[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2559-2560]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. Ensign):
  S. 2668. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove 
cell phones from listed property under section 280F; to the Committee 
on Finance.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today Senator Ensign and I are introducing 
the MOBILE Cell Phone Act, Modernize Our Bookkeeping in the Law for 
Employees' Cell Phone Act 2008. The purpose of this legislation is to 
update the tax treatment of cell phones and mobile communication 
devices.
  During the past 20 years, the use of cell phone and mobile 
communication devices has skyrocketed. Cell phones are no longer viewed 
as an executive perk or a luxury item. They no longer resemble 
suitcases or are hardwired to the floor of an automobile. Cell phone 
and mobile communication devices are now part of daily business 
practices at all levels.
  In 1989, Congress passed a law, which added cell phones to the 
definition of listed property under section 280F(d)(4) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986. Treating cell phones as listed property requires 
substantial documentation in order for cell phones to benefit from 
accelerated depreciation and not be treated as taxable income to the 
employee. This documentation is required to substantiate that the cell 
phone is used for business purposes more than 50 percent of the time. 
Generally, listed property is property that inherently lends itself to 
personal use, such as automobiles.
  Back in 1989, cell phone technology was an expensive technology 
worthy of detailed logsheets. At that time, it was difficult to 
envision cell phones that could be placed in a pocket or handbag. 
Congress was skeptical about the daily business use of cell phones.
  Technological advances have revolutionized the cell phone and mobile 
communication device industries. Twenty years ago, no one could have 
imagined the role BlackBerries play in our day-to-day communications. 
Cell phones and mobile communication devices are now widespread 
throughout all types of businesses. Employers provide their employees 
with these devices to enable them to remain connected 24 hours a day, 
seven days a week. The cost of the devices has been reduced, and most 
providers offer unlimited airtime for one monthly rate.
  Recently, the Internal Revenue Service reminded field examiners of 
the substantiation rules for cell phones as listed property. The 
current rule requires employers to maintain expensive and detailed 
logs, and employers caught without cell phone logs could face tax 
penalties.
  The MOBILE Cell Phone Act of 2008 updates the tax treatment of cell

[[Page 2560]]

phones and mobile communication devices by repealing the requirement 
that employers maintain detailed logs. The tax code should keep pace 
with technological advances. There is no longer a reason that cell 
phones and mobile communication devices should be treated differently 
from office phones or computers.
  I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense change.
  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. 2668

       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 ``Modernize Our Bookkeeping In 
     the Law for Employee's Cell Phone Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF CELLULAR TELEPHONES (OR SIMILAR 
                   TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT) FROM LISTED 
                   PROPERTY.

       (a) In General.--Subparagraph (A) of section 280F(d)(4) of 
     the Internal Revenue Code (defining listed property) is 
     amended by inserting ``and'' at the end of clause (iv), by 
     striking clause (v), and by redesignating clause (vi) as 
     clause (v).
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2007.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Pryor, Ms. 
        Collins, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 2669. A bill to provide for the implementation of a Green 
Chemistry Research and Development Program, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I am proud to join my friend Senator 
Snowe and our colleagues Senator Pryor, Senator Collins, and Senator 
Kerry in introducing the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act. 
This legislation is a bipartisan effort to promote the efforts of some 
of the most brilliant minds in academia, government, and industry to 
both reduce the environmental impacts of common chemical processes and 
to foster the development of a new generation of environmentally 
responsible chemical products.
  My fellow cosponsors and I seek to help the chemical industry reduce 
its use and production of hazardous substances and the overall effect 
on the environment of the business of chemistry. As it was in the past 
when Senator Snowe and I previously introduced legislation to promote 
``Green Chemistry,'' this legislation is supported by the chemical, 
pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries and academic institutions 
because it is designed to hasten the attainment of a goal we all share: 
making the production of the chemical products we need in ways not 
detrimental to the environment using engineering processes that save 
both money and the planet. The products and engineering processes we 
believe will be developed will produce benefits across the entire 
economy.
  What we call ``green chemistry'' is nothing more than what every 
industry in the United States should strive to be. Chemical companies 
employing green chemistry techniques will challenge their best 
scientists, engineers, and product developers to make new products that 
are better suited to the task for which they are created than the 
products they will replace using state-of-the-art manufacturing that 
minimizes or completely eliminates both the use of environmentally 
unsustainable substances as inputs or results in environmentally 
unsustainable substances as byproducts. Our purpose in introducing this 
legislation is to make certain that the nascent green technology 
revolution does not bypass the chemical industry by providing 
significant and ongoing support for green chemistry research, 
development, demonstration, education, and technology transfer.
  When enacted, the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act will 
create a Federal Interagency Working Group--made up of representatives 
from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy, and the 
Environmental Protection Agency--to fund and oversee research through 
merit-based grants to universities, industry, and nonprofit 
organizations to promote the development and adoption of green 
chemistry processes and products. Further, the Interagency Working 
Group will help expand education, training in, and the flow of 
information about sustainable chemical engineering, including 
development of green chemistry curricula for undergraduate and graduate 
students. Finally, Federal resources in funding and technical expertise 
will seek to identify barriers to the commercialization of the products 
of a rejuvenated, more environmentally responsible domestic chemical 
industry.
  These are challenging times for the domestic chemical industry. High 
prices for necessary feedstocks and transportation to customers, along 
with all the other hurdles that must be overcome in the global economy, 
have put this industry, which began here and which supplied vital 
products to customers the world over, at risk of being another industry 
the United States could lose to our foreign trading competitors. 
However, this industry meets challenges every day. This legislation 
will allow American chemical companies to once again demonstrate a 
passion for excellence, safety, and innovation that will be a source of 
envy around the world and create a generation's worth of good-paying 
jobs that States like West Virginia can build an economy around.
  Mr. President, I call on my colleagues to take up and pass the Green 
Chemistry Research and Development Act.

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