[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6183-6186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    MARKETPLACE FAIRNESS ACT OF 2013

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of S. 743, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 743) to restore States' sovereign rights to 
     enforce State and local sales and use tax laws, and for other 
     purposes.

  Pending:

       Reid (for Enzi) amendment No. 741, of a perfecting nature.
       Durbin amendment No. 745 (to amendment No. 741), to change 
     the enactment date.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture time 
is considered expired.
  Under the previous order, amendment No. 745 is withdrawn.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 741, offered by the 
Senator from Nevada, Mr. Reid.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Lautenberg) and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich) are necessarily 
absent.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), 
the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), and the Senator from 
Kansas (Mr. Moran).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) 
would have voted ``nay.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Donnelly). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 70, nays 24, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 112 Leg.]

                                YEAS--70

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cowan
     Crapo
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Portman
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Thune
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker

                                NAYS--24

     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Coburn
     Cruz
     Flake
     Hatch
     Heller
     Inhofe
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Lee
     McConnell
     Merkley
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Roberts
     Rubio
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Tester
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Begich
     Burr
     Cornyn
     Graham
     Lautenberg
     Moran
  The amendment (No. 741) was agreed to.


               UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H. CON. RES. 25

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this afternoon I offered a consent agreement 
dealing with the budget. I withdrew that because we did not have anyone 
here to object, and I had an inkling there would be an objection if a 
Republican were here.
  We have been asked to move with regular order. We have done that. We 
have done our very best to do that. People wanted amendments. We have 
done our best to have bills with amendments. We have been asked, let's 
do as much work as we can with committees, and we have done that. We 
have bills reported out from the committee. Those are the bills we have 
handled here, with rare exception.
  Now we have had our Republican friends saying for months and months, 
let's do things with regular order. We know how hard it was to get a 
budget passed. We have had over 100 amendments on which we actually 
voted. We were here until 5 o'clock in the morning. We got a budget, 
even though--you know, we have been through this before. We do not need 
to go into more detail. We had a law signed by the President of the 
United States that gave us our budget allocations for several years. 
But we decided to do a resolution. It didn't have to be signed by the 
President. I am glad we did. It was hard. Senators Murray and Sessions 
did a good job allowing us to move forward on that, so now it is time 
to go forward. We have a budget resolution we passed in the Senate. We 
want to meet with the House and work out our differences. That is what 
we have done here for two centuries. We should do it on this bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration 
of Calendar No. 33, H. Con. Res. 25; that the amendment which is at the 
desk, the text of S. Con. Res. 8, the budget resolution passed by the 
Senate, be inserted in lieu thereof; that H. Con. Res. 25, as amended, 
be agreed to, with the motions to reconsider being considered made and 
laid on the table; that the Senate insist on its amendment, request a 
conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, 
and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the 
Senate, all without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, one of my 
concerns is that this conference report could be used to pass a 
reconciliation bill that would increase the debt ceiling without 
sufficient input from the minority party and without addressing the 
fundamental structural spending problems we have in the Federal 
Government that are leading to our unsustainable debt. I believe this 
concern is well founded in history in that reconciliation bills have 
been used to increase the debt ceiling at least three times--in 1986, 
1990, and in 1993. So for that reason, reserving the right to object, I 
ask consent that the leader modify his request so that it not be in 
order for the Senate to consider a conference report that includes tax 
increases or reconciliation instructions to increase taxes or to raise 
the debt limit.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the modified request?
  Mr. REID. I would make a comment before making a decision on that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. The Senate considered the budget--and that is an 
understatement. We voted on more than 100 amendments, as I mentioned a 
few minutes ago. It was hard. The votes were hard. The Senate passed 
its budget. It should now go to conference, that which the Senate 
passed. It is our budget. The Senator from Texas was on the losing 
side. He had his view and it lost, but now he wants us to agree by 
consent to adopt the losing side's view or else he is not going to 
allow us to go to conference.
  For more than two centuries, I repeat, the two bodies have been able 
to go work out their differences. The Senate passes something. The 
House passes something. You talk about regular order, that is it. We 
are able at that time to sit down and talk about the differences. The 
debt ceiling--he wants to talk about that. He wants to talk about 
taxes. We are happy to do that, but let's do it in the context of 
regular order. That is what we should be doing around here.
  My friend from Texas is like the schoolyard bully. He pushes 
everybody around and is losing, and instead of playing the game 
according to the rules, he not only takes the ball home with him but 
changes the rules. That way, no one wins--except the bully who

[[Page 6184]]

tries to indicate to people that he has won. We are asking the 
Republicans to play by the rules and let us go to conference.
  I don't think it takes a lot of wizardry to figure out that we know 
how the American people feel about what they want done in this country. 
They want us to get on a pathway of growth and economic vitality. It 
has been hindered.
  The Republicans have things they want to do. We have things we want 
to do. Why can't we sit down as reasonable men and women and work out 
our differences? That is what a conference is all about.
  I object to what my friend suggests. It is actually fairly 
ridiculous, if you want the truth: Before we go to conference, 
determine what you are going to do or not do in the conference. That is 
not how we do things around here.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Is there objection to the original request? The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I was not aware we were at a schoolyard.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, is there an objection or no objection? Let's 
hear about it. We have had enough.
  Mrs. BOXER. Regular order.
  Mr. CRUZ. Reserving the right to object.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, there is no such thing.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. CRUZ. Yes. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bill for a third time.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.


                             Implementation

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the Marketplace 
Fairness Act. I applaud Senator Enzi for his many years of work on this 
legislation, of which I am a cosponsor. This bill rectifies a 
fundamental unfairness in our current system. Right now, out-of-State 
Internet sellers, so-called remote sellers, have an advantage over Main 
Street businesses. Main Street businesses have to collect sales taxes 
on every transaction. Because remote sellers don't have to charge this 
tax, they enjoy a price advantage over the mom-and-pop businesses that 
form the backbone of our communities. This bill would allow States to 
collect sales taxes on remote sales, thereby leveling the playing field 
with Main Street businesses.
  It is important to recognize that this bill does not authorize any 
new or higher tax, nor does it impose an Internet tax. It simply helps 
ensure that taxes already owed are paid.
  I would like to engage Senator Enzi in a colloquy regarding the 
manner in which the bill is to be implemented. As introduced, the bill 
would require some businesses to start collecting sales taxes in as 
little as 90 days. I hope that my colleague from Wyoming would agree 
that is too short a time period, and I appreciate the fact that he has 
offered an amendment that includes a 6-month delay. I believe, however, 
that a delay of at least 1 year is needed to allow businesses time to 
implement the new systems and software necessary for compliance. I do 
appreciate that the Senator from Wyoming exempted small businesses with 
sales under $1 million, as I had urged.
  Nevertheless, from a covered seller's perspective, complying with the 
Marketplace Fairness Act requires more than just installing new 
software. Multichannel retailers--those who sell online, through 
catalogs, over the phones, and in stores--have their own unique order 
processing systems. Tax collection software must be programmed to link 
to each component of their order processing systems. This step alone 
could involve considerable programming time for each online retailer.
  Each retailer's tax department, or outside consultants, will be 
required to research and develop a comprehensive understanding of the 
unique sales and use tax policies in every State where their online 
customers reside to make sure the programming for their tax collection 
software is correct. That involves answering a number of questions for 
each State.
  The differing treatment of athletic apparel provides a great example 
of the complexity involved. In some States, clothing and athletic 
footwear are exempt from tax. In others, they are exempt only up to a 
certain price level. Yet other States make a distinction between 
clothing and footwear used for athletic purposes--which they tax--and 
clothing and footwear used for general purposes--which they do not tax. 
In those States, systems must be programmed to correctly treat articles 
that can be viewed as either athletic apparel or general clothing, 
depending on the user. Board shorts, sneakers, and windbreakers are 
just a few examples of common items that give rise to substantial 
complexity.
  Retailers will need to invest additional hours in tax analyst and 
programmer time to ensure their systems are able to address these 
issues seamlessly. Even with a 1-year delay, retailers will have to 
begin early, and move quickly, to implement the Marketplace Fairness 
Act.
  Mr. ENZI. I thank my friend from Maine, and wholeheartedly agree with 
her conclusion that we must ensure that the Marketplace Fairness Act is 
correctly implemented. I have spent many years working on this 
legislation and strongly believe that leveling the playing field for 
Main Street businesses is the right thing to do. We must implement the 
solution to that problem in a reasonable manner, and I agree with the 
Senator that the 1-year delay she proposes is appropriate to do this.
  Ms. COLLINS. I would also like to note that the collection of sales 
taxes online will be new not only for many retailers, but also for 
consumers who are used to the current system. It is important to 
implement the new law correctly, from the outset, for these retailers 
and their customers.
  In this regard, I believe that it is also important to make sure that 
the implementation of the new law does not disrupt the busy holiday 
season. For this reason, I believe that States should be prohibited 
from exercising their new authority under the Marketplace Fairness Act 
during the last quarter of the first year after enactment.
  Mr. ENZI. I think both the proposals made by my friend from Maine are 
commonsense items that will improve the Marketplace Fairness Act. As 
this bill moves through the legislative process, I suggest my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle--and in both Chambers--adopt a 1-
year delay in implementation and prohibit States from beginning to 
exercise their new authority to require the collection of sales taxes 
during the holiday season.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is on 
passage of S. 743, as amended.
  Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich) and 
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 69, nays 27, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 113 Leg.]

                                YEAS--69

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cowan
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Portman
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Sanders

[[Page 6185]]


     Schatz
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Thune
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker

                                NAYS--27

     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Coburn
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Flake
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Inhofe
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Lee
     McConnell
     Merkley
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rubio
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Tester
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Begich
     Cornyn
     Lautenberg
     Moran
  The bill (S. 743), as amended, was passed, as follows:

                                 S. 743

       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 ``Marketplace Fairness Act of 
     2013''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO REQUIRE COLLECTION OF SALES AND USE 
                   TAXES.

       (a) Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.--Each Member 
     State under the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement is 
     authorized to require all sellers not qualifying for the 
     small seller exception described in subsection (c) to collect 
     and remit sales and use taxes with respect to remote sales 
     sourced to that Member State pursuant to the provisions of 
     the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, but only if any 
     changes to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement made 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act are not in 
     conflict with the minimum simplification requirements in 
     subsection (b)(2). A State may exercise authority under this 
     Act beginning 180 days after the State publishes notice of 
     the State's intent to exercise the authority under this Act, 
     but no earlier than the first day of the calendar quarter 
     that is at least 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.
       (b) Alternative.--A State that is not a Member State under 
     the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement is authorized 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law to require all 
     sellers not qualifying for the small seller exception 
     described in subsection (c) to collect and remit sales and 
     use taxes with respect to remote sales sourced to that State, 
     but only if the State adopts and implements the minimum 
     simplification requirements in paragraph (2). Such authority 
     shall commence beginning no earlier than the first day of the 
     calendar quarter that is at least 6 months after the date 
     that the State--
       (1) enacts legislation to exercise the authority granted by 
     this Act--
       (A) specifying the tax or taxes to which such authority and 
     the minimum simplification requirements in paragraph (2) 
     shall apply; and
       (B) specifying the products and services otherwise subject 
     to the tax or taxes identified by the State under 
     subparagraph (A) to which the authority of this Act shall not 
     apply; and
       (2) implements each of the following minimum simplification 
     requirements:
       (A) Provide--
       (i) a single entity within the State responsible for all 
     State and local sales and use tax administration, return 
     processing, and audits for remote sales sourced to the State;
       (ii) a single audit of a remote seller for all State and 
     local taxing jurisdictions within that State; and
       (iii) a single sales and use tax return to be used by 
     remote sellers to be filed with the single entity responsible 
     for tax administration.
     A State may not require a remote seller to file sales and use 
     tax returns any more frequently than returns are required for 
     nonremote sellers or impose requirements on remote sellers 
     that the State does not impose on nonremote sellers with 
     respect to the collection of sales and use taxes under this 
     Act. No local jurisdiction may require a remote seller to 
     submit a sales and use tax return or to collect sales and use 
     taxes other than as provided by this paragraph.
       (B) Provide a uniform sales and use tax base among the 
     State and the local taxing jurisdictions within the State 
     pursuant to paragraph (1).
       (C) Source all remote sales in compliance with the sourcing 
     definition set forth in section 4(7).
       (D) Provide--
       (i) information indicating the taxability of products and 
     services along with any product and service exemptions from 
     sales and use tax in the State and a rates and boundary 
     database;
       (ii) software free of charge for remote sellers that 
     calculates sales and use taxes due on each transaction at the 
     time the transaction is completed, that files sales and use 
     tax returns, and that is updated to reflect rate changes as 
     described in subparagraph (H); and
       (iii) certification procedures for persons to be approved 
     as certified software providers.
     For purposes of clause (iii), the software provided by 
     certified software providers shall be capable of calculating 
     and filing sales and use taxes in all States qualified under 
     this Act.
       (E) Relieve remote sellers from liability to the State or 
     locality for the incorrect collection, remittance, or 
     noncollection of sales and use taxes, including any penalties 
     or interest, if the liability is the result of an error or 
     omission made by a certified software provider.
       (F) Relieve certified software providers from liability to 
     the State or locality for the incorrect collection, 
     remittance, or noncollection of sales and use taxes, 
     including any penalties or interest, if the liability is the 
     result of misleading or inaccurate information provided by a 
     remote seller.
       (G) Relieve remote sellers and certified software providers 
     from liability to the State or locality for incorrect 
     collection, remittance, or noncollection of sales and use 
     taxes, including any penalties or interest, if the liability 
     is the result of incorrect information or software provided 
     by the State.
       (H) Provide remote sellers and certified software providers 
     with 90 days notice of a rate change by the State or any 
     locality in the State and update the information described in 
     subparagraph (D)(i) accordingly and relieve any remote seller 
     or certified software provider from liability for collecting 
     sales and use taxes at the immediately preceding effective 
     rate during the 90-day notice period if the required notice 
     is not provided.
       (c) Small Seller Exception.--A State is authorized to 
     require a remote seller to collect sales and use taxes under 
     this Act only if the remote seller has gross annual receipts 
     in total remote sales in the United States in the preceding 
     calendar year exceeding $1,000,000. For purposes of 
     determining whether the threshold in this section is met, the 
     gross annual receipts from remote sales of 2 or more persons 
     shall be aggregated if--
       (1) such persons are related to the remote seller within 
     the meaning of subsections (b) and (c) of section 267 or 
     section 707(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
       (2) such persons have 1 or more ownership relationships and 
     such relationships were designed with a principal purpose of 
     avoiding the application of these rules.

     SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
     as--
       (1) subjecting a seller or any other person to franchise, 
     income, occupation, or any other type of taxes, other than 
     sales and use taxes;
       (2) affecting the application of such taxes; or
       (3) enlarging or reducing State authority to impose such 
     taxes.
       (b) No Effect on Nexus.--This Act shall not be construed to 
     create any nexus or alter the standards for determining nexus 
     between a person and a State or locality.
       (c) No Effect on Seller Choice.--Nothing in this Act shall 
     be construed to deny the ability of a remote seller to deploy 
     and utilize a certified software provider of the seller's 
     choice.
       (d) Licensing and Regulatory Requirements.--Nothing in this 
     Act shall be construed as permitting or prohibiting a State 
     from--
       (1) licensing or regulating any person;
       (2) requiring any person to qualify to transact intrastate 
     business;
       (3) subjecting any person to State or local taxes not 
     related to the sale of products or services; or
       (4) exercising authority over matters of interstate 
     commerce.
       (e) No New Taxes.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
     as encouraging a State to impose sales and use taxes on any 
     products or services not subject to taxation prior to the 
     date of the enactment of this Act.
       (f) No Effect on Intrastate Sales.--The provisions of this 
     Act shall apply only to remote sales and shall not apply to 
     intrastate sales or intrastate sourcing rules. States granted 
     authority under section 2(a) shall comply with all intrastate 
     provisions of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
       (g) No Effect on Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act.--
     Nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering in any 
     manner or preempting the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing 
     Act (4 U.S.C. 116-126).

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.

       In this Act:
       (1) Certified software provider.--The term ``certified 
     software provider'' means a person that--
       (A) provides software to remote sellers to facilitate State 
     and local sales and use tax compliance pursuant to section 
     2(b)(2)(D)(ii); and
       (B) is certified by a State to so provide such software.
       (2) Locality; local.--The terms ``locality'' and ``local'' 
     refer to any political subdivision of a State.
       (3) Member state.--The term ``Member State''--
       (A) means a Member State as that term is used under the 
     Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement as in effect on the 
     date of the enactment of this Act; and
       (B) does not include any associate member under the 
     Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.

[[Page 6186]]

       (4) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual, 
     trust, estate, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, limited 
     liability company, or other legal entity, and a State or 
     local government.
       (5) Remote sale.--The term ``remote sale'' means a sale 
     into a State, as determined under the sourcing rules under 
     paragraph (7), in which the seller would not legally be 
     required to pay, collect, or remit State or local sales and 
     use taxes unless provided by this Act.
       (6) Remote seller.--The term ``remote seller'' means a 
     person that makes remote sales in the State.
       (7) Sourced.--For purposes of a State granted authority 
     under section 2(b), the location to which a remote sale is 
     sourced refers to the location where the product or service 
     sold is received by the purchaser, based on the location 
     indicated by instructions for delivery that the purchaser 
     furnishes to the seller. When no delivery location is 
     specified, the remote sale is sourced to the customer's 
     address that is either known to the seller or, if not known, 
     obtained by the seller during the consummation of the 
     transaction, including the address of the customer's payment 
     instrument if no other address is available. If an address is 
     unknown and a billing address cannot be obtained, the remote 
     sale is sourced to the address of the seller from which the 
     remote sale was made. A State granted authority under section 
     2(a) shall comply with the sourcing provisions of the 
     Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
       (8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
     Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 
     other territory or possession of the United States, and any 
     tribal organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 
     Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
     450b)).
       (9) Streamlined sales and use tax agreement.--The term 
     ``Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement'' means the multi-
     State agreement with that title adopted on November 12, 2002, 
     as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and as 
     further amended from time to time.

     SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.

       If any provision of this Act or the application of such 
     provision to any person or circumstance is held to be 
     unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the 
     application of the provisions of such to any person or 
     circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

     SEC. 6. PREEMPTION.

       Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act shall 
     not be construed to preempt or limit any power exercised or 
     to be exercised by a State or local jurisdiction under the 
     law of such State or local jurisdiction or under any other 
     Federal law.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

                          ____________________