Jim McCrery

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is a bicameral, bipartisan compromise on the bill that we passed through this House last week dealing with tax relief primarily for individuals who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Senate, as you know, Mr. Speaker, passed a slightly different bill, and in the time since the passage in the House and the Senate, we have gotten together with our colleagues from the other body and worked out those differences, and today we have on the floor a bill that, when it passes the House today, should immediately pass the Senate thereafter and be sent to the President for his signature. I am pleased to say that the level of cooperation across the aisle and across the Capitol with respect to taking care of the needs of individuals who were affected by Hurricane Katrina continues in a manner that does us all proud. So the bill today on the floor, Mr. Speaker, as I said, primarily provides for individual tax relief. There are several provisions which provide tax relief to businesses in the affected areas, but of course those businesses, we hope, will be employing and paying residents of the affected areas. So at least indirectly, even those provisions promote the welfare of those individuals who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Just to enumerate some of the provisions in this bill that will help individuals over these troubled times for them, any loss of tax benefits that would occur under current law, due to the relocation of that individual or family, would not take place because this House will pass this bill. In other words, this bill will hold harmless those families and individuals who might have lost some tax benefit due to a temporary relocation that was necessary due to the storm. Any debt that is forgiven to these individuals, those individuals will not be taxed on that debt. The debt forgiveness will not be counted as income to those individuals, as it would be under current law. Also, anybody that provides housing assistance to dislocated persons will, under this bill, be given a tax deduction of $500 per person they are housing, up to a maximum of $2,000 tax deduction. And, of course, that is meant to help with the burden of bringing people into one's home and thereby encouraging people to house dislocated persons from that affected area. Also, under current law, there is a deduction for personal casualty losses, but there is a limit on that deduction. This bill would waive that limit and allow individuals to fully deduct their loss. This bill would allow affected individuals to withdraw from their IRAs and pensions. For those individuals, the 10 percent penalty or 10 percent tax for early withdrawal of those funds, up to a maximum of $100,000, those affected people could withdraw from those vehicles and put that money into their home, helping them with repairs and so forth, and that would be a big help to those individuals. There are provisions that would allow those folks to repay their IRA over time and avoid any tax on those withdrawals as well. Several of these provisions, as I said, help businesses, help employers; and, of course, we are trying to encourage employers in these affected areas to bring workers back and to create jobs so that people can come back and have an income. One thing that we will extend to employers in this area is the work opportunity tax credit. The credit will give a 40 percent credit for the first $6,000 of wages paid to an employee in the first year, so up to $2,400 tax credit for hiring somebody in these affected areas. There is also an employee retention tax credit, which is very important. As you know, Mr. Speaker, many of the businesses in these affected areas are basically out of business now. Their businesses were destroyed, so they have no ongoing business at this time. Yet many of those employers have the wherewithal to continue paying their employees until their business can get back up and running. And while we certainly congratulate those employers, we know they cannot do that, many of them cannot do that for long. Because we want to encourage them to continue paying their employees even though their business is not up and going, we have an employee retention tax credit available to those employers who wish to continue paying their employees. With respect to replacing damaged property, under current law, if it is business property, the insurance proceeds are not taxable if they replace that business property within 2 years. And for individuals replacing individual property, they have 4 years to replace that property. This bill will make the time period 5 years for either businesses or individuals. Also, another help to businesses and employers in this bill is an extension of the deadline for paying excise and employment taxes. That is going to be a problem for some of those businesses, particularly small businesses who were destroyed by the storm. Also, on the business side, Mr. Speaker, we encourage cash donations by corporations by removing the limit on those corporate donations, as well as we provide the same charitable donation the deduction for charitable donation of food inventory to S corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietors that is now available under the law to C corporations. So, in sum, Mr. Speaker, this bill provides a number of tax benefits to both individuals and businesses to help them get over these very difficult times that they are experiencing because of their losses due to Hurricane Katrina, and also starts us on the way to rebuilding a business infrastructure, a jobs infrastructure, in these affected areas which will be so critical to the overall recovery of the area. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 454) providing for the concurrence by the House with an amendment in the amendment of the Senate to H.R. 3768.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise just to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means, for his work in putting together not only this bill but also in gathering ideas from his experiences with New York following 9/11 and also ideas that he has gathered from Members on his side of the aisle with how we best deal with the tragedy that has occurred and the rebuilding efforts that necessarily have to follow, not only in terms of the jurisdiction of our committee, but other areas that this Congress must address to adequately ensure the recovery of the devastated areas along the gulf coast. I thank the gentleman for his help. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I can assure the gentleman from Mississippi that I agree with his remarks, and there will be more coming from this Congress. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth), another member of the Committee on Ways and Means. (Mr. HAYWORTH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker), a distinguished member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I would be remiss if I did not thank the Bush administration, the Department of Treasury and the IRS for administratively doing a great many things that they could do without legislation to make sure that the needs of the victims of Hurricane Katrina are met vis-a-vis the Tax Code. I want to thank the administration for their important work on this subject as well. I also want to reiterate my thanks to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson) for working so closely with me and my staff to craft these very important individual tax provisions that, thanks to the leadership on both sides of the aisle, we have been able to bring to the floor in such a speedy manner. Lastly, I would thank the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means for lending the full support of his staff to this effort over the past couple of weeks. That will continue for some time to come. I urge all Members to support this important legislation and get this needed relief to individuals who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3768) to provide emergency tax relief for persons affected by Hurricane Katrina, as amended.

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their work and support in moving this critical legislation quickly to the House floor. In particular, I want to thank the members of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), and all the members of the Louisiana delegation for their continued assistance in crafting hurricane-related legislation. This bill is the Committee on Ways and Means' second installment of providing targeted relief for individuals and families hurt by Hurricane Katrina. These tax provisions are aimed at easing the financial burdens of people of the region as they begin to rebuild their lives. The bill also address the generosity of many Good Samaritans across the country who have opened up their homes to individuals and families displaced by the hurricane. H.R. 3768 would provide a special $500 income tax deduction for those who are providing temporary housing. In addition, the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act encourages cash donations to help victims by relaxing some restrictions regarding how much charitable contribution can be deducted on an individual's tax return. H.R. 3768 continues the efforts of this Congress to bring immediate relief to these individuals and families devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Madam Speaker, last week, the members of the Committee on Ways and Means on both sides of the aisle acted quickly, and the House passed the TANF Emergency Response and Recovery Act. That bill will provide aid by cutting down red tape and bringing more Federal dollars to the affected areas through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, with the welfare program. The Committee on Ways and Means continues to look at programs within our jurisdiction and how they might be used to assist those affected by Hurricane Katrina. I expect that we will bring to the House floor additional legislation in the coming weeks. We know that the people and businesses of New Orleans and the gulf coast areas hit by Katrina will rebuild, and we are committed to helping them do that. Today, Congress will vote on much-needed tax relief for the affected areas. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation so we can quickly work with our colleagues in the Senate and further demonstrate that this Congress stands ready to help those most affected by Hurricane Katrina. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley), a distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I would compliment the gentleman from Illinois for his thoughts on speeding relief to the people most in need; and, of course, the bill before us today does take some steps toward protecting those who are on the EITC already, to make sure that changed circumstances that they might encounter as a result of the disaster do not affect their eligibility for those checks. We are doing that in this legislation, but the gentleman makes an excellent point about the need for those checks to arrive in a speedy manner. I look forward to discussing that with the gentleman. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart), another distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3768, the bill just passed.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Master Sergeant Harry Jenkins. Master Sergeant Harry Jenkins is retiring with over 23 years of service in the United States Marine Corps. He was raised in Minden, Louisiana, where he graduated from Minden High School in 1982. Master Sergeant Jenkins began his military career at San Diego, California, where he attended basic training in 1982. He then went to his military occupation school (MOS) at Camp Pendleton, California in 1982. He was one of the top candidates at the school. He was assigned the Administrative Clerk MOS. Master Sergeant Jenkins has served in a number of assignments throughout his distinguished career. He has served in assignments ranging from Hawaii; New York City; Okinawa, Japan; Long Island, New York; Virginia and Washington, DC. From November 1982-April 1986, he was assigned to the 1st Marine Brigade, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii as an administrative clerk and Platoon Sergeant. From April 1985-June 1989, he was assigned to the Marine Corps Public Affairs Office, New York, New York. He served as the Administration Chief and the Assistant Public Affairs Chief and was responsible for providing the media updates on Marine Corps activities and interacting in local community activities. From June 1989-June 1990, he was assigned to 9th Marines, Okinawa, Japan and 3rd Amphibious Assault Vehicle Battalion, Okinawa, Japan where he served as the Administration Chief and Platoon Sergeant. From June 1990-October 1993, he was assigned to Marine Corps Recruiting Station, New York, Garden City, and New York. He was assigned as the Administration Chief, where he was responsible for maintaining the records and supporting the recruiters responsible for recruiting the next generation of Marines. From October 1993-November 1996, he was assigned to Officer Assignment Branch, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. There he served as the Assistant Monitor for the Field Grade Ground Service Support Military Occupation Specialties. From November 1996-March 2002, he was assigned to the U.S. House of Representatives Marine Corps Liaison Office, Washington, DC. Master Sergeant Jenkins has carried the Marine's message to these hallowed halls providing members of this body the information necessary to determine how best to equip, maintain and support the United States Marine Corps and ultimately provide and ensure the Nation's security. During this period, Master Sergeant Jenkins was responsible for directing, and organizing numerous congressional and staff delegations around the world. His attention to detail in making these very important trips logistically successful is noteworthy. During Master Sergeant Jenkins' last 3 years of service, he has served as the Administration Chief in the Marine Corps' Office of Legislative Affairs. That office supports Members of Congress, and their congressional committees, relating to the Marine Corps and the security of our Nation. In his position as Administrative Chief, Master Sergeant Jenkins has been vital in the efficient running of that very busy office. Master Sergeant Jenkins has made a lasting contribution in the capability of today's Marine Corps' and the future shape of tomorrow's Corps. His superior performance of duties highlights the culmination of more than 23 years of honorable and dedicated Marine Corps service. By his exemplary professional competence, sound judgment, and total dedication to duty, Master Sergeant Jenkins has reflected great credit upon himself and has always upheld the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps. I wish him, his wife, Deborah, his sons, Deven and Jarrod all the best as he pursues other interests outside of the Marine Corps.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join Representatives Shaw, Johnson, Ryan, Shadegg, a number of my Ways and Means and other colleagues to introduce the Growing Real Ownership for Workers (GROW) Act of 2005. The creation of GROW accounts is a simple, common-sense, first step in protecting Social Security for the next generation of retirees and beyond. Mr. Speaker, we have been listening to the American people, and this bill is a result of what we have heard: that spending Social Security funds on other programs is wrong and must be stopped. Right now, Social Security is taking in more money than it needs to pay benefits. We should ensure those surplus funds are spent on Social Security. With individual GROW accounts, working Americans younger than age 55 at the start of this year will be able to put their names on their share of the overpayments to the Social Security Trust Funds. The accounts will be invested in a fund of guaranteed, safe, marketable Treasury securities. They will be real assets that Americans will own. They will be inheritable, too. GROW accounts would be voluntary; people can opt out if they want to. Our GROW plan is forward-looking--after a prudent transition, GROW account owners would have the opportunity to invest in other types of securities, if they want to. The board that administers the accounts will submit a plan to Congress allowing for diversification into other assets. The plan would go into effect unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval. Upon retirement, account balances will be used to help pay workers' Social Security benefits, and account balances are inheritable. The bill does not impose investment risk on workers and does not harm the Social Security Trust Funds. It does protect the integrity of the Social Security program by ensuring that Social Security taxes are only used for Social Security. I urge my colleagues on both sides to join me in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Chairman, the previous speaker made some good points. He talked about the need for our country to discover new alternative sources of energy, and I think the gentleman is right. The underlying bill under consideration has some incentives for developing those new alternative sources of energy. Should we do more? Perhaps. I think perhaps when we get the final bill out of conference with the Senate, there may be more in the bill. But to rail against the oil and gas industry, as the gentleman did, and the provisions in the underlying bill that provide tax incentives for exploration and development of our oil and gas reserves in this country, to me rings empty because the substitute or the amendment that is before us that the gentleman spoke in favor of does not strike any of those provisions in the underlying bill. All this amendment does is add new tax credits to the underlying bill. So all of the rhetoric that we heard about the underlying bill is just talk because this amendment does nothing to affect those provisions the gentleman was speaking against. What this amendment does do is basically double the cost of this bill, at least the tax provisions in this bill. We have not had time, and the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce spoke about the number of pages in this amendment, we have not had time, frankly, to analyze it from a budgetary aspect to see if it violates the House budget we have already passed. It very well could. But it takes the cost of tax provisions in this bill from about $8 billion over 10 years to about $17 billion over 10 years. Now, the accounting gimmick, as the gentleman from Washington put it, is called LIFO, last in first out. This is not an accounting principle used just by the oil and gas industry. It is used by every sector of our economy. It is in common usage, and there is a reason. The reason is if we insisted on industry, of whatever kind, accounting for first in first out, it would lead to distortions in the market, and it would lead to business decisions based on tax considerations instead of market considerations. Last in first out is something commonly used throughout industry, not just the oil and gas industry. They cannot game it. There are regulations in place to keep them from shifting their inventory around to take advantage of the accounting rule. So this is not something, some gimmick for the oil and gas industry. It is a very sound accounting principle used throughout industry in this country. So I would urge this House not to listen to the words of the gentleman, but look at the action embodied in the amendment. This amendment does nothing to the underlying tax provisions in the bill. It doubles the cost of the bill, and it would impose upon the oil and gas industry, just one industrial sector in this country, a retroactive tax increase because under his accounting change, those companies would have to go back and recapture what they would have paid in taxes and pay them prospectively over the next 10 years. I hope we have concluded in this body that retroactive tax increases are bad policy. So for that reason alone, I would recommend that we reject this amendment.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for recognizing me to speak on this bill and also thank the chairman for his work in putting together this conference report and in putting together the coalition that will pass this bill on the floor of the House tonight and, I believe, in the other body tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of comments on this floor tonight about how this bill encourages companies to ship jobs overseas, to export jobs. First of all, who in his right mind would want to do that? Do you really think that any of us in this body wants to ship jobs overseas? Just think about it. Of course not. If you want to create jobs here in this country, if you want to preserve the jobs that are here in this country, if you want to make American companies more competitive, if you want to give them a better chance to compete in the international marketplace, then you should be voting for this bill tonight. That is what this bill is all about. That is what we spent so much time investigating, bringing in witnesses, listening to testimony and then crafting provisions that will help our American companies to create jobs here in the United States. Do some of the provisions help American companies with their overseas operations? Absolutely. That is what we want to do. We want our American companies to beat the French and the Germans and the Japanese in Europe and in Japan and in Asia. We want American investment there. We want American workers there. We want American profits there so they can bring those profits back here and invest them in research and development and invest them in infrastructure here and in retooling, modernizing their plant and equipment. That is what this bill is all about. Forget all the political rhetoric. Think about the work that has gone into this product. Think about what we are all here to do, Democrats and Republicans, to make this country a better place to live, give people a place to work, a good job. That is what this bill is about. We ought to pass it today, and I believe we will, thanks to the work of a lot of good people in this body on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, this Democratic motion to instruct conferees reflects what is their increasingly obvious 19th century state of mind. One would think, listening to the comments of our colleagues on the left, that we are back in the industrial revolution, or maybe, they have moved forward to the first part of the 20th century, mid-20th century, maybe even right after World War II, when the United States was not only the biggest and baddest bear in the industrial woods but just about the only bear in the industrial woods. Those times have changed. This is the 21st century. The market has changed significantly. One of my colleagues on the Committee on Ways and Means pointed out that he learned from Goldman Sachs that, over the last couple of years, we have seen 300,000 to 500,000 jobs outsourced, in other words, American companies creating 300,000 to 500,000 jobs off our shores in foreign countries. That is true. But what he did not tell my colleagues and what he could have found out at Goldman Sachs or from our own Department of Commerce is that, during that same period of time, even more than 300,000 to 500,000 jobs were created here in the United States by foreign companies wanting to access our market. That is the 21st century market. No longer are we building infrastructure to transport American made goods from the east coast to the west coast like we did in the 19th century. Those were great days, but today, American companies have to build some of their things overseas to access those markets, to compete with the numerous companies that are in competition with them today, unlike the 19th century and mid-20th century. In today's market, we dadgum better get over there and compete, or we will lose market share, and when we lose market share, we lose income, and when we lose income, we are not able to invest, and when we cannot invest, we cannot create jobs. Get with it. This bill gets with it. It modernizes our tax code. It says to our American companies, we realize they have got to compete in the world market, not just in the United States market, and oh, by the way, if they do produce products here in the United States and sell them overseas or even here in the United States, we are going to give them a tax cut. One of my other colleagues on the Committee on Ways and Means said we need to target this tax relief to American manufactured goods. Well, guess what, this bill does that. The tax rate cut for manufacturers only applies to income derived from the sale of goods manufactured here in the United States. So this Democratic motion to instruct basically is a bunch of hyperbolic language thrown out to scare people, to try to make it seem like they are the defenders of American jobs when just the opposite is true. This bill, crafted by Republicans, wants to create jobs here in the United States, preserve jobs here in the United States.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, much of the substance of this bill has been repeated here on the Floor today, and I am not going to do that, but there are a couple of areas that I want to emphasize. Before I do that, though, I want to underscore what the chairman just said about balancing the budget under President Clinton. Another way of putting it, without referring specifically to articles in the Constitution, is to say that the President proposes, the Congress disposes. That is to say, the President can recommend things to the Congress, but it is the Congress that actually votes and passes budgets and passes appropriations bills and entitlement programs and the like. Prior to Republicans taking over the House and the Senate, President Clinton was saying that he could see deficits as far as the eye could see, over the horizon. It was only when Republicans took control of the purse strings, as the chairman put it, that we started enacting policies that increased revenues by cutting taxes and controlling spending and balancing the budget for the first time since the late 1960s. It was the Republican Congress that did that, not President Clinton. And as the chairman said, the Constitution provides that it is the Congress that disposes. Now, the two areas that I want to emphasize in the bill, number one, the extension of expiring provisions in the Tax Code. In other words, there are some provisions in the Tax Code that have expired. They are no longer in effect, or they will expire this year. The gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) mentioned a few of those. Let me mention a few more. A deduction for computer donations, a $250 deduction for teacher classroom expenses, a tax credit for electric produced from renewable sources, such as wind energy, a very promising technology for renewable energy production. A tax credit for electric vehicles, a deduction for clean fuel vehicles; those kinds of provisions that are in the Tax Code to encourage the development of renewable sources of energy, to encourage the efficiency of energy in this country, in the use of energy in this country, would be expiring if it were not for the passage of this bill. The second thing I want to emphasize, Mr. Speaker, is that anyone who votes no on this bill today is voting for a tax increase on the American people and on the middle class in this country, because almost all of these tax provisions go to the middle class. And if you vote no on this bill, you are saying, we are not going to renew these tax breaks for the middle class; we are going to increase taxes on the middle class. That is the bottom line on this bill. So let us be clear: If you vote for this bill, you are voting to allow taxes on the middle class to remain low. If you vote against this bill, you are voting to increase taxes on the middle class in this country. That is it, plain as day.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to honor a living legend in the world of country music, who also happens to be a fellow citizen of the great state of Louisiana. From singer to songwriter and manager to actor, Merle Kilgore has been involved in every conceivable facet of modern show business. Throughout his entertainment career, he has been unique for the breadth of his entertainment experience and unsurpassed in his talent. It is the lifelong achievements of such a great man that I wish to honor here tonight. Merle Kilgore was born Wyatt Merle Kilgore on August 9, 1934 in Chickasha, Oklahoma. His family moved to Shreveport, Louisiana before he began school. He attended Byrd High School in Shreveport and later attended college at Louisiana Tech in Ruston. He first became involved with music at the young age of 14, carrying the guitar of another famous country musician, Hank Williams, Sr., at the famous Louisiana Hayride. Just two years later, in 1950, he began his show business career, performing at the Louisiana Hayride at just 16. His first job was as a Disc Jockey at a radio station in Ruston, Louisiana and in 1953, he even hosted his own television and radio show as ``The Tall Texan''. Merle made his songwriting debut when he wrote his first number one hit, ``More and More,'' in 1953; he was just 18 years old. The song was recorded by Webb Pierce and became a million-seller in 1954. His success as a songwriter seemed to be assured by the popularity of his first song, but he was far from finished. Surpassing his own songwriting accomplishments seemed to be another of Merle's talents. Not long after writing ``More and More'', Merle wrote the 10 million-seller ``Wolverton Mountain'', which was recorded by Claude King. Still not satisfied, he and June Carter Cash wrote the country music hit `Ring of Fire,' which was recorded by Johnny Cash and sold more than 16 million records. To this day, Merle Kilgore has continued to be a prolific songwriter, cataloging more than 300 songs and selling almost 50 million records. He recorded his first top 10 record in 1959, the self penned ``Dear Mama'', while he was a DJ and the manager of a radio station in Louisiana. In his signature style of never being satisfied with just one big hit, Merle added the records ``Love has made you beautiful,'' ``42 in Chicago,'' and ``Fast Talking Louisiana Man'' among others to his already impressive collection of songs and records. Merle's favorite record, entitled ``Mr. Garfield'' by Merle Kilgore and Friends was recorded with longtime friends and fellow country music legends Hank Williams, Jr. and Johnny Cash. As if his accomplishments in recording and songwriting were not enough, Merle Kilgore's talents in the entertainment industry extend even further. As an actor, he has appeared in the box office hits ``Coal Miner's Daughter,'' Robert Altman's ``Nashville,'' ``W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings,'' ``Roadie,'' and the CBS-TV movie, ``Willa.'' He also played himself in NBC-Telecom's Living Proof, the life story of Hank Williams, Jr. While lesser men would have been satisfied with such an impressive list of lifetime accomplishments, Merle Kilgore went further. In 1962, Merle moved to Nashville to open and manage the Nashville branch of the prestigious Shapiro Bernstein and Al Gallico music publishing companies. He became the general manager of Hank Williams, Jr.'s music publishing companies in 1969 and on April 7, 1986 was named Executive Vice President and head of management of Hank Williams, Jr. Enterprises. Merle Kilgore has been affiliated with Hank Williams, Jr. for more than 30 years and has served as his personal manager for the last 16 years. The management experience and leadership of Merle have been tested and proven in a number of successful business ventures and industry leadership positions. He has been involved as Vice President of the Country Music Association and has served on that organization's Board of Directors for the last fourteen years. He has been the President of both the Nashville Songwriter's Foundation and the Nashville Songwriter's Association International; a fitting position for an individual of his talent. Merle Kilgore's outstanding accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. In 1987, he was named as an honorary State Senator for the State of Tennessee. He was selected by his fellow entertainers as Country Music Association's first ever Manager of the Year in 1990. Three years later, in 1993, Merle was inducted into the Louisiana State Hall of Fame in Lafayette and was also inducted into the Shreveport's Byrd High School Hall of Fame. In 1998, Merle received the Legendary Songwriter's Award from the North American Country Music Association and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters' Hall of Fame. Merle continues to direct the operations of Hank Williams, Jr. Enterprises in Paris, Tennessee and Merle Kilgore Management in Nashville. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have the opportunity to pay tribute to a living legend in American entertainment and an icon of American country music. Mr. Merle Kilgore has consistently outperformed and exceeded even his own high achievements. I join all of his fans around the world in saying ``Thank You'' for sharing his incredible talent with all of us and wish him many more years of health, happiness, and continued success.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time to talk about what I think is perhaps the most important tax bill we have passed through this House in the last several years. There has been a lot of talk and rhetoric about how the international tax provisions contained in this bill will ship jobs overseas when in fact just the opposite is the case and just the opposite is supported by the facts, but we do not hear many facts coming from those critics from the bill, we just hear rhetoric. Rhetoric is easy. Let me give Members some facts. I will start with the fact that 93 percent of all products made overseas by American companies with operations overseas are sold overseas, not made over there and brought back here to be sold in our market to replace part of the market share here in the United States. Those products made overseas by American companies that have affiliates overseas are sold overseas. That should tell Members something. It should tell Members that our American companies who create facilities overseas to make things do so in order to compete in those overseas markets. They want market share over there, and in many cases and in most cases they need those facilities over there to serve those markets. Another fact, another statistic that is important: 40 percent of all exports by American manufacturers from the United States go to foreign affiliates of those same American manufacturers. In other words, our manufacturers here in the United States are making things here to sell over there to their own foreign affiliates. So if it were not for the fact that American companies had those foreign affiliates overseas, those exports probably would not be sold. Those exports would not be leaving the United States. And all those exports, those products, are made by workers here in the United States. So those jobs overseas, those plants overseas owned by American manufacturers support jobs here in the United States. Those are the facts. Forget the rhetoric, this bill is about jobs here in the United States. It is the best bill we have had on the floor in a long, long time, and we ought to pass it.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My good friend from Michigan misspoke when he said that the Senate has rejected this legislation. He knows full well the Senate has not even voted on this legislation. They have used parliamentary procedures in the Senate to force a supermajority vote just to get the bill to a vote, and they have not overcome that 60 vote supermajority to get to the floor. So the Senate indeed has not rejected this legislation. They have yet to vote on it. We wish they would vote on it.

Mr. McCRERY. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I try on the floor of the House when I speak to treat all Members of the House, Republican, Democrat, majority, minority with respect, both for their views and for their integrity. Unfortunately today, I have heard from some members of the minority reckless and baseless charges, ranging from supporters of the legislation before us rewarding their fat cat friends in the energy industry, repaying contributions, charges which we could just as easily hurl at some Members of the minority for the votes they make in favor of legislation proposed and supported by their supporters and their contributors. But I choose not to do that. I do not think it is fitting for Members to question the motives of Members for supporting or opposing legislation. It would also be easy for me to charge Members of the minority with not caring about the price of energy in this country, not caring what people pay at the gas pump for gasoline, because they have supported over the years tremendous increases in gas taxes. Up to 50 percent increase in gas taxes has been proposed by Members of the minority. And a few years ago, there was a tax on BTUs, on energy, that the minority supported. They do not care, it would be easy for me to say, about what people in this country, taxpayers, pay for their energy use in this country, whether they are from the Northeast or from the South or the West. But those things are not before us today. We have before us today a very serious, well-crafted, well-rounded approach to energy policy, comprehensive energy policy, in this country. That is what we should focus on, and that is what I will focus on in the remainder of my remarks. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. No, Mr. Speaker, it is not. They have not had an up-or- down vote on this bill, and that is a fact. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, this legislation before us today would promote vital improvements in our energy infrastructure while diversifying our economy's sources of energy. The bill's provisions are indeed the same as the incentives the House approved in the conference report on H.R. 6 by a bipartisan vote of 246 to 180, and those measures still merit enactment today. This bill addresses crucial needs in our infrastructure by promoting new electrical and gas transmission capabilities through accelerated depreciation, promoting production of new low sulfur diesel fuels, and by improvements in the tax rules governing electric utilities. Infrastructure is indeed not very exciting, but it is important. The ability to produce power will mean nothing if we cannot upgrade our ability to get energy to those who need it. This bill also extends and expands incentives for the production of energy from alternative sources. This bill provides tax incentives for producing electricity from solar, wind, and biomass, for the production of clean fuels from farm waste, and the incentives we agreed upon last year to extend tax credits for ethanol and biodiesel production. These incentives are as important to promoting diversity of supply today as they were when we passed this bill earlier on. The incentives for alternate sources are coupled with the robust package of incentives for the production of coal, oil, and natural gas, which we still need for our energy in this country. Finally, House Members can take pride in the incentives in this bill to conserve energy and to promote cleaner power, from incentives to create cleaner-burning coal products, produce more efficient cars, and to clean up the air from coal-burning power plants to the incentives the bill provides to make buildings far more efficient in their use of energy. This bill includes measures that encourage prudent use of our resources. Mr. Speaker, once again this House ought to pass this bill, send it to our colleagues across the Capitol, and hope this time that those who would block this legislation indeed allow an up-or-down vote and let us see how it goes. I predict they would pass this bill. It is a good bill. We ought to pass it today again.