[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             EMERGENCY CITRUS DISEASE RESPONSE ACT OF 2016

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3957) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
temporarily allow expensing of certain costs of replanting citrus 
plants lost by reason of casualty, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3957

       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 ``Emergency Citrus Disease 
     Response Act of 2016''.

     SEC. 2. EXPENSING OF CERTAIN COSTS OF REPLANTING CITRUS 
                   PLANTS LOST BY REASON OF CASUALTY.

       (a) In General.--Section 263A(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new subparagraph:
       ``(C) Special temporary rule for citrus plants lost by 
     reason of casualty.--
       ``(i) In general.--In the case of the replanting of citrus 
     plants, subparagraph (A) shall apply to amounts paid or 
     incurred by a person (other than the taxpayer described in 
     subparagraph (A)) if--

       ``(I) the taxpayer described in subparagraph (A) has an 
     equity interest of not less than 50 percent in the replanted 
     citrus plants at all times during the taxable year in which 
     such amounts were paid or incurred and such other person 
     holds any part of the remaining equity interest, or
       ``(II) such other person acquired the entirety of such 
     taxpayer's equity interest in the land on which the lost or 
     damaged citrus plants were located at the time of such loss 
     or damage, and the replanting is on such land.

       ``(ii) Termination.--Clause (i) shall not apply to any cost 
     paid or incurred after December 31, 2025.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to costs paid or incurred after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Buchanan) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous material on H.R. 3957, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This bill makes a slight change to the existing law in order to help 
struggling farmers.
  The U.S. citrus industry faces a grave threat from an incurable 
bacterial disease called citrus greening. While not harmful to humans, 
it results in bitter, hard, misshapen fruit and eventually causes trees 
to die.
  The disease arrived in Florida in 2005 and has since infected 99 
percent of the commercial citrus groves in my State as well as 50 
percent of the groves in Texas. Greening has begun to march across the 
country and has been found in California, Louisiana, South Carolina, 
and Georgia. Once infected, trees must be uprooted and destroyed. 
Replacing citrus trees is costly, but farmers have no choice as they 
must replant in order to earn a living. This disease has put 62,000 
citrus jobs at risk in my State alone.
  The Tax Code currently allows farmers to fully deduct the cost of 
replanting trees that are damaged by drought, disease, or pests; but 
the current rule has a significant limitation: in order to get the 
deduction, the farmers must bear the costs of replanting the trees 
themselves.
  My bill would let farmers bring in investors to help underwrite 
replanting costs without losing the immediate deduction; and, to ensure 
that farmers keep working their land, my bill requires them to maintain 
at least a 50 percent interest in their groves in order to use this 
deduction.
  This commonsense, limited change to an existing provision in the Tax 
Code has broad, bipartisan support. In fact, every member of the 
Florida delegation, which is about 29 members--Democrats and 
Republicans alike--support this proposal. Citrus growers in Florida, 
Texas, and California have all come out in support of the bill for one 
simple reason: nationwide, nearly 20 million trees will need to be 
replaced due to greening.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  There is no doubt the citrus industry is facing an emergency. A 
disease, referred to as ``greening,'' is rapidly spreading among citrus 
crops, including oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, lemons, and limes. 
To date, Florida orange growers have been hard hit by this disease and 
have been forced to abandon more than 100,000 acres of groves. It takes 
about 2 years for the disease to fully manifest itself; therefore, 
citrus crops in Texas and in California are also at risk. This bill 
would expand an exception that allows for the immediate expensing of 
replanting costs when crops are destroyed by this disease.
  Under current law, minority investors only are allowed to immediately 
expense costs incurred for replanting when, one, the grower who 
incurred the loss or damage keeps a more than 50 percent interest in 
the property and, second, when the minority investor materially 
participates in the planting, maintenance, cultivation, or development 
of the property.
  Under this bill, minority investors also would be able to immediately 
expense costs incurred for replanting if, one, the grower has an equity 
interest of not less than 50 percent in the replanted citrus plants, 
and the minority investor holds the remaining interest or, two, if the 
minority investor acquires all of the taxpayer's land on which the lost 
or damaged citrus plants were located, and the replanting is on such 
land. This bill would not require minority investors to materially 
participate in the planting and growing, thus making it more appealing 
for investors.
  At a cost of $30 million over 10 years, this bill takes a modest step 
in helping the citrus industry attract investors and much-needed 
capital to fight this devastating disease.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to pass this bill so that 
struggling farmers can have the flexibility to use the existing 
provisions of the Tax Code in a more ownership-type structure. Without 
this change, we run the risk of losing tens of thousands of jobs.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Buchanan) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3957, as amended.
  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. HUELSKAMP. 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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