[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 19 (Tuesday, February 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S250-S252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Peters, Mr. Wicker,
and Mr. Moran):
S. 163. A bill to address the workforce needs of the
telecommunications industry; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation.
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. 163
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 ``Telecommunications Skilled
Workforce Act''.
SEC. 2. TELECOMMUNICATIONS INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.
(a) In General.--Part I of title III of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``SEC. 344. TELECOMMUNICATIONS INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) 5G.--The term `5G', with respect to wireless
infrastructure and wireless technology, means fifth-
generation wireless infrastructure and wireless technology.
``(2) Rural area.--The term `rural area' means any area
other than--
``(A) a city, town, or incorporated area that has a
population of more than 20,000 inhabitants; or
``(B) an urbanized area adjacent to a city or town that has
a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants.
``(3) Telecommunications interagency working group.--The
term `telecommunications interagency working group' means the
interagency working group established under subsection (b).
``(b) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Chairman of the Commission,
in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall establish
within the Commission an interagency working group to develop
recommendations to address the workforce needs of the
telecommunications industry.
``(c) Duties.--In developing recommendations under
subsection (b), the telecommunications interagency working
group shall--
``(1) determine whether, and if so how, any Federal laws
(including regulations), guidance, policies, or practices, or
any budgetary constraints, inhibit institutions of higher
education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) or for-profit businesses from
establishing, adopting, or expanding programs intended to
address the workforce needs of the telecommunications
industry, including the workforce needed to build and
maintain the 5G wireless infrastructure necessary to support
5G wireless technology;
``(2) identify potential policies and programs that could
encourage and improve coordination among Federal agencies,
between Federal agencies and States, and among States, on
telecommunications workforce needs;
``(3) identify ways in which existing Federal programs,
including programs that help facilitate the employment of
veterans and military personnel transitioning into civilian
life, could be leveraged to help address the workforce needs
of the telecommunications industry;
``(4) identify ways to encourage individuals and for-profit
businesses to participate in qualified industry-led workforce
development programs, including the Telecommunications
Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program;
``(5) identify ways to improve recruitment in qualified
industry-led workforce development programs, including the
Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program
and other industry-recognized apprenticeship programs; and
``(6) identify Federal incentives that could be provided to
institutions of higher education, for-profit businesses,
State workforce development boards established under section
101 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29
U.S.C. 3111), or other relevant stakeholders to establish or
adopt programs, or expand current programs, to address the
workforce needs of the telecommunications industry, including
such needs in rural areas.
``(d) Members.--The telecommunications interagency working
group shall be composed of representatives of such Federal
agencies and relevant non-Federal industry stakeholder
organizations as the Chairman of the Commission, in
consultation with the Secretary of Labor, considers
appropriate, including--
``(1) a representative of the Department of Education,
appointed by the Secretary of Education;
``(2) a representative of the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration, appointed by the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information;
``(3) a representative of the Department of Commerce,
appointed by the Secretary of Commerce;
``(4) a representative of the Commission, appointed by the
Chairman of the Commission;
``(5) a representative of the Telecommunications Industry
Registered Apprenticeship Program, appointed by the Secretary
of Labor;
``(6) a representative of a telecommunications industry
association, appointed by the Chairman of the Commission;
``(7) a representative of an Indian Tribe or Tribal
organization, appointed by the Secretary of Labor;
``(8) a representative of a rural telecommunications
carrier, appointed by the Chairman of the Commission;
``(9) a representative of a telecommunications contractor
firm, appointed by the Chairman of the Commission;
``(10) a representative of a minority institution (as
defined in section 365 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1067k)), appointed by the Secretary of Education;
and
``(11) a representative of a labor organization, appointed
by the Secretary of Labor.
``(e) No Compensation.--A member of the telecommunications
interagency working group shall serve without compensation.
``(f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after
the date on which the telecommunications interagency working
group is established, the working group shall submit a report
containing recommendations to address the workforce needs of
the telecommunications industry to--
``(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate;
``(2) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate;
``(3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives; and
``(4) the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives.
``(g) Nonapplicability of FACA.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
[[Page S251]]
App.) shall not apply to the telecommunications interagency
working group.''.
(b) Sunset.--Section 344 of the Communications Act of 1934,
as added by subsection (a), shall be repealed on the day
after the date on which the interagency working group
established under subsection (b) of that section submits the
report to Congress under subsection (f) of that section.
SEC. 3. TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORKFORCE GUIDANCE.
Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor,
shall establish and issue guidance on how States can address
the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry,
including guidance on how a State workforce development board
established under section 101 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111) can--
(1) utilize Federal resources available to States to meet
the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry; and
(2) promote and improve recruitment in qualified industry-
led workforce development programs, including the
Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship
Program.
SEC. 4. GAO ASSESSMENT OF WORKFORCE NEEDS OF THE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) 5G.--The term ``5G'', with respect to wireless
infrastructure and wireless technology, means fifth-
generation wireless infrastructure and wireless technology.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives.
(3) Broadband infrastructure.--The term ``broadband
infrastructure'' means any buried, underground, or aerial
facility, and any wireless or wireline connection, that
enables users to send and receive voice, video, data,
graphics, or any combination thereof.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that estimates the number of skilled
telecommunications workers that will be required to build and
maintain--
(1) broadband infrastructure in rural areas; and
(2) the 5G wireless infrastructure needed to support 5G
wireless technology.
______
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Hirono,
Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reed, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Cortez Masto, and
Ms. Warren):
S. 175. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt a
portion of unemployment compensation received during 2020 from income
taxes; 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. 175
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 ``Coronavirus Unemployment
Benefits Tax Relief Act''.
SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF TAX ON PORTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT
COMPENSATION.
(a) In General.--Section 85 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(c) Special Rule for 2020.--In the case of any taxable
year beginning in 2020, gross income shall not include so
much of the unemployment compensation received by an
individual as does not exceed $10,200.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section
shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2019
______
By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr.
Brown, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Baldwin, and Ms.
Warren):
S. 178. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand
the denial of deduction for certain excessive employee remuneration,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I am reintroducing the Stop Subsidizing
Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act with Senators Blumenthal,
Whitehouse, Merkley, Baldwin, Warren, Van Hellene, and Brown. This
legislation fully closes a loophole that has allowed publicly traded
corporations to deduct the cost of multimillion-dollar bonuses from
their corporate tax bills. U.S. taxpayers shouldn't continue to have to
subsidize these massive bonuses.
Under section 162(m) of the tax code as amended by the 2017 Trump tax
law (TCJA), when a publicly traded corporation calculates its taxable
income, it is generally permitted to deduct compensation costs from its
revenues, with limits up to $1 million for some of the firm's most
senior executives.
In the 115th Congress, the TCJA got rid of some of the prior 162(m)
loopholes by taking provisions from my Stop Subsidizing Multimillion
Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act, including removing the exemption for
performance-based compensation, which previously permitted compensation
deductions above $1 million when executives met performance benchmarks,
While these steps were a start, even more should have been done, such
as applying section 162(m) to all employees of publicly traded
corporations so that all compensation is subject to a deductibility cap
of $1 million. This was the only provision from my Stop Subsidizing
Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act from the l15th Congress that
was not incorporated into the Trump tax law.
Partially closing these 162(m) loopholes saved taxpayers $9.2 billion
according to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), but last Congress,
the JCT estimated that fully closing the loophole along the lines of
the legislation I am reintroducing today would save taxpayers an
additional $27 billion dollars.
Under this legislation, publicly traded corporations would still be
permitted to pay their executives as much as they desire, but
compensation above and beyond $1 million would no longer be subsidized
through our tax code. This is simply a matter of fairness, ensuring
that corporations--and not hardworking taxpayers who face their own
challenges in this economy--are paying for the multi-million dollar
bonuses corporations have decided to dole out to their senior
executives. Instead of showering corporations with additional benefits
they certainly don't need, we should be doing everything within our
power to help more families, who are barely surviving, make it to the
other side of this public health emergency.
I thank Public Citizen, the Institute for Policy Studies--Global
Economy Project, Americans for Financial Reform, the AFL-CIO,
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and MIT Professor Simon Johnson
for their support. I urge our colleagues to join us in cosponsoring
this legislation and pressing for its passage.
______
By Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Bennet, Mr.
Blumenthal, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Casey, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms.
Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Ossoff, Ms. Rosen, Ms.
Smith, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Warner, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr.
Wyden):
S. 181. A bill to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to
Fred Korematsu, in recognition of his dedication to justice and
equality; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to
posthumously award Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu with the Congressional
Gold Medal. Fred challenged the illegal internment of Japanese
Americans during World War II and devoted his life to expanding civil
rights and liberties for all people. Awarding him the Congressional
Gold Medal, Congress' highest civilian honor, would be a fitting
tribute to his lifelong pursuit of justice and equality.
Fred was born in Oakland, California on January 30, 1919, to Japanese
immigrant parents. Although he was an American citizen, Fred was
discriminated against due to his Japanese ancestry. As the United
States entered World War II, Fred tried unsuccessfully to enlist in the
U.S. military, and was fired from his job at the Oakland shipyard. In
1942, Fred was arrested and convicted of defying military orders issued
under Executive Order 9066, a discriminatory presidential order that
authorized the mass removal and incarceration of more than 120,000
Japanese Americans during World War II.
Fred challenged the constitutionality of the government's order but
was convicted in federal court of violating
[[Page S252]]
military orders issued under Executive Order 9066. After a federal
appeals court upheld his conviction, he appealed his case to the U.S.
Supreme Court. On December 18, 1944, the Court ruled against him in a
6-3 decision, finding the government's discriminatory policy to
incarcerate Japanese Americans was justified due to military necessity.
Decades later, legal historians discovered key information that the
federal government did not share with the Supreme Court, including a
report that concluded very few Japanese Americans represented a
national security risk. After this evidence of government misconduct
emerged and was presented to the court, Fred's conviction was
overturned by a Federal court in San Francisco nearly forty years
later, on November 10, 1983. Fred believed that the Supreme Court's
decision was wrong, and stated, ``I would like to see the Government
admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never
happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed or color.''
Although the Supreme Court's infamous ruling in Korematsu v. United
States has been widely rejected by historians and legal experts, it has
never been formally repudiated, and stands as one of the Supreme
Court's worst precedents.
The internment of Japanese Americans was a shameful act, and it was
not until 1988 that the Civil Liberties Act was passed and our
Government formally apologized to Americans of Japanese ancestry who
were incarcerated during World War II. Fred Korematsu fought for this
redress legislation and continued working to expand civil rights
throughout his life. He spoke out against prejudice directed at
minorities and immigrants, and after September 11, 2001, filed amicus
briefs with the Supreme Court, warning our nation not to repeat history
by committing civil and human rights travesties.
During his lifetime, Fred Korematsu did not choose the easy route.
Instead, he chose to fight and speak out against injustice his entire
life. He fought not just for himself, but for everyone, particularly
minorities who could be discriminated against based on their ethnicity.
However, many of these injustices remain, and can be reborn as we have
seen with the rise in anti-Asian prejudice during the COVID-19
pandemic. Fred Korematsu reminds us that we must remain vigilant
against discrimination, particularly when it is disguised in times of
emergency or for reasons of security. On January 30, Fred Korematsu Day
of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, we honor the life of this
civil rights hero whose legacy continues to inspire people of all
backgrounds to speak up and fight for justice. This day uses one of the
most blatant examples of racial discrimination to educate individuals
on the dangers of political scapegoating and works toward a future that
guarantees civil rights for everyone. I am proud to introduce the Fred
Korematsu Congressional Gold Medal Act in his memory, and I call on my
colleagues in the United States Senate to swiftly pass this bill during
the 117th Congress.
I yield the floor.
____________________