than the State and political subdivision in which the 
     individual resides, with respect to compensation for the 
     performance of duties described in paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Application.--This subsection applies to an 
     individual--
       ``(A) engaged on a vessel to perform assigned duties in 
     more than one State as a pilot licensed under section 7101 of 
     this title or licensed or authorized under the laws of a 
     State; or
       ``(B) who performs regularly-assigned duties while engaged 
     as a master, officer, or crewman on a vessel operating on the 
     navigable waters of more than one State.''.

                          ____________________