[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6703-6704]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             DON'T TAX OUR FALLEN PUBLIC SAFETY HEROES ACT

  Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 606, the Don't Tax Our 
Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act, which was received from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 606) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 to exclude certain compensation received by public 
     safety officers and their dependents from gross income.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read a third time and passed; that the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed 
in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 606) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.
  Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I am very honored to be here today with my 
colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen. We worked together on 
this important bill that has just passed the Senate and had previously 
passed the House of Representatives.
  This week is National Police Week. We were honored to receive law 
enforcement officers representing more than 20 agencies in New 
Hampshire, including the Brentwood police chief and many members of his 
department. They are here joining thousands of officers and families of 
law enforcement to remember and honor those who have given the ultimate 
sacrifice in the line of duty to keep the rest of us safe.
  Last night during a candlelight vigil, 273 fallen officers from 
across the Nation whose names were added this week to the national 
memorial were honored, including Officer Stephen Arkell from New 
Hampshire, from the Brentwood Police Department, who lost his life in 
the line of duty a year ago Tuesday. Our thoughts and prayers continue 
to be with Officer Arkell's family and with the Brentwood Police 
Department.
  Unfortunately, more than a year after his death, his family is still 
waiting for their survivor benefits. We are here today to discuss the 
bill that was just passed by the Senate--H.R. 606, the Don't Tax Our 
Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act--which Senator Shaheen and I worked on 
together.
  Recently, Senator Shaheen and I had the opportunity to sit down and 
have a roundtable with many law enforcement officers, fire chiefs and 
firefighters from our State. We heard many of the challenges that the 
families of those law enforcement officers and firefighters who lost 
their lives in the line of duty face to get the survivor benefits that 
they should receive.
  One of those challenges is the fact that while survivor benefits for 
the families of our fallen firefighters and law enforcement officers 
are tax free,

[[Page 6704]]

unfortunately, ambiguity in the tax has forced families to apply for 
private letter rulings from the IRS to have that clarified. Our bill 
will ensure that they no longer have to go through this bureaucratic 
step when it comes to their survivors' benefits.
  It ensures that the benefits their survivors receive for the 
sacrifice they have made are not taxed under the Internal Revenue Code. 
These benefits are intended to help those families and make sure that 
when they go through this incredibly tragic loss, they are able to 
continue with their lives.
  I thank Congressman Erik Paulsen from Minnesota for working with us 
to get this bill passed through the House of Representatives.
  I also thank Senators Toomey and Cardin for their work in the Senate 
Finance Committee to pass this legislation and Senate Finance Committee 
Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for their work to help get this 
important legislation passed.
  I most of all thank my colleague Senator Shaheen because this issue 
is so important to law enforcement officers and firefighters in New 
Hampshire. Our public safety officers who go out every single day on 
our behalf--every hour, every holiday, every weekend--to make sure we 
are safe. When, unfortunately, we lose one of them in the line of duty, 
as we experienced in New Hampshire too recently, we want to make sure 
those families are taken care of. That is what this bill does--it makes 
sure that those families do not have to wait to receive benefits they 
should receive and that they do not have to go through a rigamarole 
with the IRS to make sure these benefits are not taxed.
  I also want to mention that, in New Hampshire, not only did we 
unfortunately lose Patrolman Stephen Arkell a year ago, but in 2012 we 
also lost Greenland Chief of Police Mike Maloney, who was about to 
retire. Both of those families have been down here for National Police 
Week. Our prayers continue to be with their families and the families 
of every single law enforcement officer and firefighter who makes sure 
we are safe every single day.
  I am so glad this legislation passed during National Police Week. We 
are going to continue to work together to make sure that the families 
of public safety officers that lose their lives in the line of duty do 
not have to go through any bureaucratic red tape to get their survivor 
benefits.
  I want to thank Senator Shaheen for her work on this issue.
  I yield to Senator Shaheen.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Capito). The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I am very pleased to be here to join 
my colleague Senator Ayotte in applauding the passage in both the House 
and the Senate--today in the Senate--of H.R. 606, the Don't Tax Our 
Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act.
  As Senator Ayotte said so eloquently, this is legislation we have 
worked on for over a year. It was first introduced in the last 
Congress. Now, it is finally on its way to the President's desk to 
become law, and it couldn't be happening at a more important time.
  This is National Police Week, but maybe more important for New 
Hampshire, this week we celebrate the memory of Officer Stephen Arkell 
of Brentwood. He was killed in the line of duty just a year ago this 
week. Last night, Officer Arkell's name was added to the Roll of Honor 
of police officers killed in the line of duty at the National Law 
Enforcement Memorial in Washington, DC.
  Officer Arkell was not only a terrific police officer, he was a very 
good and decent man. As I read in one newspaper, he was the kind of 
police officer who would rather write a warning than a ticket, and he 
aimed to end fights with words instead of handcuffs.
  Well, it has been a full year since we lost Officer Arkell. We don't 
forget, and we will never forget his example of courageous public 
service. Day in and day out, our public safety officers, our police, 
our firefighters, and their families make enormous sacrifices.
  Now, family members fully understand the dangers of their spouses' 
jobs. They live with that constant worry. But when the worst happens in 
the line of duty to a loved one, the last thing a surviving family 
should have to worry about is navigating the Federal Tax Code. For too 
long, families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line 
of duty have had to wrangle with the IRS to exempt death benefits from 
taxation. They have had to hire lawyers and wait years for a ruling 
from the IRS and, in the meantime, their urgently needed benefits are 
held up.
  This is just unacceptable, and today it ends. Thankfully, the House 
and Senate have passed a bill to exempt these death benefits from 
taxation, ending any ambiguity that may have existed. So this is 
legislation that should not just help the Arkell family, but it should 
help families across this country.
  I applaud the work of my colleague Senator Ayotte on this bill, all 
of our colleagues in the Senate who have helped to make this happen and 
also those in the House who understood the need to help support our 
fallen public safety heroes. When the President signs this bill into 
law, this problem will finally be cleared up once and for all.
  Again, I thank my colleague Senator Ayotte for all of her work on 
this issue. I am delighted it is finally done and look forward to 
making sure it gets implemented in a way that continues to support the 
surviving families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, before I speak on the trade legislation--
and the distinguished chairman of the committee is on the floor as 
well--I wish to note that the Finance Committee, under the leadership 
of Chairman Hatch, has already passed a version of this important 
legislation.
  Now we have taken up the House bill--our companion legislation. I 
congratulate both of my colleagues. Senator Shaheen has talked to me 
about this a number of times. I know Senator Ayotte is very interested 
in it as well. I congratulate both of them.

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