[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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