[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 7 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KOHL:
  S. 97. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect 
to the eligibility of veterans for mortgage revenue bond financing, and 
for other purposes; to the Commission on Finance.


                        veterans home loan bill

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will help Wisconsin and several other States, including Oregon, Texas, 
Alaska, and California, extend one of our most successful veterans 
programs to Persian Gulf war participants and others. This bill will 
amend the eligibility requirements for mortgage revenue bond financing 
for State veterans housing programs.
  State run plans do an excellent job of helping vets bridge the gap to 
home ownership, and are often more successful than our own federal 
plan. This bill gives states the tools they need to help veterans.
  Wisconsin uses this tax-exempt bond authority to assist veterans in 
purchasing their first home. Under rules adopted by Congress in 1984, 
this program excluded from eligibility veterans who served after 1977. 
This bill would simply remove that restriction.
  At a time when everyone is looking for ways to make military service 
more appealing, we should not overlook the role state sponsored 
benefits, like home loan programs, can reward our veterans. Wisconsin 
and the other eligible States simply want to maintain a principle that 
we in the Senate have also strived to uphold--that veterans of the 
Persian Gulf war should not be treated less generously than those of 
past wars. This bill meets a commitment to our service members and 
levels the benefits between Persian Gulf vets and the vets of the Cold 
War era.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 97

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

     SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY OF VETERANS FOR MORTGAGE REVENUE BONDS 
                   DETERMINED BY STATES.

       (a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 143(l) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining qualified veteran) is 
     redesignated as paragraph (6) of such section and amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(6) Qualified veteran.--For purposes of this subsection, 
     the term ``qualified veteran'' means any veteran--
       ``(A) who meets such requirements as may be imposed by the 
     State law pursuant to which qualified veterans' mortgage 
     bonds are issued,
       ``(B) who applied for the financing before the date 30 
     years after the last date on which such veteran left active 
     service, and
       ``(C) in the case of financing provided by the proceeds of 
     bonds issued during the period beginning July 19, 1984, and 
     ending June 30, 2001, who served on active duty at some time 
     before January 1, 1977.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply to bonds issued after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act.

     SEC. 2. STATE CAP RESTRICTIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 143(l) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 (relating to additional requirements for 
     qualified veterans' mortgage bonds), as amended by section 
     1(a), is amended by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Subcap restriction.--
       ``(A) In general.--An issue meets the requirements of this 
     paragraph only if the amount of bonds issued pursuant thereto 
     that is to be used to provide financing to mortgagors who 
     have not served on active duty at some time before January 1, 
     1977, when added to the amount of the aggregate qualified 
     veterans' mortgage bonds previously issued by the State 
     during the calendar year that is to be so used, does not 
     exceed the subcap amount.
       ``(B) Subcap amount.--
       ``(i) In general.--The subcap amount for any calendar year 
     is an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the State 
     veterans limit for such year.
       ``(ii) Applicable percentage.--For purposes of clause (i), 
     the applicable percentage shall be determined under the 
     following table:

                                                             Applicable
``Calendar year:                                            Percentage:
  2002..........................................................10 ....

  2003..........................................................20 ....

  2004..........................................................30 ....

  2005..........................................................40 ....

  2006 and thereafter........................................50.''.....

       (b) Restriction on Overall State Cap.--Paragraph (3)(B) of 
     section 143(l) of such Code (relating to State veterans 
     limit) is amended by adding at the end the following flush 
     sentence:

     ``But in no event shall the State veterans limit exceed 
     $340,000,000 for any calendar year after 2002.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--The matter preceding paragraph 
     (1) of section 143(l) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``and (3)'' and inserting ``, (3), and (4)''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to bonds issued after December 31, 2001.
                                 ______