[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 37 (Thursday, February 28, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1597-S1599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. Wyden):
  S. 617. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend 
certain expiring provisions, to provide disaster tax relief, and for 
other purposes; read the first time.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, before the Presidents Day recess, I 
announced that I would introduce legislation if the tax extenders 
weren't included in the legislation that we passed at that time that 
would keep government open.
  Today I am following through on that promise with a bill that I am 
introducing with Finance Committee ranking member Senator Wyden of 
Oregon.
  It is fitting that I am taking this step in the same month as 
Groundhog Day, as the subject of my remarks is something that Congress 
has had to deal with too many times already.
  Next to me is a depiction from the movie ``Groundhog Day,'' which is 
about a man named Phil who must relive the same day over and over until 
he gets everything right. While we still need to break the cycle of 
repetitive short-term extensions, the right thing to do right now is to 
extend these already-expired provisions for 2018 and 2019.
  As I have said before, the tax extenders are a collection of 
temporary tax

[[Page S1598]]

incentives that have required extension on a very regular basis in 
order to keep them available to the taxpayers. Currently, there are 26 
provisions. At one time there were as many as 50-some. We have done 
away with some of them and made some of those laws permanent, but these 
26 provisions expired at the end of 2017. They need to be extended, as 
well as three others that expired at the end of last year.
  Today we are in the middle of filing season for 2018 tax returns, and 
taxpayers affected by these expired provisions need a resolution so 
that they can file. I want to stress that I want to find a long-term 
resolution so that we don't have to have temporary tax policy, but it 
is critical we make it clear to the taxpayers that these provisions are 
available for the 2018 filing season and extending them for this year 
will give us room to take a needed long-term view of this temporary tax 
policy.
  Many of the tax extenders are intended to be incentives, and to be 
successful, then, these incentives need to be in effect before 
decisions can be made. That is why we should provide extensions for at 
least 2 years, to maximize that incentive effect. But it is also 
important that we extend these provisions for 2018, even though the 
year has obviously already ended. We have developed a very bad policy 
and a very bad habit of extending these tax provisions year after year, 
and people and businesses have come to expect that the extension will 
happen.
  As a result, decisions were made by various businesses in 2018 based 
upon the expectation of extension, and that is a reasonable expectation 
because we have done it over decades. In other words, people did what 
we wanted them to do in their business decisions when these provisions 
were created. We should not retroactively punish these businesspeople 
for Congress's inaction.
  Today, a diverse group of organizations, including the National 
Biodiesel Board, the American Trucking Associations, and the National 
Corn Growers Association, among others, sent a letter to congressional 
leaders requesting that the expired provisions be extended through 2019 
as quickly as possible. I want to quote a few sentences from that 
letter:

       Providing taxpayers with a predictable planning outlook as 
     it pertains to tax rules is conducive to increased private 
     sector investment and economic activity. Accordingly, we 
     respectfully ask that you act to retroactively extend these 
     expired tax provisions through 2019 on the first appropriate 
     legislative vehicle.

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the complete letter be 
printed in the Record.
       There being no objection, the material was ordered to be 
     printed in the Record, as follows:

                                                February 28, 2019.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Speaker of the U.S. House,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Kevin McCarthy, 
     U.S. House Republican Leader,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     U.S. Senate Majority Leader,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Charles Schumer, 
     U.S. Senate Democratic Leader,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Richard Neal,
     Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Kevin Brady,
     Ranking Republican Member, U.S. House Committee on Ways and 
         Means,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Charles Grassley,
     Chairman, U.S. Senate Finance Committee,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Ron Wyden,
     Ranking Democratic Member, U.S. Senate Finance Committee,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Pelosi, Republican Leader McCarthy, Majority 
     Leader McConnell, Democratic Leader Schumer, Chairman Neal, 
     Ranking Member Brady, Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member 
     Wyden: The following organizations, representing diverse 
     business, energy, transportation, real estate and agriculture 
     sectors, are writing to you regarding the pressing need to 
     address the expired tax provisions (``tax extenders''). We 
     respectfully ask that at a minimum, the House and Senate 
     retroactively extend these provisions through 2019 promptly 
     in order to minimize potentially severe disruptions to the 
     recently opened tax filing season.
       These temporary tax provisions have remained lapsed since 
     the end of 2017. This has created confusion for the numerous 
     industry sectors that utilize these tax incentives and has 
     threatened thousands of jobs in the U.S. economy. The 
     continued uncertainty with regard to eventual congressional 
     action on tax extenders is undermining the effectiveness of 
     these incentives and stands as a needless barrier to 
     additional job creation and economic growth in the private 
     sector.
       Providing taxpayers with a predictable planning outlook as 
     it pertains to tax rules is conducive to increased private 
     sector investment and economic activity. Accordingly, we 
     respectfully ask that you act to retroactively extend these 
     expired tax provisions through 2019 on the first appropriate 
     legislative vehicle.
       We sincerely appreciate your attention to this matter, and 
     stand ready to work with you to achieve this important 
     objective.
           Sincerely,
       Advanced Biofuels Association; Advanced Biofuels Business 
     Council; Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA); Air-
     Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute; Algae 
     Biomass Organization; Alliantgroup; American Biogas Council; 
     American Council of Engineering Companies; American Council 
     On Renewable Energy (ACORE); American Horse Council; American 
     Public Gas Association; American Public Transportation 
     Association; American Short Line and Regional Railroad 
     Association; American Soybean Association; American Trucking 
     Associations; American Veterinary Medical Association; 
     Association of American Railroads; Biomass Power Association; 
     Biotechnology Innovation Organization; Business Council for 
     Sustainable Energy; CCIM Institute; Citizens for Responsible 
     Energy Solutions; Coalition for Energy Efficient Jobs & 
     Investment; Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG 
     Coalition); Community Transportation Association of America; 
     Copper Development Association; Directors Guild of America; 
     E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs); Education Theatre 
     Association EDTA; Electric Drive Transportation Association; 
     Energy Recovery Council; Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy 
     Association; Growth Energy; and Hearth, Patio & Barbecue 
     Association.
       Independent Electrical Contractors; Independent Film and 
     Television Alliance; Independent Fuel Terminal Operators 
     Association; Institute of Real Estate Management; 
     NAESCO (National Association of Energy Service Companies); 
     National Association of Home Builders; NAHB; National 
     Association of REALTORS; National Association of 
     State Energy Officials (NASEO); National Association of 
     Truckstop Operators; National Biodiesel Board; National Corn 
     Growers Association; National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; 
     National Employment Opportunity Network (NEON); National 
     Hydropower Association; National Lumber and Building Material 
     Dealers Association; National Propane Gas Association; 
     National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association; 
     National Real Estate Investors Association; National 
     Renderers Association; National Thoroughbred Racing 
     Association; NEFI; NGVAmerica; Pellet Fuels Institute; 
     Renewable Fuels Association; South West Transit Association; 
     The American Society of Cost Segregation Professionals; The 
     Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association 
     (REMSA); The Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors 
     National Association (SMACNA); Tile Roofing Industry 
     Alliance; U.S. Canola Association.

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, another very important point I want to 
make has to do with the question about whether an extender package 
should be offset or not. Around here, the word ``offset'' means if you 
have tax provisions that might lose revenue, then do you have other 
revenue coming in to take its place? The House has decided that is what 
you should do--pay as you go, or PAYGO, as they might call it. It is a 
rule of the House.
  I have a long record of promoting budget responsibility, and I am as 
concerned about the deficit and debt as anyone. However, we also have 
bipartisan precedent for treating the extension of temporary tax 
policy, like these extenders, just as we treat the extension of annual 
spending policy. In neither case do we need offset for such extensions. 
In other words, it is all right to spend more money or continue to 
spend the same amount of money after a program has expired, and you 
don't have to offset it when you have tax law that has been on the 
books for a couple of decades, and it is sunset. Why should you have to 
sunset that? There are a few people around here who think it is all 
right to spend money without offsets, but it is wrong to do tax policy 
unless you have offsets.
  There are a few specific items in this legislation that I want to 
take time to mention. Significant work has already been done to provide 
long-term solutions on two extenders--the short line railroad tax 
credit and the biodiesel tax credit.
  The bill I am introducing extends those credits at their current 
levels for 2018 and 2019. I want my colleagues to

[[Page S1599]]

know that I still remain committed to enacting the compromises that 
several of our colleagues and I worked with the stakeholders to 
achieve.
  The bill also includes an extension of a proposal adopted last 
Congress that would extend the 7.5-percent floor for itemized 
deductions of medical expenses. Without this provision, the floor on 
deductions will be 10 percent for 2019. This means that without this 
provision, individuals with chronic illnesses and high medical expenses 
would have to pay more for healthcare before that excess can be 
deducted in the expenses on their 2019 tax returns.
  This proposal is a very important priority for one of our best 
colleagues, Senator Collins. She deserves a lot of credit for getting 
what has turned into a bipartisan proposal to help many Americans 
facing catastrophic medical expenses.
  Finally, the legislation includes provisions to assist Americans who 
have been affected by natural disasters in 2018. This package includes 
proposals that we have adopted in prior years to help Americans recover 
from natural disasters across our country. For example, the package 
would allow increased access to retirement funds and relax restrictions 
around charitable giving. I am sure everyone here would like to help 
people affected by these natural disasters as soon as we are able to.
  I don't want my comments today to imply that each tax extender should 
be permanently extended, but the right thing to do now is to provide 
extensions for at least 2018 and 2019. In the long term, Congress needs 
to decide if these provisions should be allowed to expire or if they 
should be phased out or if they should be made permanent as current tax 
policy or modified in some way beyond expiring, phasing out, or being 
made permanent.
  Those decisions need to be made after we resolve the short-term 
crisis caused by the current lapse. These provisions have support of 
Members on both sides of the aisle. For people who think that things 
around here get done only with Republicans fighting Democrats or vice 
versa, these provisions have wide bipartisan support.
  There is a solid foundation for a long-term package consisting of 
many of these provisions in one form or another. We need to get past 
today so that we can chart the course for a reliable future for the tax 
extenders and give business some certainty.
  Just as Phil wants to stop living the same day over and over again, I 
think all of us want to break the cycle of short-term extensions of, in 
many cases, very popular tax policy. The legislation I introduce today 
with the ranking member, Senator Wyden of Oregon, is a critical first 
step toward helping taxpayers complete their 2018 returns and helping 
us begin work on a long-term solution to temporary tax policy.
  I have asked our majority leader to rule XIV this bill onto the 
calendar, and I urge the House to send us a tax bill to address the 
extenders without further delay.
  Just this morning, I had discussions with Iowa Congressmen of both 
political parties about this issue to contact the leadership of the 
House and the leadership of the Ways and Means Committee on the 
importance of moving legislation since the Constitution doesn't allow 
the Senate to move tax legislation in the first place.
                                 ______