Uinta Research and Curatorial Center Act

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, thousands of men and women from Montana are currently stationed overseas, be it in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, Southeast Asia or in other supporting missions throughout the United States and the rest of the world.

These brave and dedicated soldiers have chosen to join the Armed Forces and protect our country, which is one of the highest forms of service there is. They are putting their lives on the line to protect the freedom and security of the United States. I take my hat off to them.

To date, Montana has sent almost 700 Reserve forces into Active Duty. Malmstrom Air Force Base has 105 airmen deployed overseas, including 50 members of the 819th Red Horse Squadron. Earlier this month 114 members of the Red Horse Squadron came home after being deployed in southwest Asia for five and a half months. The airmen are supporting six different operations around the world in southwest Asia, supporting no- fly zones in Iraq or in Afghanistan.

About 390 Army Reservists from Montana have been deployed. From Great Falls, the 889th Quartermaster Company unit--with 119 members--recently received mobilization orders along with 100 members of the 4225th U.S. Army Hospital.

From Missoula, 58 soldiers from the 279th Engineer Battalion and 16 soldiers from the 823rd Transportation Detachment have been activated. And out of Billings, 161 members of the 592nd Ordnance Company recently received their orders. Most of these army Reservists will take part in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Montana's Air National Guard has also contributed significant human resources. 210 members of the 120th Fighter Wind have been activated flying in the no-fly zone over Iraq.

Montana's Army National Guard has contributed about 125 Army Guard members, many of which are at other bases throughout the United States taking part in Homeland Security measures.

Thirty-five members of the 443rd Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants Supply Company have been mobilized to assist

with base security at the 120th Fighter Wing unit on Gore Hill outside of Great Falls, MT. Forty-five soldiers from the 495th Transportation Battalion are taking part in Operation Enduring Freedom. Eight ground- air liaison teams are in Fort Sill, OK, and 2 UH60 Helicopter pilots are in Fort Benning, GA.

Most certainly, I do not want to forget the thousands of Active Duty Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines from Montana stationed elsewhere throughout the Nation and overseas.

These soldiers are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. And like you and I, they have families to take care of and worry about. They have personal lives to attend to, bills to pay and tax forms to fill out. As they are stationed far away, they are worried about how their children are doing in school and how their husbands or wives are coping with the distance. It is not easy.

Every day they are putting their lives back here on hold and instead putting their lives on the line to protect the rights we hold so dear.

With all of the worries they are facing, I am urging for passage of the military tax bill so we can take one, or two, burden off of their minds.

These men and women should not have to worry about whether or not their deployment changes their residency for tax purposes. They should not have to worry about whether or not they can afford their weekend training, nor should they ever have to worry about whether their death could result in an undue tax burden to their family.

One of the best ways we can support our troops is by doing everything we can to ensure that they and their families are taken care of. As a tribute to our Armed Forces, I cannot think of a better way to support them than by passing the military tax bill and allowing them to focus on their mission rather than their finances.

I encourage my colleagues to show their support for our troops today by voting in favor of the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act.

I share the sentiments of Chairman Grassley. I would support tax treatment for our Guardsmen and Reservists like that proposed by Senators Landrieu, DeWine, and Allen. S. 351 is not the appropriate venue, but the reconciliation package should achieve the goals of S. 442. The junior Senator from Louisiana is correct that the $350 billion tax package should contain both tax cuts to promote growth and benefit the quality of life for the men and women in the United States Armed Forces.

Mr. President, earlier I paid tribute to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. There is a provision in the legislation we are considering which was very near and dear to the heart of Senator Moynihan, and that is the expatriation provision contained in this bill. It was actually developed by Senator Moynihan and Senator Roth several years ago. That is the genesis of this provision.

As we know, there are many men and women overseas fighting for our country. For example, there are currently about 300,000 in Iraq. At the same time, there are individuals who attempt to escape their patriotic duty. While we have 300,000 men and women over in Iraq, other individuals are attempting to escape their patriotic duty. They relinquish their U.S. citizenship. Why? One basic reason: In order to avoid supporting the United States through taxes.

Between 1991 and 2002, approximately 6,500 U.S. citizens have expatriated; that is, they gave up their U.S. citizenship. In 1966, as part of the Foreign Investors Tax Act, Congress created an alternative tax regime for U.S. citizens who expatriated in order to avoid paying taxes. The alternative tax regime taxes a former citizen on U.S. property for 10 years after expatriation.

These tax rules were strengthened in 1996 following press reports and congressional hearings indicating that very wealthy individuals expatriated while maintaining significant contacts with the United States.

Unfortunately, these changes to the law have not deterred citizens from expatriating to avoid paying U.S. taxes. The changes simply never worked as Congress intended.

This year, the Joint Committee on Taxation published a study on individual expatriation. According to the Joint Committee, there is virtually no enforcement of the special tax and immigration rules applicable to tax-motivated citizenship relinquishment and residency termination.

The Joint Committee also said that present law has been highly ineffective. Present law continues to provide tax incentives for individuals to expatriate. It also is difficult to collect U.S. taxes on former citizens who are no longer physically present in the United States.

Additionally, a study conducted by the General Accounting Office concluded that the IRS did not have a systematic compliance effort. That means that we are not even enforcing the alternative tax regime that is on the books.

That means a former citizen could avoid the alternative tax regime by holding foreign assets--which are not taxed. Or by waiting until the 10-year period expires before disposing of U.S. property.

The Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act includes a new system to address tax-motivated expatriation. Under this legislation, any U.S. citizen or long-term resident who relinquishes their U.S. citizenship or residency will be subject to an exit tax on the gains attributable to property owned during their U.S. citizenship.

Under this proposal, if the gain exceeds $600,000, then a former citizen will be taxed on the net unrealized gain on property--as if it were sold at fair market value 1 day prior to expatriation. The Treasury Department believes that this new system will greatly improve the administrability of the tax on expatriates. The new system imposes the tax at the time the individual leaves the U.S. jurisdiction.

Additionally, by including foreign assets within the regime, this eliminates a significant incentive for tax-motivated expatriation.

This expatriation provision will raise $700 million. The military bill uses that $700 million to provide tax benefits to military personnel.

In contrast, the House version of the military bill is simply a modification of the current alternative tax regime. It raises $328 million. The House version will not go far enough. It simply adds more provisions for the IRS to enforce. This strikes me as odd considering none of the current provisions is being enforced.

Sometimes the laws just do not work the way Congress intended. So, we must change the laws to ensure they are effective and administered as Congress intended.

The current system to tax expatriates does not work. We have had nearly 40 years to make the system work. We should not wait any longer to collect taxes on those who do not value the freedoms our nation provides.

The new proposal does not seek to tax expatriates on income earned after expatriation. It just says they have to

pay tax on the income earned while they were a U.S. citizen. While our military protected them.

I thank former Senator Bill Roth and the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who developed this proposal several years ago. And I thank Senator Harkin and others who have continued to work on this in the 107th Congress and this year.

Amendment No. 433

(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

On behalf of Senator Grassley and myself, I call up amendment numbered 433.

I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I yield whatever time the Senator from Arkansas desires.

Mr. President, that is a very important statement and request that the Senator from Arkansas has made. I can speak on behalf of myself, and I am sure Senator Grassley, that we would be more than honored to join with the Senator from Arkansas in making that request. It is a very timely request. It is one that is very important. Frankly, I am a little bit surprised none of us made that same request that he has made because it is so important, and it is going to give us a lot better idea of the financial condition of our armed services. It is a good idea.

Mr. President, when the space program began in 1959 there were only seven astronauts in the entire country. They all were or had been in the Armed Forces.

That was only 44 years ago and since then, much has changed. Today, astronauts are comprised of Americans from every race, creed, color and gender.

While many still come from the military, the astronaut corps now includes civilian doctors, scientists, and engineers. They are our best and our brightest. They risk their lives to advance our knowledge and understanding of the world.

On February 1, 2003, seven men and women aboard the space shuttle Columbia lost their lives. LTC Michael P. Anderson, U.S. Navy CAPT David Brown, U.S. Navy CDR Laurel Clark, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, U.S. Air Force COL Rick Husband, Naval CDR William McCool, and Israeli Air Force COL Ilan Ramon will be remembered forever.

Five of the six Columbia crew members, from the United States, had military backgrounds. They were national heroes who are deeply missed by their family and friends. Through their dedication to space exploration, they lived their lives to the fullest and made long lasting contributions.

In honor of their sacrifice, I along with 13 of my Senate colleagues, introduced S. 298, the Assistance for Families of Space Shuttle Columbia Heroes Act.

I am pleased that the legislation was included by the Senate Finance Committee as part of the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003.

Under the legislation, the families of the Columbia heroes would receive the same benefits as families of military personnel who die in the line of duty.

The provisions are similar to legislation passed in 2001 that provided relief to victims of the September 11, anthrax and the Oklahoma City attacks.

Specifically, the bill expands the class of those eligible for these benefits to include astronauts killed in the line of duty.

The legislation provides income tax relief. Current law generally excludes from tax income received in the year of death or in a previous year for soldiers killed in combat zones, and victims of September 11, anthrax and Oklahoma City.

The legislation expands this benefit to apply to astronauts who die in the line of duty.

The legislation provides death benefit relief. Current law excludes from income any death benefit paid by the U.S. Government to a soldier killed in a combat zone or paid by an employer to the families of the victims of September 11, the anthrax attacks, or the Oklahoma City bombing.

The legislation expands this benefit to apply to death benefits paid to the families of astronauts killed in the line of duty.

The legislation provides for estate tax relief. Current law provides estate tax relief that effectively lowers the estate tax rate to 20 percent for the estates of soldiers killed in combat zones, the victims of September 11, the anthrax attacks or the Oklahoma City bombing.

The legislation expands this benefit to apply to the estates of any astronaut killed in the line of duty.

The best way to honor Columbia's fallen heroes is to promptly pass this legislation and pledge that the goals and missions of NASA will live on in the years to come.

I urge my colleagues to support the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003 which includes tax relief for the families of the Space Shuttle Columbia heroes.

Mr. President, since September 11, significant progress has been made to disrupt and dismantle the financial components of terrorist organizations.

Special agents from the IRS and other law enforcement agencies have successfully investigated numerous terrorist related entities-- including tax exempt organizations that have engaged in terrorist fundraising.

The Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003 contains a provision that would suspend the tax-exempt status of any organization designated by U.S. authorities as a terrorist organization or supporter of terrorism.

There is no procedure under present law for the IRS to suspend the tax-exempt status of an organization.

The IRS can revoke an organization's tax-exempt status only after conducting an examination of the organization.

Even then, the IRS must issue a letter proposing revocation and allow the organization to exhaust its administrative appeals rights.

The provision in this legislation is simply common sense. It is an important weapon in our war on terrorist financing.

An organization that has been designated by the Federal Government as a terrorist organization should not be exempt from Federal income tax. Moreover, contributions to such organizations should not be tax deductible.

Once the Federal Government determines that an entity is a terrorist organization pursuant to certain authority--for example, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act--a separate investigation by the IRS is not necessary.

Further, because a terrorist organization may challenge the Federal government's designation under the law authorizing the designation, recourse to the declaratory judgment procedures of the Tax Code is not appropriate.

If a tax-exempt organization's suspension is determined to be erroneous, the provision would allow tax refunds for any overpayments.

Lastly, the IRS will be required to update its listings of tax-exempt organizations to take into account organizations that have had their exemption suspended. This will give notice to taxpayers that contributions to these organizations are no longer deductible.

I urge my colleagues to support the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003.

Mr. President, this bill includes many important changes in the tax treatment of income and benefits received by members of our armed forces. One provision is particularly important for members that face the dual challenge of serving their nation while raising a family. The bill explicitly states that child care subsidies that members of the military receive shall not be subject to income tax.

In 1986, we passed a law which stated that military benefits should not be included in income for tax purposes. The statute lists a number of benefits received by members of the military--

housing allowances, medical benefits, education assistance, and many others. But child care subsidies do not appear on the list.

When we passed this law, the Department of Defense did have a program to assist members of the military in caring for their children. But the importance of this program has increased as the demographics of the members of the military have changed.

There was a time when our forces were primarily young single men. However, times have changed. Twelve percent of the forces are women. Over half of the active duty members are married. Two-thirds of military spouses work outside the home. Six percent of members are married to another member of the military. And 6 percent are single parents.

Young single soldiers are no longer the norm. Recognizing these changes, the Department of Defense has placed a reinforced importance on assisting military families.

The Department of Defense recognizes the additional challenges faced by military families as they raise children. The average military family moves every two and a half years, making it difficult for them to find quality child care, or friends and neighbors to look to for help with child care responsibilities. And with work schedules that are often long and unpredictable, help is often necessary. In addition, members of the military face the possibility of deployment anywhere in the world at any time.

They now operate over 800 child care centers in the U.S. and abroad. These include child development centers for young children, after- school centers for older children, and other family care programs. They provide night and weekend services as well, to accommodate the often hectic schedules that military families face. All in all, these programs provide care for over 200,000 children every day.

The cost of these programs varies depending on the income of the parents--on average, it is about $7,700 per child. This cost is shared by the military parents and the government, with each paying about half the cost.

The law is unclear about whether these benefits are subject to income tax. A provision in this bill ends that confusion. It states that these child care subsidies, shall not be included in income, for tax purposes.

As the demographics of the members of the military have changed, so has the policy of the Department of Defense. Now it is time that we follow with these changes to the tax code.

I compliment Senator Landrieu of Louisiana, who developed this proposal, and insisted on its inclusion in this military tax bill.

It is one more reason the Senate should pass this legislation today.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I want to introduce legislation to direct the Census Bureau to develop a test census of Americans living abroad in 2004. The long-term goal is to develop methods to include Americans living overseas in our next decennial census in 2010.

There are approximately 3 million to 6 million private American citizens living and working overseas, and many of them continue to vote and pay taxes in the United States. These citizens help increase exports of American goods, because they traditionally buy American, sell American,and create business opportunities for American companies and workers. Their role in strengthening the U.S. economy, creating jobs in the United States, and extending U.S. influence around the globe is vital to the well-being of our Nation.

I believe that Americans abroad deserve to be counted, and to achieve this goal we must begin with a test census next year.

For many years, I have been proud to work on policies to ensure that Americans living abroad are treated fairly.

Mr. President, I am proud to join Senator Grassley and a bipartisan coalition in sponsoring the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003. This legislation will reauthorize and expand on the adoption bonuses created as part of the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act stated clearly that a child's health and safety are paramount, and that every child deserves a permanent home. Key policy changes were made to promote permanency, including streamlining the process and creating incentives for adoption. Since 1997, the number of adoptions from foster care increased by 64 percent, and the number of adoptions of children with special needs increased by 63 percent. This is wonderful news for the children and families. But over 500,000 children are still in foster care, and 126,000 of those children have adoption as a goal.

This legislation would reauthorize the existing adoption bonuses, and it would create a new bonus for children over the age of 9 who represent almost half of the children waiting for adoption. The Adoption Promotion Act is an important next step to improving our child welfare system.

In West Virginia, over 900 children have been adopted from the foster care system since enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act. This is good news for the children and families, but many more children in my State and across the country are waiting for a safe, permanent home.

Adoption is a wonderful event that changes a child's life and creates a special family. Today, in addition to introducing this legislation, the Congressional Adoption Caucus will celebrate its Angels in Adoption Award, including an award to a very special West Virginian, Millie Mairs, who has worked on adoption issues in my State for almost 30 years at the West Virginia Children's Home Society. Her work has helped to change many lives.

This legislation is key, but it is only part of the puzzle to improving our foster care system which, according to the findings of the Child and Family Service Reviews, needs to be strengthened. As more children move into adoption, especially older children, we must become more aware and respond to the needs for post-adoption services. I hope that future action on child welfare reform will be bipartisan, like the Adoption Promotion Act. It is encouraging to know that the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care is working to develop recommendations regarding child welfare financing and the role of the courts in child welfare policy. Hopefully, these recommendations can help forge bipartisan consensus for future changes that will enhance the lives of our most vulnerable children, those in foster care.

Mr. President, I would like to draw your attention to a few very troubling statistics. Manufacturing employment in the United States has now fallen to its lowest level in 41 years. In the last five years, we have lost 16 percent of all our factory jobs. In the last 2 years alone we have lost approximately 2.5 million manufacturing jobs.

These are frightening statistics. They ought to jolt every Member of the Senate and prompt an urgent call for action. A vibrant manufacturing base is essential to our standard of living. For generations, factory jobs have been the path to the middle class, providing good wages, health insurance, and pension benefits. Advances in manufacturing technology accounts for most of our economy's increased productivity. And every dollar spent on finished manufactured goods is estimated to produce $2.43 of economic activity. Simply put, we cannot become a service-only economy and expect to maintain our high standard of living. We ought to act swiftly to ensure that Americans still produce steel and computers and cars and pharmaceuticals.

We ought not be timid in the face of the devastating statistics I cited. Piecemeal efforts will not revitalize our industrial base. Therefore, today I am introducing the Securing America's Factory Employment (SAFE) Act. This bill will offer relief to American manufacturers on several fronts. First, my legislation would provide a tax deduction to any company that offers manufacturing jobs in the United States. Second, this bill helps companies cover the cost of providing health care for retirees, a crippling obligation for many of our once proud industries. And third, I propose that we strengthen our trade laws to ensure that they offer the protections that our domestic industries deserve from unfair and illegal trade practices.

Let me take a moment to explain in greater detail how these proposals can help our domestic manufacturing base. This Congress is compelled to repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income provisions of the U.S. Tax Code in order to avoid $4 billion in trade sanctions authorized by the World Trade Organization. Regardless of my opinion of the WTO's decision in this matter, I recognize that it may be that to protect our economy from a trade war we must update our Tax Code. We can do so and still encourage manufacturing by reducing the overall effective corporate income tax rate on domestic manufacturing.

The SAFE Act provides a 9-percent deduction for profits derived from manufacturing activities in the United States; this is the equivalent of lowering the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 32 percent for the portion of profits that can be directly linked to U.S. factories, mining operations, and the like. This straightforward tax break will lower the cost of doing business in the United States and will help companies that employ Americans compete in the global marketplace.

In addition, this bill includes a tax credit to employers to encourage them to retain their retiree health insurance coverage. As you know, employers and other health plan sponsors continue to restructure how they provide health care benefits for both workers and retirees. The percent of employers offering retiree health benefits has declined substantially over the past 15 years. Two-thirds of all firms with 200 or more workers sponsored retiree coverage 15 years ago. According to the most recent data, only 38 percent of such employers provide retiree benefits today. Despite these reductions, the employer- sponsored health care system is the largest source of health care coverage in this country today. The SAFE Act would provide employers with a tax credit to cover 75 percent of the costs associated with providing health care coverage to their retirees in order to protect existing coverage and reverse the current trend.

Finally, my legislation would strengthen our trade protections. Our antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) trade law are often the first and last time of defense for U.S. industries injured by unfairly or illegally traded imports. These laws are absolutely essential to the survival of our manufacturing sector in an increasingly global market-- but some of their provisions have become antiquated by recent changes in our global economy and the new structure of international trade. The Americans steel crisis has made it clear that these trade laws need to be strengthened. Companies, workers, families and communities rely heavily on these laws to prevent the ill-effects of unfair trade. Our antidumping and countervailing duty laws need to be updated and amended so they work as intended, and as permitted, under the rules of international trade.

For example, the SAFE Act includes a provision that allows us to consider whether or not an industry is vulnerable to the effects of imports in making antidumping and countervailing duty determinations. Another provision in this bill will make it tougher for our trading partners to circumvent antidumping or countervailing duty orders by clarifying that AD/CVD orders include products that have been changed in only very minor respects. This will help prevent foreign nations from making slight alterations to products that they are exporting to us to in order to skirt existing AD/CVD orders.

Another clear problem under our current trade laws is that foreign producers and exporters of subject merchandise may avoid AD/CVD duties by using complex schemes that mask payment of countervailing duties resulting in the understatement of duty rates. My legislation would restrict such practices by requiring the importer, if affiliated with the foreign producers or exporters, to demonstrate that the importer was in no way reimbursed for any AD/CVD duties paid. There are certainly other changes we should consider to update our trade remedy laws. These provisions are by no means an exhaustive list of needed reforms. But we do need to get the debate started, and I offer this bill as a way to re-energize the debate.

The SAFE Act addresses several of the most dire needs of our manufacturing companies. It improves our trade laws, helps with the burden of retiree health care costs, and effectively lowers the corporate tax rate on manufacturing activities. This package of reforms is an effective plan to stem the flow of good manufacturing jobs overseas. If we are serious about revitalizing our economy and maintaining our standard of living, we must act quickly to shore up our manufacturing base. I hope that my colleagues will join me in this effort.

I ask that the text of my legislation be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003, H.R. 1307. This important legislation provides Congress with the opportunity to demonstrate our firm resolve to support the men and women who sacrifice so much in the service of our country. I applaud Chairman Grassley's and ranking member Baucus' efforts, and those of my colleagues who have worked so hard on these initiatives, in some cases, for many years. I want to particularly thank Senator DeWine for his stalwart leadership on the above-the-line deduction for expenses incurred by our National Guard and Reserve service members who have to travel great distances for their duty and training.

This long overdue tax benefit for our true citizen-soldiers is even more important today considering these facts: During each of the past 5 years, Reserve and National Guard service members have performed between 12 and 13.5 million duty days in support of the Active Force. These numbers are in a direct contrast to 1990, when 1 million duty days were performed at a time when there were 25 percent more reservists.

Reservists and National Guardsmen currently comprise more than half of the airlift crews and 85 percent of the sealift personnel that are needed to move troops and equipment in either wartime or peacetime operations. In addition, Reserve medical and construction battalions and other specialists are critical to a wide range of operations. Efforts by the Reserve components to move beyond a traditional wartime backup role and to provide peacetime support to active units are thus desirable. The Naval Reserve and Air Force Reserve components have made particularly impressive progress in this area.

The Reserve components are performing many vital tasks: From direct involvement in military operations to liberate Iraq in the air, on the ground, and on the sea; to guarding nuclear power plants in the United States; to providing support to the war on terrorism through guarding, interrogating, and providing medical service to detainees in Guantanamo Bay Cuba; to rebuilding schools in hurricane-stricken Honduras and fighting fires in our Western States; to overseeing civil affairs in Bosnia; to augmenting aircraft carriers short on Active-Duty sailors with critical skilled enlisted ratings during at-sea exercises as well as periods of deployment.

I believe that the civilian and uniformed leadership of our Armed Forces and the Congress must recognize this involvement. At a minimum, Congress must provide equality in benefits for Reserve component service members

when they put on the uniform and perform their weekend drills or other critical training evolutions. Quality of life is not just an Active- Duty obligation that Congress must provide. Reservists, on duty, who resemble their Active-Duty counterparts during training evolutions and are deployed at times around the world, should be treated equally when the administration and Congress provide for quality of life benefits.

I would like to take a moment to discuss a provision in the bill that I have personally worked on for some time. Section 101 would allow members of the uniformed services, as well as State Department personnel who are away on extended duty overseas, to qualify for the same tax relief on the profit generated when they sell their main residence as other Americans. I am pleased to announce that Secretary of State Colin Powell fully supports this legislation, and this legislation enjoys overwhelming support by the senior uniformed leadership, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels, the 31-member associations of the Military Coalition representing 5.5 million veterans, the American Foreign Service Association, and the American Bar Association.

The average American participates in our country's growth through home ownership. Appreciation in the value of a home allows everyday Americans to participate in our country's prosperity. Fortunately, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 recognized this and provided this break to lessen the amount of tax most Americans will pay on the profit they make when they sell their homes. Unfortunately, the 1997 home sale provision unintentionally discourages home ownership among members of the Uniformed and Foreign Services.

Under the 1997 Act the taxpayer must meet two requirements to qualify for this tax relief. The taxpayer must: (1) own the home for at least 2 of the 5 years preceding the sale, and (2) live in the home as their main home for at least 2 years of the last 5 years. The second part of this eligibility test unintentionally and unfairly prohibits many of the women and men who serve this country overseas from qualifying for this beneficial tax relief.

Constant travel across the United States and abroad is inherent in the uniformed and foreign services. Nonetheless, some members of these services choose to purchase a home in our communities, even though they will not live there much of the time. Under current law, if they do not have a spouse who resides in the house during their absence, they will not qualify for the full benefit of the home sales provision, because no one ``lives'' in the home for the required period of time. The law is prejudiced against families that serve our Nation abroad. They would not qualify for the home sales exclusion because neither spouse ``lives'' in the house for enough time to qualify for the exclusion.

Section 101 simply remedies this inequality in there 1997 law. It amends the Internal Revenue Code so that members of the uniformed and foreign services will be considered to be using their house as their main residence for any period that they are assigned overseas in the execution of their duties. In short, they will be deemed to be using their house as their main home, even if they are stationed in Bosnia, the Persian Gulf, in the ``no man's land,'' commonly called the DMZ between North and South Korea, or anywhere else they are assigned.

With Operation Iraqi Freedom, the global war on terrorism, and continuing operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo, our Armed Forces are deployed to an unprecedented number of locations. They are away from their primary homes, protecting and furthering the freedoms we Americans hold so dear. It is wrong to penalize them for doing their duty. Military service entails sacrifice. We must do all that we can to ensure that Congress is not adding to the burdens service men and women bear with an unfair Tax Code. This narrowly tailored remedy will grant equal tax relief to the members of our uniformed and foreign services, and restore fairness and consistency to our increasingly complex Tax Code.

This military tax package is a clear show of support for our men and women in uniform. It is the right thing to do, and I hope that all my colleagues will support this critical measure.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Realistic Roofing Tax Treatment Act of 2003 which would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide a more realistic depreciation schedule for commercial roofs.

In 1981, Congress eliminated component depreciation and put into place a general depreciation period of 15 years for all building components. In 1993, the recovery period for nonresidential property was extended to 39 years in order to raise revenue. The current 39-year depreciation period is not a realistic measure of the average life span of a commercial roof. It is a disincentive for building owners to replace non-performing roofs, because replacing failing roofs more frequently than 39 years means carrying the burden of roofs that no longer exist on the books.

A study by Ducker Worldwide, a leading industrial research firm, found the current aggregate commercial roof life span is 17.45 years. Ducker estimates that a shortened depreciation schedule will stimulate economic activity and generate 30,000 new jobs in a two-year period. I am particularly concerned that we help America's manufacturers and this legislation will provide them immediate tax relief. It will also provide relief to America's small businesses, which find it more difficult to absorb the impact of capital improvement expenditures than larger entities.

Congressman Foley will shortly be introducing similar legislation in the House of Representatives. I am pleased that this proposal has the support of the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, and I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation when it comes before the Senate.

Mr. President, today, I am pleased to introduce a bill that will address an issue of inequity in the U.S. Tax Code. Current tax law requires that certain production expenses of a product for sale by a manufacturer be capitalized into the inventory cost of that product. One such expense is the allocable portion of interest expenses that are attributable to equipment used in that production. However, this capitalization requirement only applies when the product being produced has a production period in excess of 2 years.

The bill I am introducing today will clarify that, for the production of distilled spirits, the production period for purposes of this capitalization rule includes only the distilling of the liquor--it does not include time that the liquors are naturally aged following the distillation.

This is an important clarification to insure that distilled spirits that are aged for long periods of time--in some cases many years--do not face adverse tax consequences merely due to this aging process. The clarification of this inequity will aid many small distilleries located in the United States by not forcing them to carry additional inventory costs over long periods of time.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. President, I would like the opportunity to talk for a few minutes with my colleague from Iowa about the important role of adoption and foster care. Today, I am proud to be supporting legislation that the Senator from Iowa is introducing to reauthorize the Adoption Incentive Program. This is an important program that encourages States to do all they can to find permanent homes for children in foster care.

I am pleased that we are continuing the bonuses for States that increase the number of adoptions each year, along with keeping the additional incentive for adoptions of special needs children and providing a new incentive for States to focus on the adoptions of older children.

I am proud to say that Kentucky has also done fairly well under the Adoption Incentive Program over the years, and I am glad we are continuing the program. From 1998 to 2001, Kentucky received $1.6 million adoption incentives. For 2002, the Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that my State will receive $204,000 in adoption incentives.

I am sure the Senator from Iowa will agree with me that we need to make it as easy as possible for loving families to either adopt or become foster parents for children in need. There is nothing more special than a family opening up their home to a child and providing a safe and supportive environment. This is why I have worked on adoption and foster care issues for so long in Congress.

In fact, last year I was pleased that one of my foster care initiatives was passed as part of the 2002 economic stimulus bill. Many families who take in foster care children receive stipends from the placement agency which helps pay for food, clothes and other expenses.

In the past, some of these stipends were tax-free for families, while others were taxable. I didn't feel that was fair, so my provision made all stipends that foster care families receive to be tax free. This provision corrected an inconsistency in the tax code that unfairly punished foster care families and the children for whom they care, and I was happy we could finally correct this problem.

I certainly agree with you that the adoption tax credits are good policy, and I am very familiar with them. In fact, back in 1996, I worked as a Member of the Ways and Means Committee to pass the original legislation providing for the tax credits to help families afford to adopt children. We finally got this credit passed as part of the Small Business Job Protection Act which passed over seven years ago. I was very supportive of the provisions in the 2001 tax bill to expand these credits, but would like to take them one step further.

Within the next couple of weeks, I will be introducing legislation to make these tax credits permanent. If we don't eliminate the sunset which was built into the tax bill, then the current maximum credit of $10,000 will be reduced back down to $5,000 in 2010. To me, this seems like a common-sense change that needs to be made.

I introduced a similar bill in the 107th Congress, and I am hopeful that we can get this bill passed before the end of the 108th Congress.

Finally, I would like to say a few words about the importance of promoting interracial adoptions. In the past, many times there were barriers to families adopting minority children. This isn't fair to the family or the child. That is why in 1996, I pushed for legislation stopping discrimination against minority children in order to make it easier for them to move from foster care into a loving, permanent home.

All of these initiatives are designed to help find permanent or temporary homes for our Nation's children. Today, we are taking another important step by reauthorizing the Adoption Incentive Program, and I hope that we can get this bill through the Senate and onto the President's desk soon.

Mr. President, Senator Landrieu, Senator Bunning and I are happy to introduce the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003, a bill that would extend and improve the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. Across the country there are thousands of children of all ages and needs who are waiting to be adopted into stable families. This legislation provides a reward to States that place an emphasis on finding loving homes for children who are in foster care.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 rewarded States with cash incentives for increasing the number of adoptions of children in foster care, concentrating on children with special needs. Adoption levels were on the rise before the introduction of this legislation, but grew even faster after implementation of the program. Studies project that an additional 34,000 children were adopted during the first 3 years of the program. Currently each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have received incentive payments from the increased number of adoptions. My home State of Iowa just received a payment of $524,000 because of its success in finding children in foster care permanent homes. The results are clear, adoption incentives are working.

There are many people in this country who have opened their arms to children that do not fit the typical mold. The Lippert family of Council Bluffs, IA is just one example. Over the last 25 years, they have adopted 16 children, in addition to their two biological children. Their doors are still open to children in need. Within the next 6 months their nest will become even larger; they have three teenage girls who are in the process of being adopted. All but one of these children have special needs, ranging from emotional to physical disabilities. None of these challenges have stopped the Lippert family from helping their children become successful members of the community. The Lippert family has given these children a chance to be part of a loving and permanent family, an opportunity they would otherwise not have had.

But much remains to be done. While adoption incentives have helped states place a large number of children in families, there are still thousands of children without such luck. The incentive program helps to promote the needs of children for whom it is challenging to find an adoptive home. Take for example, children over the age of 9. The probability that these children will ever find a permanent home exceeds the probability they will be adopted into a loving family. This legislation adds an incentive for States to increase the number of older children adopted out of foster care.

Adoption is a positive life-changing experience. My bill builds upon the success of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. It recognizes these successes and continues to challenge States to remove children from foster care and place them with a permanent family. Adoptions give children a loving home and families an opportunity to share their love with a child in need. I encourage the Senate to consider this important piece of legislation and continue to reward States that are working to place children in permanent homes.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

I appreciate that the Senator from Kentucky has worked so hard with me on the reauthorization of the Adoption Incentive Program. I also appreciate the lead the Senator took several months ago when he introduced the original legislation to reauthorize this program, which was based on the administration's proposal. This was an important step to help get the ball rolling on this program's reauthorization.

Our legislation builds upon the Adoption Incentive Program created in the Adoption and Safe Family Act of 1997. This bill sets the authorization level for this program at $43 million for each of fiscal year 2004 through fiscal year 2008. Through this legislation, States would continue to be rewarded for all increased adoptions of children in foster care.

States that earn incentive payments for increased adoptions of foster children would also continue to be rewarded for increased adoptions of special needs children. However, the special needs payment would be limited only to adoptions of special needs children who are under age 9 at the time the adoption is finalized.

Senator Bunning, as you well know, our bill would create a third incentive payment, for each increased adoption of all children in foster care who are age 9 or older at the time of adoption. This is important because children over the age of nine are less likely to find a permanent adoptive home. In fact, the probability that these children never find a permanent home exceeds the probability they will be adopted into a loving family.

My home State of Iowa and its child welfare program has also benefited from this program. Last year, Iowa received a payment of $524,000 because of its success in finding children in foster care, permanent homes. Our States' successes underscore the results of this program; adoption incentives are working.

In the recent past, Congress has also taken some positive steps to promote adoption through tax credit. In 2001, as chairman of the Finance Committee, I extended and expanded two important provisions which provide tax relief for adoptive families.

The 2001 tax bill ensured that neither adoption tax credit, nor the exclusion from income for qualified employer-paid adoption expenses expired. In addition, the amount of each of these benefits was doubled--i.e., from $5,000 to $10,000 per qualifying child. Finally, in the case of special needs adoptions, Congress eliminated expense reporting requirements thus ensuring that the families who take special needs children into their homes receive the maximum relief possible under these provisions, while minimizing their administrative burdens.

I look forward to working with you on this issue in the near future.

It is also my hope that we can get this bipartisan bill through Congress and allow it to become law. I would like to thank you, Senator Bunning, and the other members of the Senate who have worked so hard on this legislation.