[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE TAX RELIEF FOR TRANSPORTATION WORKERS ACT

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                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 13, 2009

  Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Tax Relief for 
Transportation Workers Act. This legislation helps those who work in 
the port industry cope with the costs of complying with Congress's 
mandate that all those working on a port obtain a Transportation Worker 
Identity Card, TWIC. The Tax Relief for Transportation Workers Act 
provides a tax credit to workers who pay the costs of obtaining TWICs. 
The credit is refundable against both income and payroll tax 
liabilities.
  When Congress created the TWIC requirement, it placed the burden of 
paying the cost of obtaining the card on individual workers. Imposing 
the costs of obtaining TWICs on port workers has several negative 
economic impacts that Congress should help mitigate by making the cost 
associated with obtaining a TWIC tax deductible. According to the 
Department of Homeland Security, a port worker will have to pay between 
$100 and $132 to obtain a card. The worker will also have to pay a $60 
fee for every card that is lost or damaged. Even those employers whose 
employers pay the substantial costs of obtaining TWICs for their 
workforce are adversely affected by the TWIC requirement, as the money 
employers pay for TWICs is money that cannot go into increasing their 
workers' salaries. The costs of the TWIC requirement may also cause 
some employers to refrain from hiring new employees.
  Ironically, many of the employees whose employers are unable to pay 
the TWIC are part-time or temporary workers at the lower end of the 
income scale. Obviously, the TWIC requirement hits these workers the 
hardest. According to Recana, an employer of port workers in my 
district, the fee will have a ``significant impact'' on port workers.
  Unless Congress acts to relieve some of the economic burden the TWIC 
requirement places on those who work in the port industry, the damage 
done could reach beyond the port employers and employees to harm 
businesses that depend on a strong American port industry. This could 
be very harmful to both interstate and international trade.
  Regardless of what one thinks of the merits of the TWIC card, it is 
simply not right for Congress to make the port industry bear all the 
costs of TWIC. I therefore urge my colleagues to stand up for those who 
perform vital tasks at America's ports by cosponsoring the Tax Relief 
for Transportation Workers Act.

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