E28 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 8, 2003 the shadow of manual labor. Pete went on to CENTENNIAL OF THE NATION’S A BILL TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE graduate from St. John’s University where he OLDEST MULTI-PURPOSE REC- THE BENEFITS PROVIDED TO earned a B.S. degree at the University of LAMATION PROJECT: THE SALT SMALL BUSINESSES UNDER IN- Notre Dame where he received an M.B.A. de- RIVER PROJECT TERNAL REVENUE CODE SEC- gree. His fiance´e Anna Christine is a native TION 179 Oregonian who received her B.S. and M.A. HON. J.D. HAYWORTH degrees from George Fox University and is OF ARIZONA HON. WALLY HERGER OF CALIFORNIA currently a sales director. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES I ask all my colleagues to join me in wishing Tuesday, January 7, 2003 this great couple many years of health and Tuesday, January 7, 2003 happiness. Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, a little more Mr. HERGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to than halfway through our nation’s history, join with President Bush in his call to assist f when the West was still an untamed region full our Nation’s small businesses by introducing of untapped potential, central Arizona’s early the ‘‘Small Business Expensing Improvement TRIBUTE TO ALABAMA MIS- settlers embarked on what has become a hall- Act of 2003.’’ This legislation will encourage SIONARY DR. MARTHA C. MYERS mark of American vision, boldness and suc- new business investment and expansion, and cess. The story is that of the Salt River I am pleased to be joined in this effort by sev- Project, the nation’s third largest public power eral of my colleagues on the tax-writing Ways HON. TERRY EVERETT provider, the largest supplier of water to the and Means Committee. greater Phoenix metropolitan area and the old- Small businesses truly are the backbone of OF ALABAMA est multi-purpose reclamation project in the our economy, representing more than half of IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES U.S. all jobs and economic output. We should not Incorporated on February 7, 1903, the Salt take small business vitality for granted, how- Tuesday, January 7, 2003 River Project, more commonly known as SRP, ever. Rather, our tax laws should support deserves special commendation in its centen- small businesses in their role as the engines Mr. EVERETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay nial year for the prominent role it has played of innovation, growth, and job creation. tribute to the service and memory of a great in central Arizona’s growth and development. Earlier today, President Bush unveiled his American and a remarkable citizen of my Its place in Arizona’s history prompted me and economic growth proposal. I applaud the State of Alabama, Dr. Martha C. Myers. my colleague, Congressman JOHN SHADEGG, President for his commitment to our Nation’s On December 30, Dr. Myers and two others, to nominate SRP for inclusion in the Library of small business owners and his dedication to William E. Koehn of Texas and Kathleen A. Congress’s Bicentennial Local Legacies ensure that our tax laws do not impede the Gariety of Wisconsin, lost their lives in a terror Project. growth and development of small businesses. The legislation we are introducing today will attack aimed at them simply because they Before SRP was formed, pioneers of the implement a key element of the President’s were American missionaries. All three were in area that now encompasses large parts of my plan, expansion of the benefits available to own Congressional District 5 saw opportunity Jibla, Yemen serving in a hospital for the poor small businesses under Internal Revenue in the desert region they had settled. Farming, run by the Southern Baptist Church. Code Section 179. commerce and trade were beginning to boom. Like her colleagues, Dr. Myers was thor- Our bill will improve our tax laws to make it But the region’s main source of water, the Salt oughly devoted to serving the Lord and be- easier for small businesses to make the cru- River, proved fickle and dangerous. lieved that her life should be spent doing His cial investments in new equipment necessary To preserve themselves, their families and work regardless of personal risk. She loved for continued prosperity. Under Code Section their future, the pioneers banded together to 179, a small business is allowed to expense treating and caring for the poor and labored in secure a reliable water supply. They envi- Yemen for 24 years before she lost her life. the first $25,000 in new business investment sioned a great dam in the Salt River Canyon in a year. Following the President’s lead, our Americans and Christians are both a rarity east of Phoenix and, though the idea may legislation will permanently increase this in that remote Arab nation which has long have seemed fanciful to some, it won the sup- amount to $75,000. Furthermore, our bill will been known for its lawlessness. Dr. Myers port of President Theodore Roosevelt. index this amount to ensure that the value of knew the danger that awaited her each day With passage of the National Reclamation this provision is not eroded over time. while serving in Yemen and yet she looked Act of 1902, the foundation was laid for forma- This legislation will also allow more small forward to her work as each day brought her tion in 1903 of the Salt River Valley Water businesses to take advantage of expensing by closer to the Lord. Users Association, a non-profit entity that later increasing from $200,000 to $325,000 the total became the Salt River Project. Local farms amount a business may invest in a year and Last weekend, a large memorial service was were offered as collateral to secure a federal qualify for Section 179. It is important to note held at her home church, Dalraida Baptist, in loan for construction of a stone masonry dam that this amount has not been adjusted for in- Montgomery in my congressional district. So on the Salt River. When the dam was com- flation since the provision was enacted into many family, friends and fellow Alabamians pleted in 1911, it was rightly named Roosevelt law in 1986. turned out to honor the testimony of this re- Dam after the president whose visionary rec- Mr. Speaker, in times of economic uncer- markable Christian. Perhaps the most striking lamation concepts helped settlers of Arizona tainty, we must do all we can to encourage example of Dr. Myer’s walk for Christ was the and other Western states forge progress and new investment and job creation. The ‘‘Small attendance of Yemenis at another memorial prosperity. Business Expensing Improvement Act of service held for her last week in Jibla, a place Today, SRP has more than 780,000 electric 2003’’ will help accomplish this worthy goal. I she loved so much that she chose to be bur- power customers, shares ownership of power applaud President Bush for his leadership on ied there. plants in four states, participates actively in this issue, and I look forward to working with The Alabama Baptist newspaper reported power transmission decisions across the my colleagues to enact this much-needed leg- that no less than 40,000 gathered at the mis- West, and manages six dams on the Salt and islation. sionary hospital and lined the street to pay Verde rivers and thousands of miles of canals f their respects for Dr. Myers and her col- and laterals that deliver more than 40 percent HONORING THE LIFE AND DEDI- leagues. ‘‘In a country where professing faith of the region’s water supply. CATED SERVICE OF FORMER in Jesus Christ could result in death, mourners Among utilities nationally, SRP is recog- CONGRESSMAN WAYNE OWENS sang ‘He is Lord’ in Arabic and recited the nized for its customer service, employee-com- OF UTAH Lord’s Prayer,’’ the paper wrote. munity involvement, corporate giving and envi- ronmental leadership. Our prayers go out to the families of Dr. There can be no doubt that SRP will con- HON. TOM LANTOS OF CALIFORNIA Myers and her colleagues who died in service tinue to be a major force in meeting Arizona’s IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES to their fellow man. They are a powerful exam- water and power needs, and an invaluable ple of true courage and sacrifice no matter partner to the communities it serves. With Tuesday, January 7, 2003 what the cost to themselves. pride, Mr. Speaker, I salute the Salt River Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I join my distin- Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Project on its 100th anniversary. guished colleague from Utah, Mr. MATHESON,

VerDate Dec 13 2002 02:52 Jan 09, 2003 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A07JA8.088 E08PT1 January 8, 2003 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E29 the other members of the Utah delegation, INDIVIDUAL AND SMALL BUSI- I. INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX SIMPLIFICATION and all of my colleagues in this body in NESS TAX SIMPLIFICATION ACT Alternative Minimum Tax—Inflation has mourning the passing of our former colleague, OF 2003 caused many middle-income taxpayers to be Congressman Wayne Owens of Utah. I con- subject to AMT by eroding the value of the sider it an honor to have known him and to HON. AMO HOUGHTON AMT exemption. Rising state and local taxes have served with him. OF NEW YORK have added to the problem, because state Wayne and I served on the International Re- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES taxes are not deductible in calculating taxable lations Committee during his second term of Tuesday, January 7, 2003 income for AMT purposes. The failure to allow a state and local tax deduction for AMT pur- service in this House from 1987 until 1993. I Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, today I am visited Wayne’s congressional district in Salt poses is one of the most unfair aspects of the re-introducing a bill, the Individual and Small Internal Revenue Code. It results in double Lake City at his request to assist with his re- Business Tax Simplification Act, to address a election. taxation of income, and it forces taxpayers problem that remains as relevant in the 108th who live in states with higher income taxes to My relationship with Wayne, however, went Congress as it was in the 107th. In 1935, bear a larger percentage of the federal tax back much further than our association here in there were 34 lines on Form 1040 and instruc- burden than those who live in states with this House. In the 1960s he served as a legis- tions were two pages. Today, the tax code lower taxes or no tax. If we allow the AMT to lative aide to Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah, and regulations have grown to over 9 million remain unaddressed, this unfair and inequi- and later he was the Administrative Assistant words. According to the Tax Foundation, indi- table disparity will worsen over time. to Senator EDWARD M. KENNEDY of Massachu- vidual taxpayers spent 2.9 billion hours on fed- As a result of inflation, the Joint Committee setts. I also served on the staff of other mem- eral tax compliance in 2002. This is 370 mil- on Taxation predicts that more than 35 million bers of the Senate while Wayne was working lion more hours than in 2001. Businesses will pay AMT within ten years. Currently, AMT there. spent an additional 2.75 billion hours on tax affects less than 2 million taxpayers. A recent Mr. Speaker, Wayne and I stood together compliance. The value of this 5.6 billion hours study by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Cen- on many issues before the International Rela- of lost time is incalculable. Our tax code is a ter confirms this finding and further notes that tions Committee—from seeking to bring peace growing thicket of complexity that frustrates or- if left unattended the AMT will shift a substan- in the Middle East to dealing with the momen- dinary taxpayers, is a haven for promoters of tial portion of the tax burden of this country to tous changes taking place in Central Europe dubious schemes, and frequently generates urban and suburban middle-class taxpayers. unintended consequences. and the former Soviet Union. We also worked Congress would not design a system with To be sure, defining income in a manner together on many other issues that were be- these features deliberately, and we should not that is fair and easy to administer is inherently fore the Congress—from protecting our na- complex, but, for a variety of reasons, the tax allow it to happen by default. tion’s fragile environment to seeking the wel- Under the proposal, the AMT exemption code has become far more complicated than fare of the working men and women of our would be adjusted for inflation since the date necessary. Pamela Olson, the Treasury De- country. it was enacted and indexed for inflation in fu- partment Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, ture years. State and local taxes would be- Mr. Speaker, Wayne Owens was a man of put it well recently when she said that our tax come fully deductible under the new AMT. The conviction, who took action that he thought system ‘‘is surely not a tax system that any- was right despite the personal consequences. one would set out to create * * * it is the sys- effect of these changes will be to restore AMT During his first term in the House of Rep- tem that has evolved over time.’’ In many to its intended purpose and stop its growth. Replace Head of Household Filing Status resentatives, he served on the Judiciary Com- cases, there is a clear answer to the question with New Exemption—Head of Household fil- mittee and cast his vote for the impeachment of whether a rational person would design a ing status has long been a leading source of of then-President Richard M. Nixon. Not long tax provision the same way from a clean slate. taxpayer confusion and mistakes during the fil- after that important vote, he ran for an open The objective of the legislation I am intro- seat in the United States Senate but lost. He ducing today is to roll back unneeded com- ing season. In 2000, the IRS fielded over half blamed his defeat on that Judiciary Committee plexity for individuals and small business tax- a million taxpayer questions on filing status. vote because President Nixon remained pop- payers. One or more of the bill’s provisions An error on filing status can have con- ular in Utah. Wayne also worked on environ- would simplify annual filing for every individual sequences throughout the return, and it can mental legislation to protect the incomparable taxpayer and nearly every business in Amer- lead to costly interest and penalty charges Utah wilderness and to reintroduce wolves to ica. later on. To address this problem, the bill re- Yellowstone National Park—issues that many This legislation builds on a bill that I intro- places Head of Household filing status with a in his home state did not support. He voted duced in the 106th Congress, the Tax Sim- $3,700 ‘‘Single Parent Exemption.’’ This against authorizing the use of military force plification and Burden Reduction Act. The amount will be indexed. The proposal, as a against Iraq in 1991. I greatly admire Wayne Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight whole, is revenue neutral. The bill achieves for his determination to act as he thought has held numerous hearings on tax simplifica- further simplification by cross referencing the right, despite the personal consequences. tion, and the bill draws on the record built at new uniform definition of a qualifying child. those hearings. I plan to hold additional hear- Simplified Taxation of Social Security Bene- Mr. Speaker, both before and after his con- fits—Under present law, determining whether gressional service, Wayne was committed to ings on tax simplification during the 108th Congress to consider ways to refine this legis- and how much social security benefits are working for peace and reconciliation in the subject to tax is a highly involved process that Middle East. In 1989 he joined my friend S. lation and to consider additional simplification proposals. Several of the provisions of this requires the completion of an 18 line work- Daniel Abraham, the former Chairman of Slim sheet. Many taxpayers are not eligible to use Fast Foods, to establish the Center for Middle legislation appeared first as recommendations in the Joint Committee on Taxation’s April, this worksheet, and they must refer to a 27 East Peace and Economic Cooperation. After page publication. his loss in the Utah Senate election in 1992, 2001 report, and the staff of the Joint Com- mittee on Taxation has helped to refine the The bill would simplify the calculation by re- Wayne devoted a great deal of his time to the pealing the 85 percent inclusion rule that was Center, and he was a frequent visitor to Arab proposals contained in the bill. Other provi- sions originated with the work of the Tax Sec- enacted in 1993. This alone would remove 6 States and Israel. On many occasions he trav- tion of the American Bar Association and the lines from the Form 1040 worksheet. Going eled with Members of Congress to that region American Institute of Certified Public Account- further, the proposal would index the 50 per- in an effort to increase understanding of re- ants. I have received many comments on last cent inclusion rule for future inflation, and gional problems and to seek solutions through year’s legislation, and I welcome comments greatly simplify the calculation of income for economic cooperation. from other individuals and organizations on purposes of this rule. Tax exempt interest will Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in ac- the bill as we continue to work toward the goal no longer be required to be added in the cal- knowledging the contributions of Wayne of simplification. culation. Indexation will mean that fewer tax- Owens to our nation, to this House, and to the Our future as a Nation depends on our abil- payers will be required to complete the cal- cause of better understanding between peo- ity to raise revenue in a manner that is fair culation and include benefits in income. ples of the world. He was a remarkable and a and equitable. The Internal Revenue Code Simplify Capital Gains Tax—Under present dedicated man, and we all join in expressing must be simplified to restore faith by all tax- law, there are seven different capital gains our condolences to Marlene, his devoted wife payers in our tax system. rates that apply to various kinds of disposi- of 41 years, and to his five children and 14 The proposal includes the following provi- tions of property. There are special rates for grandchildren. sions: taxpayers in lower tax brackets, for property

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