[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H10632-H10634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VESSEL WORKER TAX FAIRNESS ACT

  Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate 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.
  The Clerk read 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.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Bono) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. BONO. 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 material on S. 893.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the right of States to tax economic activities within 
their borders is a key feature of federalism rooted in the Constitution 
and long recognized by Congress. State taxing power is not absolute, 
however, and

[[Page H10633]]

Congress and the courts protect residents from State taxes that 
discriminate against nonresidents and unduly burden interstate 
commerce.
  Interstate transportation workers derive their income in multiple 
States in the course of regularly assigned duties. Through a patchwork 
of legislation spanning nearly three decades, Congress has exempted 
interstate rail, motor, and air carriers from having to pay income 
taxes in more than one State by making the income of these workers 
taxable only in the worker's State of residence. While these workers 
have escaped the onerous burden of multiple taxation, Congress has 
failed to provide similar relief to interstate water workers.
  Under current law, interstate water workers may be taxed in both 
their State of residence and in any State in which they derive 50 
percent or more of their income. This taxing requirement has had an 
acute impact on waterway workers who reside in Washington but work 
along the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest.
  Recently, Oregon taxing authorities have presented these workers with 
staggering tax bills for income they claim was derived in Oregon while 
working on the Columbia River, which separates Washington from Oregon. 
In response to this problem, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) 
introduced legislation that would exempt interstate waterway workers 
from multiple State income taxation.
  The Committee on the Judiciary reported H.R. 1293, legislation nearly 
identical to S. 893. In order to facilitate prompt consideration of the 
measure, we are considering S. 893, which was introduced by the 
distinguished Senator from Washington, Mr. Gorton. Equalizing the 
taxing status of interstate water workers enjoys bipartisan support in 
both Houses of Congress. I urge the support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman 
from Washington (Mr. Baird) be permitted to manage the time allotted to 
this side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here today on the floor of the House 
as we take up this important legislation to provide tax fairness for 
thousands of hard-working Americans in my home State of Washington and 
throughout this Nation.
  While most interstate transportation workers are exempt from taxation 
by States other than that of their residence, those working on vessels 
operating on interstate waterways are subject to contradictory laws 
that are difficult to apply. Consequently, a number of waterway 
employees who are residents of Washington have been sent notices from 
other States seeking to collect thousands of dollars in presumably 
delinquent taxes for which they may not be responsible under Federal 
law.
  I am speaking today about river pilots, I am talking about men and 
women who work on barges, and I am talking about hard-working boat crew 
members who do an honest day's work and want a fair shake when it comes 
to paying their taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned that, under current tax law, a 
significant number of interstate waterway employees who are employed on 
vessels that operate on the Columbia River or the Snake River and many 
other inland waterways throughout this Nation are being unfairly taxed 
for their labor.
  When truck drivers, railway workers, or aviation employees go about 
their jobs, all of which require them to conduct work in States other 
than their home States, Congress has seen fit to grant them an 
exemption for this type of unfair taxation unless a majority of the 
work is performed in another State.
  Interstate transportation workers, including those employed by 
interstate railway carriers, motor carriers, water carriers, and air 
carriers who are engaged in interstate commerce, were first protected 
from unfair taxation by multiple States in 1970.
  In 1990, Congress took additional steps to prohibit States from 
taxing the income of interstate rail and motor carrier workers, except 
those States where the employee resides. A similar limitation exists on 
States' rights to tax employees of interstate air carriers engaged in 
interstate transportation duties.
  An airline pilot, for example, is subject to taxation by the State in 
which the pilot resides, period. This restriction, for all practical 
purposes, exempts airline employees from multiple taxation. However, 
interstate water carriers, bargemen, tug boat operators, river boat 
pilots, ferry operators, et cetera, for some reason, these folks have 
been treated differently.
  Mr. Speaker, we can fix this problem today. Over the past 30 years, 
Congress has addressed inequities in the Tax Code when it dealt with 
interstate transportation employees. I am asking my colleagues today to 
again take action to correct this problem.
  The legislation we put forward is not complex legislation. It is very 
straightforward. It is not lengthy. It is a two-page bill. But it is 
good legislation, and it is needed legislation.
  As we consider the legislation today, there is another voice I would 
like to bring to the floor, and that is the voice of Captain Robert 
Nelson. In late 1998, Captain Nelson got some bad news. He got several 
pieces of bad news. First, his wife was seriously injured in a car 
wreck. Then a couple months later, Captain Nelson himself was diagnosed 
with terminal lung and brain cancer. He was given, at the time, 3 
months to live.
  That is a heavy enough load. But on his way to the mailbox, he then 
received a letter from the Oregon Department of Revenue that he was to 
pay a $78,000 back tax bill to a State that he had not really set foot 
in the course of his work.
  Captain Nelson was assessed those costs, not because he lived or 
worked in Oregon, but because he worked in a river system.
  I would ask Members of this body to put themselves in that family's 
shoes for just a minute, to ask themselves how they would feel if, on 
top of worrying about their wife, their family, their own health, they 
had to then pay an exorbitant tax bill to a State they did not work in.
  Things like that should not happen in America. Mr. Speaker, with my 
colleagues help, we can do something about it. I urge my colleagues to 
join me in passing this bipartisan bill to ensure tax fairness for 
transportation workers.
  I am proud of the steps we have taken to get here today. This is a 
bipartisan bill. It is a fair and needed bill. I would like to thank 
those who have been involved.
  Senator Gorton in the other body introduced legislation shortly after 
I dropped the bill in the House. Our bill also received a committee 
hearing from the Committee on the Judiciary, and I want to thank the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Gekas) and the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Nadler), ranking member, for their support and assistance, as 
well as the able staff, Rob Tracci and the committee's minority 
staffer, Dave Lachman. They also did a very good job of putting the 
hearing together, and I want to say thanks for their efforts.
  I would like to thank the chairmen and ranking members of both full 
committees and subcommittees to which the bill was referred: the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers) of the Committee on the Judiciary; and the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Oberstar) of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  I would like to also particularly thank the gentleman from Oregon 
(Mr. DeFazio) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrist) also Mr. 
Ward McCarragher of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
for his work and Mr. Turton and Mr. Boyle for their work.
  Today we have an opportunity to restore simple fairness to our Tax 
Code. I urge passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs.

[[Page H10634]]

Bono) that the House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 
893.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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