[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 18, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7880-S7881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CLELAND (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. 
        Hollings):
  S. 1192. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
a tax credit for modifications to intercity buses required under the 
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, in the summer of 1990, President George 
Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, into law saying, 
``Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.'' With 
intercity buses playing an important role in transporting millions of 
passengers throughout the country, we must ensure the means are 
available for all Americans to access this transportation mode. That is 
why I am introducing, along with Senators Snowe, Hollings, and Schumer, 
a bill to provide tax credits to intercity bus companies which purchase 
coaches in compliance with the ADA. Our bill expands a current tax 
credit to give bus owners a 50 percent tax credit of the cost of 
purchasing and installing hydraulic wheelchair lifts and other devices 
to improve accessibility.
  As my colleagues know, I have long been a proponent of ensuring 
accessibility. In fact, while I was a member of the Georgia State 
Senate in the early 1970s, I sponsored a bill to make public facilities 
accessible to the disabled, and this bill became law. Georgia was a 
national leader at that time, and I have been pleased to see the 
changes throughout the country with regard to accessibility over the 
past three decades. However, there is more that can and should be done.
  With their reliability, safety and low cost, over the road buses are 
the preferred mode of transportation for millions of Americans, and 
with the 2012 deadline to have all over the road buses be wheelchair 
accessible approaching, it is time for Congress to aid in meeting this 
mandate. The Transportation Research Board estimates that the annual 
coast of upgrading and replacing the over the road bus fleet could 
average $25-$27 million, not to mention the extra training and 
maintenance costs. At the heart of the intercity bus industry are small 
businesses, on which this deadline would impose a significant toll. If 
these small businesses can not meet this deadline, the rural 
communities that have no other means of transportation will suffer, or 
large portions of the upgrade costs will be

[[Page S7881]]

passed on to consumers in the form of higher fares, that is, unless 
Congress provides some assistance. Our legislation would do exactly 
that.
  I believe that bus service is destined to play an ever important role 
in transportation planning. In my home State of Georgia, many of the 
metropolitan counties have been declared as out of attainment with the 
Clean Air Act. As a result, Georgia is re-evaluating its transportation 
priorities, which includes moving people between intercity 
destinations. Personally, I envision a Georgia, and a United States, 
where buses play an important role in transporting people to hub cities 
for work or to transfer to another mode of transportation.
  The cost to us if we lose bus services is incalculable. All segments 
of the community will obviously be affected and not for the better. 
However, by working together, legislators, the disabled, the elderly, 
and the bus industry can and must strengthen bus service for all 
communities and the millions of Americans who use the service of over 
the road buses. I encourage my colleagues to join in support of this 
legislation.
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