[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3625]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SUPPORT THE READY CREDIT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the needs of 
small businesses who employ America's dedicated Air and Army National 
Guard Reservists. Mounting numbers of contingency operations have 
pulled ever greater numbers of reservists out of the private sector and 
into full-time military service. I have introduced legislation, which 
is numbered H.R. 803, to cushion the blow of these reserve call-ups on 
small businesses.
  The end strength of our Armed Forces has fallen by more than 1 
million personnel since 1988, even as military contingency operations 
have increased to historically high levels. We have only been able to 
sustain this operations tempo because of an increasingly heavy reliance 
on reservists.
  Total so-called ``man days'' contributed by reservists have nearly 
tripled since 1992, to over 13 million days. Without the services of 
these citizen soldiers, we would need an additional force of nearly 
50,000 soldiers to maintain overseas commitments.
  Mr. Speaker, reservists are willing to do their duty and serve when 
they are called, but increasingly frequent deployments have placed a 
new strain on reserve-employer relations. Most businesses are fully 
supportive of the military obligations of their employees, but even the 
most enthusiastic civilian employers are hard hit when their staff is 
sent overseas for months at a time, only to have the person return home 
and be called up again.
  Evidence from the National Committee for Employer Support of the 
Guard and Reserve suggests that the strain is increasing, resulting in 
a greater number of inquiries on the rights and responsibilities of 
employers.
  Research by the Air Force Reserve has also demonstrated that the 
problem is growing. While only 3.5 percent of Air Force reservists 
indicated ``serious'' employer support problems, another 31 percent 
reported some degree of problems with employers. Of these reservists, 
10 percent are considering leaving because of employer support 
problems. But the true magnitude of the problem is likely greatly 
understated as there is no comprehensive survey that is used to 
consistently evaluate reserve-employer relationships.
  Now, the expense to small businesses of doing without a valued 
employee, or hiring and training a temporary replacement, is 
significant and the loss of productivity is equally difficult.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation, H.R. 803, would provide employers with 
a tax credit to compensate for employee participation in the individual 
ready reserves. Specifically, the legislation provides a credit equal 
to 50 percent of the amount of compensation that would have been paid 
to an employee during the time that that employee participates in 
contingency operations supporting missions in Bosnia and Southwest 
Asia.
  The total allowable credit for each individual employee may not 
exceed $2,000, or a maximum of $7,500 for all employees. The 
legislation also extends the credit for self-employed individuals. The 
credit would offset at least some of the expense that reserve employers 
face and reduce tensions with employees.
  Now, this legislation is only one step towards resolving a complex 
problem. It does not address the serious needs of public sector 
employees who can be impacted by contingencies as much as businesses. 
More important, it does not address the high operations tempo that is 
exacerbating reserve-employer relations and driving personnel out of 
the reserves. But I do think this bill is timely for it addresses two 
of the most pressing issues of the 106th Congress: taxes and military 
readiness.
  Mr. Speaker, as Congress discusses proposals to reduce the tax burden 
on Americans, we must give serious thought to small businesses who have 
lost valued employees to overseas military operations. As we discuss 
pay and benefit packages for the active duty military, we must not 
forget the citizen soldiers who are the backbone of our Armed Forces 
and whose service is increasingly putting pressure on their full-time 
civilian employer.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in making the Ready 
Credit, which is the name on this bill, a reality by cosponsoring H.R. 
803.

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