[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H2846-H2848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DON'T TAX OUR FALLEN PUBLIC SAFETY HEROES ACT

  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 606) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude 
certain compensation received by public safety officers and their 
dependents from gross income.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 606

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Don't Tax Our Fallen Public 
     Safety Heroes Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN COMPENSATION RECEIVED BY PUBLIC 
                   SAFETY OFFICERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS.

       Subsection (a) of section 104 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of 
     paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
     (5) and inserting ``; and'', and by inserting after paragraph 
     (5) the following new paragraph:
       ``(6) amounts received pursuant to--
       ``(A) section 1201 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
     Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796); or
       ``(B) a program established under the laws of any State 
     which provides monetary compensation for surviving dependents 
     of a public safety officer who has died as the direct and 
     proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line 
     of duty,
     except that subparagraph (B) shall not apply to any amounts 
     that would have been payable if death of the public safety 
     officer had occurred other than as the direct and proximate 
     result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Reichert) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pascrell) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include statements and extraneous material on H.R. 606 
currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from 
Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen), who is also a member of the Ways and Means 
Committee, for introducing the legislation that we are considering 
today.
  Mr. Paulsen has been a great champion for our Nation's law 
enforcement, and this bill will provide much-needed relief to the 
families of fallen public safety officers.
  As we celebrate National Police Week, we are reminded of the 
sacrifices of our many brave men and women who wear the badge.
  When law enforcement officers pay the ultimate price and give their 
lives in the line of duty, we have a responsibility to help take care 
of the families that they leave behind.
  For too long, the law has been silent on whether the benefits 
surviving spouses and dependents receive through State and Federal 
Public Safety Officers' Benefits programs are subject to Federal income 
tax. This bill will remove all ambiguity and codify the IRS' 1977 
ruling that PSOB benefits should not be subject to taxation.
  When a public safety officer has been catastrophically injured or 
killed in the line of duty, their families should not also have to deal 
with paying taxes on the benefits they receive after that loved one has 
paid the ultimate price while protecting their fellow Americans. The 
sacrifices of our men and women who wear the badge keep us safe, and 
now we have the opportunity to help provide for those that they leave 
behind.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank both Chairman Ryan and Ranking Member Levin of the Ways and 
Means Committee for allowing the bill coming to the floor today, and I 
thank my good friends Representatives Paulsen and Reichert, my co-
chair, for presenting this bill with me and for their continued support 
of our law enforcement.
  Our public safety officers make extraordinary sacrifices to protect 
our communities by putting their lives on the line day in and day out.
  Members take an oath after we are elected. The first part of the 
oath, our

[[Page H2847]]

chief priority, is to protect the country from foreign, but it also 
says domestic, foreign and domestic. That is our priority. That is the 
main reason why we are in the Congress of the United States. There are 
a lot of other reasons, but that is our primary oath to the people of 
this country. And that is why the gentleman from Washington (Mr. 
Reichert) and myself--there isn't a day that goes by that we are not 
talking about how we could support police officers, not in word but in 
deed, those folks who put their lives on the line, be they trooper, be 
they sheriff officer, be they municipal police officer, be they an 
authority police officer, regardless.
  We heard the tragic numbers before in the previous bill.
  Officer Rafael Ramos, who died with Officer Liu, was sitting in a 
squad car. Officer Ramos was a 40-year-old married father who was 
studying to become a pastor when he was killed. His friends and family 
remember him as a selfless man of faith. He left behind a wife and two 
children. Officer Ramos loved playing basketball with his sons in the 
park, watching the Mets, and playing Spanish gospel music.
  It is families like these that we honor in this legislation. The last 
thing a family mourning their lost loved one who died in the line of 
service should be faced with is a tax penalty.
  We have a responsibility to take care of the families of the officers 
slain in the line of duty. It is a priority. When everything is a 
priority, nothing is a priority. We are saying in this legislation this 
is a priority of ours.
  This commonsense legislation ensures that the families of fallen 
public safety officers are not taxed on the death benefits they receive 
should a horrible tragedy occur and their family member be taken from 
them on the job.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this legislation to be passed, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen).
  Mr. PAULSEN. I thank the gentleman from Washington, Chairman 
Reichert, for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, for the past 54 years, we have celebrated National 
Police Week during the third week of May; and once again, thousands of 
officers and the families of law enforcement are here in Washington 
this week to remember and honor the sacrifices of our officers who 
serve and protect our homes, our small businesses, and our families 
every day. That is because, Mr. Speaker, every day, our Nation's police 
officers--900,000 officers across this country--wear their uniforms 
with pride. They go about their jobs without a second thought to the 
dangers that come with protecting others and in securing our community.
  Sadly, though, we are reminded too often of the dangers that these 
heroes face.
  Just 3 days ago, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Officers Benjamin Deen 
and Liquori Tate were shot and killed while making a routine traffic 
stop. They were just 34 and 24 years old.

                              {time}  1800

  Last July in Minnesota, Mendota Heights police officer Scott Patrick 
tragically lost his life in the line of duty. A 19-year veteran, 
Officer Patrick is remembered as a loving father of two children and 
somebody who was friendly, helpful, and was always looking to serve 
others. This year, he would have celebrated his 48th birthday. Instead 
of a party, his family spent the day in court for the murder trial of 
his killer.
  It is not only law enforcement that put their lives on the line to 
protect and serve our community. Just last week, 44-year-old Kevin 
McRae, a 24-year veteran of the Washington, D.C., fire department, 
tragically lost his life when a high-rise building where he had been 
fighting a fire for nearly an hour collapsed. He leaves behind a wife 
and three young children.
  For these public safety officers and these first responders who have 
lost their lives in the line of duty, we have a responsibility to 
ensure that their families are taken care of. In fact, that is why the 
Federal Government and many State governments provide that public 
safety officer benefit to the dependents of those heroes that are 
killed in the line of duty.
  However, because current law is silent on whether State or Federal 
survivor benefits are subject to Federal income tax, there is a 
question of whether the IRS can collect tax on these benefits. And the 
last thing these families need after losing a loved one is for the IRS 
to come knocking. That is why I worked with Senator Ayotte to introduce 
the Don't Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act. It will ensure that 
families of fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters who die in 
the line of duty receive the benefits they were promised without a tax 
grab from the IRS.
  While the IRS ruled back in 1977 that Federal PSOB benefits should be 
treated just like workers compensation and not be subject to taxation, 
the IRS has refused to make a similar rule for State-based payments and 
instead has forced families to go through a burdensome private letter 
ruling.
  Clarifying current law will provide relief. It will provide certainty 
to surviving dependents, and it will guarantee they are not forced to 
pay Federal income tax on survivor benefits after their loved ones have 
given the ultimate sacrifice.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Sheriff Reichert, my colleague, and I 
want to thank Congressman Pascrell for their bipartisan leadership of 
the Law Enforcement Caucus and standing up for this legislation and the 
other bills we have heard today on the floor. I also want to thank 
Senator Ayotte for her leadership in the Senate. It was this 
legislation that was a passion project of hers ever since the IRS went 
after one of her constituents' survivor benefits.
  The bill is endorsed by many different law enforcement organizations: 
The Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police 
Organizations, the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement 
Systems, the National Troopers Coalition, the Sergeants Benevolent 
Association, the International Union of Police Associations, the 
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, and the Major County 
Sheriffs' Association.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I will close by just asking my colleagues to support 
this legislation for the families of those police officers, 
firefighters, and first responders who help keep us safe.
  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I inquire of Mr. Pascrell if he has any 
additional speakers.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey has yielded 
back his time.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PASCRELL. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, currently the IRS has not ruled on the tax treatment of 
State payments, instead allowing any dispute, as Mr. Paulsen just 
pointed out, to be resolved via what they call a private letter ruling.
  This bill will provide clarity and relief to surviving dependents, 
guaranteeing they are not forced to pay an excessive tax after their 
loved ones have given the ultimate sacrifice.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I think that we are together on this. I wish we were 
together on a lot of other things, but we are together on this because 
we will do anything to support our law enforcement officers in the 
United States of America, the greatest country in the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time.
  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to agree with the comments made by Mr. Pascrell 
and Mr. Paulsen on how important this legislation is to the families 
who have lost a loved one. They should not be burdened further with 
additional taxes on the benefits that that family should be receiving, 
the sad loss of their loved one in service to their community. This is 
the second bill tonight that we are considering in support of and 
showing our appreciation for and honoring those who serve across this 
country today and who have lost their lives in service to this country 
and all the communities across this great Nation.

[[Page H2848]]

  In fact, the first piece of legislation that we considered earlier 
was the Blue Alert legislation, and that was one of the recommendations 
that came out of the President's own police and community task force. 
So, as Mr. Pascrell said, not only are the Members of the House and the 
Senate in agreement here, but also the administration, which is a 
moment that we all need to pause and appreciate that we are all 
together on this. We see how important and how critical this 
legislation is and how important and critical it is to show our support 
for those men and women who leave their families each and every day to 
keep us safe.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, as we pass the bipartisan Don't Tax Our 
Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act, I'd like to share with you a little 
bit about fallen Michigan State Trooper Paul K. Butterfield II. On 
September 9th, 2013, Trooper Butterfield was shot on a routine traffic 
stop.
  Responding units located Trooper Butterfield on the ground suffering 
from a gunshot wound to the head. He was then flown to a regional 
hospital, where he eventually succumbed to his wounds while in surgery.
  Trooper Butterfield was a dedicated public servant; after serving in 
the U.S. Army, he joined the Michigan State Police where he served for 
14 years until his death in the line of duty. Family and friends 
remember him for being soft-spoken, kind, and always smiling.
  This bill honors the legacy of not only Trooper Butterfield, but all 
first responders who have laid down their lives. Several hundred first 
responders die every year in the line of duty. These officers, and 
their families, should know that we support them and what they do. I am 
proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation to ensure that families 
of public safety officers will receive the full benefits they deserve 
should their loved ones succumb to the ultimate sacrifice.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 606.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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