[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 89 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H5067-H5068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        PATRIOTIC EMPLOYERS OF GUARD AND RESERVISTS ACT OF 2004

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include therein 
extraneous material.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, currently over 170,000 National Guard and 
Reservists are on active duty serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, and 
elsewhere. President Bush just activated an additional 47,000 
Reservists. Most are serving extended tours of duty, deployed for 
longer periods than their families or their employers expected. Seventy 
percent of these Guard and Reservists work in small or medium-size 
businesses. When called to active duty, their civilian job and salary 
is put on hold.
  They begin receiving military pay, which is often less than their 
civilian salary, placing undue hardship on families already suffering 
the absence of a loved one.
  Yesterday, I introduced H.R. 4655, the Patriotic Employers of Guard 
and Reservists Act. The bill provides tax relief to those employers who 
close the pay gap of Guardsmen and Reservists serving overseas and tax 
credits to defray the cost of training new workers to fill these 
temporary vacancies.
  H.R. 4655 helps our troops and their families and encourages more 
companies to keep their employees on payroll when serving our Nation. I 
urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4655. And I urge that it move 
rapidly through this House.

  Basic Facts and Background Information on H.R. 4655, the Patriotic 
             Employers of Guard and Reservists Act of 2004

       Since September 11th, more than 350,000 members of the 
     National Guard and Reserves have been called to active duty, 
     and the Pentagon increasingly relies on the Army, Navy and 
     Air Force Reserves and our National Guard to achieve its 
     missions. Currently, over 170,000 are serving on active duty 
     in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. President Bush recently 
     activated an additional 47,000 Reservists. Not since World 
     War II have so many National Guard members been called to 
     serve abroad.
       The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce estimates that 70 percent of 
     military Reservists called to active duty work in small- or 
     medium-size companies.
        Most Guard and Reservists are serving extended tours of 
     duty and have been deployed for longer periods than they, 
     their families, or their employers expected. The continuing, 
     extended activation of Guard and Reserve members has imposed 
     a tremendous burden on many companies, small businesses and 
     manufacturers, as well as placing an undue financial burden 
     on families already suffering the absence of a loved one. 
     Currently, more than 41 percent of military Reservists and 
     National Guard members face a pay cut when they are called to 
     active duty.
       In January, the Commander of the Army Reserve, Lt. General 
     James R. Helmly, warned of a recruiting-retention crisis in 
     the future for the National Guard and Reserves. A recent U.S. 
     military questionnaire of returning Army National Guard 
     soldiers projected a resignation rate of double what it was 
     in November 2001. From October to December 2003, almost one-
     quarter of National Guard members who have had the 
     opportunity to re-enlist have opted not to do so. Recently, 
     the U.S. Army developed a plan to pay Reservists up to 
     $10,000 to re-enlist in order to stop a developing problem.
       H.R. 4655 encourages all employers, especially small 
     businesses, to pay their reservist employees when they face a 
     reduction in salary due to their military activation. 
     Employers who continue to pay their reservist all or part of 
     their civilian salary will be eligible to receive a tax 
     credit up to $15,000 of the wages they pay per employee who 
     has been called up to active duty by the National Guard or 
     Reserves for as long as the Reservist is on active duty 
     status (up to a maximum of two years).
       Additionally, many small employers currently have a 
     difficult time hiring and training temporary workers to fill 
     the temporary vacancies caused by employees called to active 
     duty. H.R. 4655 provides a tax credit of 50 percent up to 
     $6,000 to help companies defray the costs of hiring and 
     training a replacement worker, and up to $10,000 for small 
     manufacturers.
       The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates this measure 
     would cost $2 billion through FY 2014, or approximately $200 
     million annually; $1.2 billion of those costs would occur in 
     FY 2005 through FY 2009, given the current unusually large-
     scale and extended deployments of National Guard and Reserve 
     forces.
       The proposal to provide tax credits to employers and close 
     the pay-gap for Reservists and National Guardsmen is 
     supported by the United States Conference of Mayors, the 
     National Guard Association of the United States, and the 
     Reserve Officers Association of the United States.
                                  ____


 Cosponsor H.R. 4655, the Patriotic Employers of Guard and Reservists 
                                  Act

       Dear Colleague. When a national Guardsman or Reservist is 
     called up to active duty, their civilian job--and salary-- is 
     put on hold, and they begin receiving military pay, which is 
     often much less than their civilian salary. This places undue 
     hardship on many families who are already suffering the 
     absence of a loved one. The military increasingly relies on 
     our Reserves and National Guard forces to achieve its 
     missions. Currently, over 170,000 National Guard and 
     Reservists are on active duty, with many serving in Iraq, 
     Afghanistan or elsewhere on the front lines of the war 
     against terror. Furthermore, most are serving extended tours 
     of duty, deployed for longer periods than they, their 
     families, or their employers expected.
       We invite you to join us as cosponsors to H.R. 4655, the 
     Patriotic Employers of Guard and Reservists Act of 2004. This 
     bill provides tax credits to those employers who continue to 
     pay the salary of National Guardsmen and Reservists serving 
     overseas and tax credits to help these employers defray the 
     costs of hiring and training new workers to fill these 
     temporary vacancies. H.R. 4655 will do a lot to help our 
     troops' families and encourage more companies to keep their 
     employees on salary while serving our nation.
       Specifically, H.R. 4655 will:
       Provide a 50% tax credit to employers continuing to pay 
     activated Guard and Reserve employees, with a cap of $30,000 
     (i.e. $15,000 credit) per employee;
       Cover salaries paid on days when the employee is activated 
     for up to 2 years to cover the entirety of the deployment; 
     and
       Provide a 50% tax credit to employers up to $12,000 in 
     costs (i.e. $6,000 tax credit) to help companies, especially 
     small businesses and manufacturers, hire and train temporary 
     workers to fill-in for activated employees.
       We all know the continuing activation of our Guard and 
     Reservists has imposed a tremendous burden on many of our 
     country's companies, small businesses, and manufacturers. The 
     U.S. Chamber of Congress estimates that 70 percent of 
     military reservists called to active duty work in small- or 
     medium-sized businesses. The proposal to provide tax credits 
     to employers and close the

[[Page H5068]]

     pay-gap for Reservists and National Guard is supported by the 
     U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Guard Association of 
     the United States (NGAUS), and the Reserve Officers 
     Association of the United States.
       Please join us in helping businesses weather the loss of an 
     employee to active duty and protecting employees and their 
     families from suffering financial hardship when serving our 
     nation in uniform. to cosponsor H.R. 4655, please feel free 
     to contact us or Cindy Buhl at 5-6101 
     ([email protected]).
           Sincerely,
     James P. McGovern,
                                               Member of Congress.
     Tom Lantos,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________