[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 174 (Tuesday, November 25, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S16030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. Baucus):
  S. 1979. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prevent 
the fraudulent avoidance of fuel taxes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today we introduce a bill to fight tax 
fraud. I am not talking about just moving around a few numbers on a tax 
return. Today we will begin closing the loop holes that have created 
millions of gallon and billions of dollars of missing fuel and missing 
tax dollars. This problem not only robs the U.S. Treasury it also robs 
the American Taxpayer.
  We rely on these tax dollars to fund not only the Highway Trust Fund, 
which is charged with constructing and maintaining our national 
transportation system, this also robs money from our Airport Trust 
Fund.
  In light of investigations completed since September 11th, the safety 
and soundness of maintaining our nation's transportation infrastructure 
is now more than ever of the utmost importance. These issues are not 
just tax fraud--not only are we concerned with the tax loss, but where 
else is this money going--is it being used to fund terrorism? We need 
to know where all of this fuel is going. What makes us think that if we 
cannot find the fuel to collect the tax, that we could find the fuel to 
stop the terrorists acts. A missing barge could hold ninety tanker 
truck loads of fuel, that's about $500,000 in Federal and State excise 
taxes left uncollected, its also hundreds of thousands of gallons that 
we cannot account. That cannot happen, and this bill should help our 
enforcement officers close the loop holes and collect the tax that 
builds our highways.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today Senator Grassley and I introduce a 
bill that is the essence of good government. For a few years now the 
Senate Finance Committee has been working to increase the revenue into 
the Highway Fund Trust so we can fund a strong national highway 
program.
  The committee has also been looking at preventing several schemes, 
scams and cons against the federal government. These are schemes that 
are used by participants in the fuel distribution chain to evade 
federal and state fuel taxes, fuel fraud prevention marries both those 
goals-fighting fraud and increasing revenue into the Highway Trust 
Fund.
  It is crucial to ensure that all the taxes that are due to the Trust 
Fund are actually getting there, not being diverted as part of some 
scam to defraud the Federal Government.
  That is why I am proud to introduce today the Fuel Fraud Prevention 
Act of 2003.
  I am aware that this is a very controversial subject, but one that we 
must address. This fraud represents money that the federal government 
is losing while crooked individuals are getting rich on the backs of 
good honest citizens.
  Uncovering this kind of corruption is what we mean by practicing good 
government. We need to catch these folks and make sure the money is 
going where it should.
  This is money that goes to transportation projects and creates 
transportation jobs. That is important to Montana and to all states.
  As a result of both TEA 21 and AIR 21, revenues collected by the 
Trust Funds are directly tied to spending on surface and air 
transportation. Therefore adequately funding the nation's 
transportation infrastructure--both surface and air--is almost entirely 
based on actually collecting all the taxes that should be collected by 
law.
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