[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 15 (Thursday, January 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S588-S590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. KAINE (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Murray,
Mr. Jones, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Carper, Ms. Warren, Ms. Duckworth,
Mr. Coons, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Warner, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Menendez,
Mr. Brown, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Booker, Mr. Durbin,
Ms. Smith, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Portman, Mr. Udall, Mr. Manchin, and Mrs. Feinstein):
S. 204. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to waive
certain penalties for affected Federal employees receiving a
distribution from the Thrift Savings Plan during a lapse in
appropriations, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, today is day 34 of the longest shutdown of
government in United States history. We must end this shutdown. We must
reopen government right away. Today, I want to talk about legislation
that would provide some assistance to the Federal workers who are
suffering from this unnecessary shutdown, the Emergency Relief for
Federal Workers Act of 2019.
Tomorrow, 800,000 Federal workers who work hard and just want to
serve their Nation will not receive a paycheck. They have not received
a paycheck since December 28th, 2018. However, more than 400,000 hold
positions so essential to our Nation that they must go to work
regardless of their pay status.
Thus shutdown hurts these workers. I have talked about the personal
stories of Virginians who serve our Nation in the Coast Guard, the
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Forest Service. This shutdown
means families that have jobs cannot pay their mortgages or rent. They
cannot buy food to feed their families. They cannot afford to refill
prescriptions critical to the health of their children. This shutdown
threatens Federal workers with financial ruin. Again, we must reopen
the government immediately.
We have passed legislation to provide retroactive pay to these
workers when the shutdown ends, but we do not know when that will
happen. So today, I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues to
introduce the Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act. This
legislation would allow federal employees who are in desperate
financial straits directly because of this shutdown to borrow from what
is, for many, their largest financial asset, their retirement account.
This legislation would allow Federal workers in the Thrift Savings
Plan to access their savings without immediate penalty to meet the
financial hardships caused by the government shutdown. It would allow
them to pay for basic necessities during the shutdown and allow them to
replenish their savings after the shutdown ends.
I do not know how much longer 800,000 families will have to wait to
be made whole after this manufactured crisis. And I do not advocate
irresponsibly borrowing from retirement savings. But I believe we must
act to help the people who make our federal government function in this
time of need they are in through no fault of their own.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Thank you, Mr.
President.
______
By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Barrasso, Mrs.
Blackburn, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cramer, Mr.
Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Fischer, Mr.
Gardner, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Inhofe,
Mr. Isakson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Moran, Mr. Risch,
Mr. Roberts, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Young, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Rubio, and
Mr. Perdue):
S. 215. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal
the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 215
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 ``Death Tax Repeal Act of
2019''.
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF ESTATE AND GENERATION-SKIPPING TRANSFER
TAXES.
(a) Estate Tax Repeal.--Subchapter C of chapter 11 of
subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 2210. TERMINATION.
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
this chapter shall not apply to the estates of decedents
dying on or after the date of the enactment of the Death Tax
Repeal Act of 2019.
``(b) Certain Distributions From Qualified Domestic
Trusts.--In applying section 2056A with respect to the
surviving spouse of a decedent dying before the date of the
enactment of the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2019--
``(1) section 2056A(b)(1)(A) shall not apply to
distributions made after the 10-year period beginning on such
date, and
``(2) section 2056A(b)(1)(B) shall not apply on or after
such date.''.
(b) Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Repeal.--Subchapter G
of chapter 13 of subtitle B of such Code is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 2664. TERMINATION.
``This chapter shall not apply to generation-skipping
transfers on or after the date of the enactment of the Death
Tax Repeal Act of 2019.''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) The table of sections for subchapter C of chapter 11 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the
end the following new item:
``Sec. 2210. Termination.''.
(2) The table of sections for subchapter G of chapter 13 of
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new
item:
``Sec. 2664. Termination.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to the estates of decedents dying, and
generation-skipping transfers, after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS OF GIFT TAX.
(a) Computation of Gift Tax.--Subsection (a) of section
2502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read
as follows:
``(a) Computation of Tax.--
``(1) In general.--The tax imposed by section 2501 for each
calendar year shall be an amount equal to the excess of--
``(A) a tentative tax, computed under paragraph (2), on the
aggregate sum of the taxable gifts for such calendar year and
for each of the preceding calendar periods, over
``(B) a tentative tax, computed under paragraph (2), on the
aggregate sum of the taxable gifts for each of the preceding
calendar periods.
``(2) Rate schedule.--
...............................
``If the amount with respect to which The tentative tax is:
the tentative tax to be computed is:.
Not over $10,000....................... 18% of such amount.
Over $10,000 but not over $20,000...... $1,800, plus 20% of the excess
over $10,000.
Over $20,000 but not over $40,000...... $3,800, plus 22% of the excess
over $20,000.
[[Page S589]]
Over $40,000 but not over $60,000...... $8,200, plus 24% of the excess
over $40,000.
Over $60,000 but not over $80,000...... $13,000, plus 26% of the excess
over $60,000.
Over $80,000 but not over $100,000..... $18,200, plus 28% of the excess
over $80,000.
Over $100,000 but not over $150,000.... $23,800, plus 30% of the excess
over $100,000.
Over $150,000 but not over $250,000.... $38,800, plus 32% of the excess
of $150,000.
Over $250,000 but not over $500,000.... $70,800, plus 34% of the excess
over $250,000.
Over $500,000.......................... $155,800, plus 35% of the
excess of $500,000.''.
(b) Treatment of Certain Transfers in Trust.--Section 2511
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Treatment of Certain Transfers in Trust.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section and
except as provided in regulations, a transfer in trust shall
be treated as a taxable gift under section 2503, unless the
trust is treated as wholly owned by the donor or the donor's
spouse under subpart E of part I of subchapter J of chapter
1.''.
(c) Lifetime Gift Exemption.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (1) of section 2505(a) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
``(1) the amount of the tentative tax which would be
determined under the rate schedule set forth in section
2502(a)(2) if the amount with respect to which such tentative
tax is to be computed were $10,000,000, reduced by''.
(2) Inflation adjustment.--Section 2505 of such Code is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Inflation Adjustment.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any calendar year after
2011, the dollar amount in subsection (a)(1) shall be
increased by an amount equal to--
``(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under
section 1(f)(3) for such calendar year by substituting
`calendar year 2010' for `calendar year 2016' in subparagraph
(A)(ii) thereof.
``(2) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under paragraph
(1) is not a multiple of $10,000, such amount shall be
rounded to the nearest multiple of $10,000.''.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 2505(a) of such Code is amended by striking the
last sentence.
(2) The heading for section 2505 of such Code is amended by
striking ``UNIFIED''.
(3) The item in the table of sections for subchapter A of
chapter 12 of such Code relating to section 2505 is amended
to read as follows:
``Sec. 2505. Credit against gift tax.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to gifts made on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(f) Transition Rule.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of applying sections 1015(d),
2502, and 2505 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the
calendar year in which this Act is enacted shall be treated
as 2 separate calendar years one of which ends on the day
before the date of the enactment of this Act and the other of
which begins on such date of enactment.
(2) Application of section 2504(b).--For purposes of
applying section 2504(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, the calendar year in which this Act is enacted shall be
treated as one preceding calendar period.
______
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Brown):
S. 223. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide
a tax credit to Patriot employers, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Finance.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 223
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 ``Patriot Employer Tax Credit
Act''.
SEC. 2. PATRIOT EMPLOYER TAX CREDIT.
(a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of
chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 45T. PATRIOT EMPLOYER TAX CREDIT.
``(a) Determination of Amount.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of section 38, the Patriot
employer credit determined under this section with respect to
any taxpayer who is a Patriot employer for any taxable year
shall be equal to 10 percent of the qualified wages paid or
incurred by the Patriot employer.
``(2) Limitation.--The amount of qualified wages which may
be taken into account under paragraph (1) with respect to any
employee for any taxable year shall not exceed $15,000.
``(b) Patriot Employer.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a), the term
`Patriot employer' means, with respect to any taxable year,
any taxpayer--
``(A) which--
``(i) maintains its headquarters in the United States if
the taxpayer (or any predecessor) has ever been headquartered
in the United States, and
``(ii) is not (and no predecessor of which is) an
expatriated entity (as defined in section 7874(a)(2)) for the
taxable year or any preceding taxable year ending after March
4, 2003,
``(B) with respect to which no assessable payment has been
imposed under section 4980H with respect to any month
occurring during the taxable year,
``(C) provides employees with--
``(i) paid sick leave, or
``(ii) paid family and medical leave, and
``(D) in the case of--
``(i) a taxpayer which employs an average of more than 50
employees on business days during the taxable year, which--
``(I) provides compensation for at least 90 percent of its
employees for services provided by such employees during the
taxable year at an hourly rate (or equivalent thereof) not
less than an amount equal to 218 percent of the Federal
poverty level for an individual for the calendar year in
which the taxable year begins divided by 1,750,
``(II) meets the retirement plan requirements of subsection
(c) with respect to at least 90 percent of its employees
providing services during the taxable year who are not highly
compensated employees, and
``(III) meets the additional requirements of subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (2), or
``(ii) any other taxpayer, which meets the requirements of
either subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i) for the taxable
year.
``(2) Additional requirements for large employers.--
``(A) United states employment.--The requirements of this
subparagraph are met for any taxable year if--
``(i) in any case in which the taxpayer increases the
number of employees performing substantially all of their
services for the taxable year outside the United States, the
taxpayer either--
``(I) increases the number of employees performing
substantially all of their services inside the United States
by an amount not less than the increase in such number for
employees outside the United States, or
``(II) has a percentage increase in such employees inside
the United States which is not less than the percentage
increase in such employees outside the United States,
``(ii) in any case in which the taxpayer decreases the
number of employees performing substantially all of their
services for the taxable year inside the United States, the
taxpayer either--
``(I) decreases the number of employees performing
substantially all of their services outside the United States
by an amount not less than the decrease in such number for
employees inside the United States, or
``(II) has a percentage decrease in employees outside the
United States which is not less than the percentage decrease
in such employees inside the United States, and
``(iii) there is not a decrease in the number of employees
performing substantially all of their services for the
taxable year inside the United States by reason of the
taxpayer contracting out such services to persons who are not
employees of the taxpayer.
``(B) Treatment of individuals in the uniformed services
and the disabled.--The requirements of this subparagraph are
met for any taxable year if--
``(i) the taxpayer provides differential wage payments (as
defined in section 3401(h)(2)) to each employee described in
section 3401(h)(2)(A) for any period during the taxable year
in an amount not less than the difference between the wages
which would have been received from the employer during such
period and the amount of pay and allowances which the
employee receives for service in the uniformed services
during such period, and
``(ii) the taxpayer has in place at all times during the
taxable year a written policy for the recruitment of
employees who have served in the uniformed services or who
are disabled.
[[Page S590]]
``(3) Special rules for applying the minimum wage and
retirement plan requirements.--
``(A) Minimum wage.--In determining whether the minimum
wage requirements of paragraph (1)(D)(i)(I) are met with
respect to 90 percent of a taxpayer's employees for any
taxable year--
``(i) a taxpayer may elect to exclude from such
determination apprentices or learners that an employer may
exclude under the regulations under section 14(a) of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938, and
``(ii) if a taxpayer meets the requirements of paragraph
(2)(B)(i) with respect to providing differential wage
payments to any employee for any period (without regard to
whether such requirements apply to the taxpayer), the hourly
rate (or equivalent thereof) for such payments shall be
determined on the basis of the wages which would have been
paid by the employer during such period if the employee had
not been providing service in the uniformed services.
``(B) Retirement plan.--In determining whether the
retirement plan requirements of paragraph (1)(D)(i)(II) are
met with respect to 90 percent of a taxpayer's employees for
any taxable year, a taxpayer may elect to exclude from such
determination--
``(i) employees not meeting the age or service requirements
under section 410(a)(1) (or such lower age or service
requirements as the employer provides), and
``(ii) employees described in section 410(b)(3).
``(c) Retirement Plan Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The requirements of this subsection are
met for any taxable year with respect to an employee of the
taxpayer who is not a highly compensated employee if the
employee is eligible to participate in 1 or more applicable
eligible retirement plans maintained by the employer for a
plan year ending with or within the taxable year.
``(2) Applicable eligible retirement plan.--For purposes of
this subsection, the term `applicable eligible retirement
plan' means an eligible retirement plan which, with respect
to the plan year described in paragraph (1), is either--
``(A) a defined contribution plan which--
``(i) requires the employer to make nonelective
contributions of at least 5 percent of the compensation of
the employee, or
``(ii) both--
``(I) includes an eligible automatic contribution
arrangement (as defined in section 414(w)(3)) under which the
uniform percentage described in section 414(w)(3)(B) is at
least 5 percent, and
``(II) requires the employer to make matching contributions
of 100 percent of the elective deferrals (as defined in
section 414(u)(2)(C)) of the employee to the extent such
deferrals do not exceed the percentage specified by the plan
(not less than 5 percent) of the employee's compensation, or
``(B) a defined benefit plan--
``(i) with respect to which the accrued benefit of the
employee derived from employer contributions, when expressed
as an annual retirement benefit, is not less than the product
of--
``(I) the lesser of 2 percent multiplied by the employee's
years of service (determined under the rules of paragraphs
(4), (5), and (6) of section 411(a)) with the employer or 20
percent, multiplied by
``(II) the employee's final average pay, or
``(ii) which is an applicable defined benefit plan (as
defined in section 411(a)(13)(C))--
``(I) which meets the interest credit requirements of
section 411(b)(5)(B)(i) with respect to the plan year, and
``(II) under which the employee receives a pay credit for
the plan year which is not less than 5 percent of
compensation.
``(3) Definitions and special rules.--For purposes of this
subsection--
``(A) Eligible retirement plan.--The term `eligible
retirement plan' has the meaning given such term by section
402(c)(8)(B), except that in the case of an account or
annuity described in clause (i) or (ii) thereof, such term
shall only include an account or annuity which is a
simplified employee pension (as defined in section 408(k)).
``(B) Final average pay.--For purposes of paragraph
(2)(B)(i)(II), final average pay shall be determined using
the period of consecutive years (not exceeding 5) during
which the employee had the greatest compensation from the
taxpayer.
``(C) Alternative plan designs.--The Secretary may
prescribe regulations for a taxpayer to meet the requirements
of this subsection through a combination of defined
contribution plans or defined benefit plans described in
paragraph (1) or through a combination of both such types of
plans.
``(D) Plans must meet requirements without taking into
account social security and similar contributions and
benefits.--A rule similar to the rule of section 416(e) shall
apply.
``(d) Qualified Wages and Compensation.--For purposes of
this section--
``(1) In general.--The term `qualified wages' means wages
(as defined in section 51(c), determined without regard to
paragraph (4) thereof) paid or incurred by the Patriot
employer during the taxable year to employees--
``(A) who perform substantially all of their services for
such Patriot employer inside the United States, and
``(B) with respect to whom--
``(i) in the case of a Patriot employer which employs an
average of more than 50 employees on business days during the
taxable year, the requirements of subclauses (I) and (II) of
subsection (b)(1)(D)(i) are met, and
``(ii) in the case of any other Patriot employer, the
requirements of either subclause (I) or (II) of subsection
(b)(1)(D)(i) are met.
``(2) Special rules for agricultural labor and railway
labor.--Rules similar to the rules of section 51(h) shall
apply.
``(3) Compensation.--For purposes of subsections
(b)(1)(D)(i)(I) and (c), the term `compensation' has the same
meaning as qualified wages, except that section 51(c)(2)
shall be disregarded in determining the amount of such wages.
``(e) Aggregation Rules.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) In general.--All persons treated as a single employer
under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 shall be treated as
a single taxpayer.
``(2) Special rules for certain requirements.--For purposes
of applying paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(A) of subsection (b)--
``(A) the determination under subsections (a) and (b) of
section 52 for purposes of paragraph (1) shall be made
without regard to section 1563(b)(2)(C) (relating to
exclusion of foreign corporations), and
``(B) if any person treated as a single taxpayer under this
subsection (after application of subparagraph (A)), or any
predecessor of such person, was an expatriated entity (as
defined in section 7874(a)(2)) for any taxable year ending
after March 4, 2003, then all persons treated as a single
taxpayer with such person shall be treated as expatriated
entities.
``(f) Election To Have Credit Not Apply.--
``(1) In general.--A taxpayer may elect to have this
section not apply for any taxable year.
``(2) Time for making election.--An election under
paragraph (1) for any taxable year may be made (or revoked)
at any time before the expiration of the 3-year period
beginning on the last date prescribed by law for filing the
return for such taxable year (determined without regard to
extensions).
``(3) Manner of making election.--An election under
paragraph (1) (or revocation thereof) shall be made in such
manner as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe.''.
(b) Allowance as General Business Credit.--Section 38(b) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
``plus'' at the end of paragraph (31), by striking the period
at the end of paragraph (32) and inserting ``, plus'', and by
adding at the end the following:
``(33) in the case of a Patriot employer (as defined in
section 45T(b)) for any taxable year, the Patriot employer
credit determined under section 45T(a).''.
(c) Denial of Double Benefit.--Subsection (a) of section
280C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
inserting ``45T(a),'' after ``45S(a)''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2019.
____________________