A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should give priority to passing legislation to provide tax relief for United States military personnel and should offset the cost of such tax relief with legislation preventing individuals from avoiding taxes by renouncing United States citizenship.

Mr. President, today the Senate passed the Military Tax Fairness Act of 2003, about $1.1 billion in tax relief for our military families. I support this bill. We all support this bill. In fact, we passed this unanimously or near unanimously on a coupe of previous occasions. We are visiting this bill again today because the House of Representatives does not like the offset we used to pay for the bill. We paid for it by taxing individuals who renounce their United States citizenship in order to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

It is astounding to me that this bill keeps getting bounced back and forth between the Senate and the other body over this issue. We are talking about tax relief for military families and we want Americans who are exploiting tax loop holes to step up and make that relief possible. Most of these people have known great financial success. They were blessed by the economic opportunity that our nation's liberty gives us and the free enterprise system which make those fortunes possible.

Those blessings were secured by our military personnel. Every year, the United States Treasury loses about $80 million on individuals who decide that they would prefer to have their cake and eat it too. They want American markets, they want American prestige, they want American stability, but they do not want the obligations that accrue to American citizenship. All the Senate was saying is if you benefited from this nation's security, you should be willing to pay for it.

When the Senate first considered this legislation, I had hoped to include a tax credit for the private sector employers of our National Guard and Reserve. When our Guard and Reserves answer the call to serve they leave jobs, homes, and most of all, their families behind. Many employers continue to pay all or part of the salaries of those employees who get called up. My legislation would provide those patriotic employers with a tax credit for paying up to 50 percent of the salaries for their Guard and Reserve employees.

I understand that my legislation cannot be included in this bill. So I am introducing a sense of the Senate resolution to put us on record as supporting these employers. The resolution states that we should pay for this tax credit by closing the expatriation loophole.

The facts are simple, and they are laid out in this resolution. Since 2001, the President has signed tax cuts amounting to $1.75 trillion. Today, military families will get their first taste at direct relief. Yet, this bill amounts to less than .1 percent of the tax relief that the Government has doled out. No one could justify this to voters. So it's been happening behind closed doors--in conference reports, and parliamentary maneuvering. This resolution is a first step to putting a bright, hot spotlight on the truth. The leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee is more interested in protecting expatriate corporations, than it is in providing meaningful tax benefits to the men and women of our Armed Forces.

I am glad for what we are doing in this bill, but there is so much more that can be done and should be done. Personally, I believe that a military tax vehicle should be used to discuss military tax issues. However, the Senate cannot stand in the way of immediate relief to the families of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in battle. For that reason, we are passing this resolution today to send a signal that this imbalance must come to an end.

I appreciate the chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee for agreeing to this resolution in conjunction with the underlying bill. I look forward to working with them in the future on giving this tax relief to America's employers.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 257, submitted earlier today by Senator Landrieu.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.