National DWI Victims Memorial Designation Act of 2010

Mr. President, as Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, I am delighted to rise today, during National Small Business Week, with Senator Landrieu, who is Chair of the Committee, to introduce the Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act.

Our bipartisan measure is a pro-small business bill and would allow the salon

industry to have the same tax rules on tips paid to employees as is permitted in the restaurant industry. The legislation would increase compliance with payroll tax obligations and will make sure that the women who work in the salon industry earn all the Social Security retirement and disability benefits they should be entitled to. It would also help to prevent salons that do not follow the tax law from gaining a competitive disadvantage against those that do follow the law. The companion bill in the House is H.R. 3724, which was introduced Representative Shelley Berkley and Representative Kevin Brady.

Clearly this legislation will help all parts of the salon industry, big and small, men and women. But the reality is that because 84 percent of the workforce in the salon industry is female, this issue has special relevance for women. When women work as independent contractors at hair salons, they are less likely to disclose all of their tips for purposes of paying Social Security taxes. As a result, they reduce their future right to earn retirement and disability benefits in the Social Security system and reduce the size of any benefit they do ultimately earn. Making sure that working women are correctly paying into Social Security is critical to their future retirement security because many of these women will have had no other retirement benefits available to them.

We know that women are disproportionately dependent on Social Security for their retirement benefits, a March 2010 study by the Women for Women's Policy Research showed that women's Social Security benefits in 2008 were only about 75 percent of the benefits earned by men and it comprised about half of their total retirement income. By contrast, Social Security benefits comprised roughly one third of men's retirement income. Earning the right to collect a decent Social Security benefit is vital to women.

As a small business issue, salons are a quintessential small business on Main Streets across America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 98 percent of salon industry firms have only one establishment; 92 percent of salon establishments have sales of less than $500,000; and 82 percent of salon establishments have fewer than 10 employees. Extending the tip tax credit to salon owners would allow them to reinvest in their businesses and employees, create new jobs, granting new economic and employment opportunities in their local communities.

I specifically want to explain what this legislation would do. First, it would provide the salon industry with the same type of tax credit currently available in the restaurant industry. The credit is for employers to offset the matching Social Security and Medicare taxes that the salon pays on the tips that employees receive from customers. Next, the bill would help to make more even-handed IRS enforcement of laws on payroll and income taxes. Without this legislation it is often the lopsided practice of the IRS to seek back taxes from the employer but rarely from the employee or independent contractor despite the requirement that taxes be paid in equal measure.

The legislation will protect both legitimate independent contractors and employees who pay their taxes but frees up IRS resources to focus on those bad actors who are not complying with the law. Although non- employer salons comprise 87 percent of establishments, their reported sales represent only 36 percent of total salon industry revenues, implying a significant underreporting of income in the non-employer segment. This legislation includes education and reporting requirements which will help address the ``tax gap'' and reveal a valuable new source of tax revenues for the federal Government. This is a win-win- win for the salons, for employees, and for the government.

This bill is supported by the Professional Beauty Association, the largest association in the professional beauty industry, which is comprised of salon and spa owners, manufacturers and distributors of salon and spa products, and individual licensed cosmetologists.

Finally, I want to thank two salon owners who brought this issue to my attention, Alan Labos of Akari Salon in Portland, Maine and Tiffany Conway of bei capelli salon in Scarborough, Maine.

In conclusion, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support our bill.

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

Mr. President, today I introduce the National DWI Victims Memorial Designation Act of 2010, which is cosponsored by my colleague Senator Jeff Bingaman. This legislation would designate the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears in Moriarty, New Mexico, as the National DWI Victims Memorial.

Opened in 2008, the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears is the Nation's first and only memorial of its kind. The Memorial Perpetual Tears helps raise awareness of the devastation caused by driving while impaired, DWI, crashes by recognizing their victims, educating the public, and encouraging preventive measures. The memorial aims to give comfort to the innocent victims of drunk driving and raise awareness of the devastating toll of DWI deaths on our nation's roadways. Located on a four-acre site next to Interstate 40, the Memorial of Perpetual Tears attracts passersby in addition to those who travel specifically to visit the memorial.

The National DWI Victims Memorial Designation Act of 2010 would require that any reference to this memorial in a law, map, regulation, document, record, or other official paper of the United States government refer to the site as the National DWI Victims Memorial. As a Senator from New Mexico, I am proud to seek such an official designation for the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears. It is fitting that such a national memorial should be located in the State that once led the Nation in DWI fatalities and now leads the way in drunk driving prevention.

Compared to 20 years ago, our roads are much safer today. Yet even as the overall number of people killed on our roadways has declined, drunk driving still accounts for one third of all traffic fatalities nationwide. In 2008, drunk driving killed about 12,000 Americans, including 143 people in my home State of New Mexico. That is an average of 32 people killed every day by drunk driving. This unacceptable death toll is all the more shocking when you consider that each one of those deaths was preventable.

Although other communities have established remembrance gardens and monuments honoring drunk driving victims, the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears is unique. The memorial resembles a veterans cemetery with markers representing the most recent 5-year period of deaths in New Mexico attributed to DWI. The memorial includes a site dedicated to victims of DWI nationwide. The Memorial of Perpetual Tears gives further recognition to innocent victims of DWI nationwide by displaying Victim Tribute books in the memorial visitor center. The Victim Tribute books include stories and pictures submitted by injured victims and family members of those killed in DWI crashes.

The Memorial of Perpetual Tears is a testament to the hard work and dedication of local volunteers who have made this memorial possible. Sonja Britton, the mother of a DWI victim, saw the need for a memorial to those killed by drunk driving on our Nation's roadways. For years, she rallied support and found many local residents and others nationwide who were willing to help. Mike, Mary, and Ralph Anaya and their family provided key support by donating prime real estate next to Interstate 40 to give the memorial a fitting location. Thanks to the efforts of so many, the Memorial of Perpetual Tears today provides a focal point where families can gather to mourn the loss of loved ones as well as join with others to promote DWI awareness and prevention.

Having a National DWI Victims Memorial gives us another resource in the fight to end drunk driving. I share Sonja's vision that one day we will have no more senseless deaths caused by DWI crashes. As she says most eloquently, ``My dream will be realized when this mission is achieved and when our loved ones will no longer be injured or killed by alcohol-related traffic crashes. We must stop this carnage.''

Working together, we can make Sonja's dream a reality.

I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation and to join Senator Bingaman and me in celebrating the work of the volunteers who have made the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears possible.

Mr. President, today I introduce the National DWI Victims Memorial Designation Act of 2010, which is cosponsored by my colleague Senator Jeff Bingaman. This legislation would designate the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears in Moriarty, New Mexico, as the National DWI Victims Memorial.

Opened in 2008, the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears is the Nation's first and only memorial of its kind. The Memorial Perpetual Tears helps raise awareness of the devastation caused by driving while impaired, DWI, crashes by recognizing their victims, educating the public, and encouraging preventive measures. The memorial aims to give comfort to the innocent victims of drunk driving and raise awareness of the devastating toll of DWI deaths on our nation's roadways. Located on a four-acre site next to Interstate 40, the Memorial of Perpetual Tears attracts passersby in addition to those who travel specifically to visit the memorial.

The National DWI Victims Memorial Designation Act of 2010 would require that any reference to this memorial in a law, map, regulation, document, record, or other official paper of the United States government refer to the site as the National DWI Victims Memorial. As a Senator from New Mexico, I am proud to seek such an official designation for the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears. It is fitting that such a national memorial should be located in the State that once led the Nation in DWI fatalities and now leads the way in drunk driving prevention.

Compared to 20 years ago, our roads are much safer today. Yet even as the overall number of people killed on our roadways has declined, drunk driving still accounts for one third of all traffic fatalities nationwide. In 2008, drunk driving killed about 12,000 Americans, including 143 people in my home State of New Mexico. That is an average of 32 people killed every day by drunk driving. This unacceptable death toll is all the more shocking when you consider that each one of those deaths was preventable.

Although other communities have established remembrance gardens and monuments honoring drunk driving victims, the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears is unique. The memorial resembles a veterans cemetery with markers representing the most recent 5-year period of deaths in New Mexico attributed to DWI. The memorial includes a site dedicated to victims of DWI nationwide. The Memorial of Perpetual Tears gives further recognition to innocent victims of DWI nationwide by displaying Victim Tribute books in the memorial visitor center. The Victim Tribute books include stories and pictures submitted by injured victims and family members of those killed in DWI crashes.

The Memorial of Perpetual Tears is a testament to the hard work and dedication of local volunteers who have made this memorial possible. Sonja Britton, the mother of a DWI victim, saw the need for a memorial to those killed by drunk driving on our Nation's roadways. For years, she rallied support and found many local residents and others nationwide who were willing to help. Mike, Mary, and Ralph Anaya and their family provided key support by donating prime real estate next to Interstate 40 to give the memorial a fitting location. Thanks to the efforts of so many, the Memorial of Perpetual Tears today provides a focal point where families can gather to mourn the loss of loved ones as well as join with others to promote DWI awareness and prevention.

Having a National DWI Victims Memorial gives us another resource in the fight to end drunk driving. I share Sonja's vision that one day we will have no more senseless deaths caused by DWI crashes. As she says most eloquently, ``My dream will be realized when this mission is achieved and when our loved ones will no longer be injured or killed by alcohol-related traffic crashes. We must stop this carnage.''

Working together, we can make Sonja's dream a reality.

I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation and to join Senator Bingaman and me in celebrating the work of the volunteers who have made the DWI Victims Memorial of Perpetual Tears possible.