[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 76 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1536]
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 and Mr. Cardin):
  S. 1454. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
disallow a deduction for charitable contributions for certain purposes 
relating to college athletics; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam 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. 1454

       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 ``Athlete Opportunity and 
     Taxpayer Integrity Act''.

     SEC. 2. DISALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR 
                   CERTAIN PURPOSES RELATING TO COLLEGE ATHLETICS.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (p) of section 170 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
       ``(p) Contributions for Certain Purposes Relating to 
     College Athletics.--
       ``(1) In general.--No deduction shall be allowed for any 
     contribution any portion of which is used by the donee to 
     compensate 1 or more secondary or post-secondary school 
     athletes for the use of their name, image, or likeness by 
     reason of their status as athletes.
       ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
     contribution made directly to an organization which is an 
     eligible educational institution (as defined in section 
     25A(f)(2)).''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 63(b) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ``and'' at the 
     end of paragraph (2), by striking ``, and'' at the end of 
     paragraph (3) and inserting a period, and by striking 
     paragraph (4).
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to contributions made in taxable years beginning 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. King, Mr. Cassidy, 
        Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Booker, Mr. Casey, Ms. 
        Baldwin, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. Rosen):
  S. 1465. A bill to establish the Baltic Security Initiative for the 
purpose of strengthening the defensive capabilities of the Baltic 
countries, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam 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. 1465

       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 ``Baltic Security Initiative 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. BALTIC SECURITY INITIATIVE.

       (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
     establish and carry out an initiative, to be known as the 
     ``Baltic Security Initiative'' (in this section referred to 
     as the ``Initiative'') for the purpose of deepening security 
     cooperation with the Baltic countries.
       (b) Relationship to Existing Authorities.--The Initiative 
     required by subsection (a) shall be carried out pursuant to 
     the authorities provided in title 10, United States Code.
       (c) Objectives.--The objectives of the Initiative shall 
     be--
       (1) to achieve United States national security objectives 
     by--
       (A) deterring aggression by the Russian Federation; and
       (B) implementing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 
     new Strategic Concept, which seeks to strengthen the 
     alliance's deterrence and defense posture by denying 
     potential adversaries any possible opportunities for 
     aggression;
       (2) to enhance regional planning and cooperation among the 
     Baltic countries, particularly with respect to long-term 
     regional capability projects, including--
       (A) long-range precision fire systems and capabilities;
       (B) integrated air and missile defense;
       (C) maritime domain awareness;
       (D) land forces development, including stockpiling large 
     caliber ammunition;
       (E) command, control, communications, computers, 
     intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance;
       (F) special operations forces development;
       (G) coordination with and security enhancements for Poland, 
     which is a neighboring North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
     ally; and
       (H) other military capabilities, as determined by the 
     Secretary of Defense; and
       (3) to improve the Baltic countries' cyber defenses and 
     resilience to hybrid threats.
       (d) Strategy.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
     submit to Congress a report setting forth a strategy for the 
     Department of Defense to achieve the objectives described in 
     subsection (b).
       (2) Considerations.--The strategy required by this 
     subsection shall include a consideration of--
       (A) security assistance programs for the Baltic countries 
     authorized as of the date on which the strategy is submitted;
       (B) the ongoing security threats to the North Atlantic 
     Treaty Organization's eastern flank posed by Russian 
     aggression, including as a result of the Russian Federation's 
     2022 invasion of Ukraine with support from Belarus; and
       (C) the ongoing security threats to the Baltic countries 
     posed by the presence, coercive economic policies, and other 
     malign activities of the People's Republic of China.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Secretary of Defense $350,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
     years 2024, 2025, and 2026 to carry out the Initiative.
       (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Secretary of Defense should seek to require matching 
     funds from each of the Baltic countries that participate in 
     the Initiative in amounts commensurate with amounts provided 
     by the Department of Defense for the Initiative.
       (f) Baltic Countries Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``Baltic countries'' means--
       (1) Estonia;
       (2) Latvia; and
       (3) Lithuania.

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