I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3415

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 4.3-cent increase

in the transportation motor fuels excise tax rates enacted by the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and dedicated to the general fund

of the Treasury.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 8, 1996

Mrs. SEASTRAND (for herself, Mr. RIGGS, Mr. ROYCE, and Mr. ZIMMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways

and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for a period

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee

concerned

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal

the 4.3-cent increase in the transportation motor fuels

excise tax rates enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and dedicated to the general

fund of the Treasury.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

4 The purpose of this Act is to repeal the 4.3-cent in5 crease in the transportation motor fuels excise tax rates
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1 enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

2 1993 and dedicated to the general fund of the Treasury.

3 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF 4.3-CENT INCREASE IN FUEL TAX RATES

4 ENACTED BY THE OMNIBUS BUDGET REC5 ONCILIATION ACT OF 1993 AND DEDICATED

6 TO GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4081 of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition of tax on gaso9 line and diesel fuel) is amended by adding at the end the

10 following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(f) REPEAL OF 4.3-CENT INCREASE IN FUEL TAX

12 RATES ENACTED BY THE OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILI13 ATION ACT OF 1993 AND DEDICATED TO GENERAL FUND

14 OF THE TREASURY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the applicable pe16 riod, each rate of tax referred to in paragraph (2)

17 shall be reduced by 4.3 cents per gallon.

18 ‘‘(2) RATES OF TAX.—The rates of tax referred

19 to in this paragraph are the rates of tax otherwise

20 applicable under—

21 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(2)(A) (relating to gas22 oline and diesel fuel),

23 ‘‘(B) sections 4091(b)(3)(A) and

24 4092(b)(2) (relating to aviation fuel),
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1 ‘‘(C) section 4042(b)(2)(C) (relating to

2 fuel used on inland waterways),

3 ‘‘(D) paragraph (1) or (2) of section

4 4041(a) (relating to diesel fuel and special

5 fuels),

6 ‘‘(E) section 4041(c)(2) (relating to gaso7 line used in noncommercial aviation), and

8 ‘‘(F) section 4041(m)(1)(A)(i) (relating to

9 certain methanol or ethanol fuels).

10 ‘‘(3) COMPARABLE TREATMENT FOR COM11 PRESSED NATURAL GAS.—No tax shall be imposed

12 by section 4041(a)(3) on any sale or use during the

13 applicable period.

14 ‘‘(4) COMPARABLE TREATMENT UNDER CER15 TAIN REFUND RULES.—In the case of fuel on which

16 tax is imposed during the applicable period, each of

17 the rates specified in sections 6421(f)(2)(B),

18 6421(f)(3)(B)(ii), 6427(b)(2)(A), 6427(l)(3)(B)(ii),

19 and 6427(l)(4)(B) shall be reduced by 4.3 cents per

20 gallon.

21 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION WITH HIGHWAY TRUST

22 FUND DEPOSITS.—In the case of fuel on which tax

23 is imposed during the applicable period, each of the

24 rates specified in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (C)(i) of
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1 section 9503(f)(3) shall be reduced by 4.3 cents per

2 gallon.

3 ‘‘(6) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes of

4 this subsection, the term ‘applicable period’ means

5 the period after the 6th day after the date of the en6 actment of this subsection and before January 1,

7 1997.’’

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

9 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

10 of this Act.

11 SEC. 3. FLOOR STOCK REFUNDS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—If—

13 (1) before the tax repeal date, tax has been im14 posed under section 4081 or 4091 of the Internal

15 Revenue Code of 1986 on any liquid, and

16 (2) on such date such liquid is held by a dealer

17 and has not been used and is intended for sale,

18 there shall be credited or refunded (without interest) to

19 the person who paid such tax (hereafter in this section

20 referred to as the ‘‘taxpayer’’) an amount equal to the ex21 cess of the tax paid by the taxpayer over the amount of

22 such tax which would be imposed on such liquid had the

23 taxable event occurred on such date.

24 (b) TIME FOR FILING CLAIMS.—No credit or refund

25 shall be allowed or made under this section unless—
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1 (1) claim therefor is filed with the Secretary of

2 the Treasury before the date which is 6 months

3 after the tax repeal date, and

4 (2) in any case where liquid is held by a dealer

5 (other than the taxpayer) on the tax repeal date—

6 (A) the dealer submits a request for refund

7 or credit to the taxpayer before the date which

8 is 3 months after the tax repeal date, and

9 (B) the taxpayer has repaid or agreed to

10 repay the amount so claimed to such dealer or

11 has obtained the written consent of such dealer

12 to the allowance of the credit or the making of

13 the refund.

14 (c) EXCEPTION FOR FUEL HELD IN RETAIL

15 STOCKS.—No credit or refund shall be allowed under this

16 section with respect to any liquid in retail stocks held at

17 the place where intended to be sold at retail.

18 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

19 (1) the terms ‘‘dealer’’ and ‘‘held by a dealer’’

20 have the respective meanings given to such terms by

21 section 6412 of such Code; except that the term

22 ‘‘dealer’’ includes a producer, and

23 (2) the term ‘‘tax repeal date’’ means the 7th

24 day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 (e) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar to the

2 rules of subsections (b) and (c) of section 6412 of such

3 Code shall apply for purposes of this section.

4 SEC. 4. FLOOR STOCKS TAX.

5 (a) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—In the case of any liquid

6 on which tax was imposed under section 4081 or 4091

7 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 before January 1,

8 1997, and which is held on such date by any person, there

9 is hereby imposed a floor stocks tax of 4.3 cents per gal10 lon.

11 (b) LIABILITY FOR TAX AND METHOD OF PAY12 MENT.—

13 (1) LIABILITY FOR TAX.—A person holding a

14 liquid on January 1, 1997, to which the tax imposed

15 by subsection (a) applies shall be liable for such tax.

16 (2) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The tax imposed

17 by subsection (a) shall be paid in such manner as

18 the Secretary shall prescribe.

19 (3) TIME FOR PAYMENT.—The tax imposed by

20 subsection (a) shall be paid on or before June 30,

21 1997.

22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

23 (1) HELD BY A PERSON.—A liquid shall be con24 sidered as ‘‘held by a person’’ if title thereto has
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1 passed to such person (whether or not delivery to

2 the person has been made).

3 (2) GASOLINE AND DIESEL FUEL.—The terms

4 ‘‘gasoline’’ and ‘‘diesel fuel’’ have the respective

5 meanings given such terms by section 4083 of such

6 Code.

7 (3) AVIATION FUEL.—The term ‘‘aviation fuel’’

8 has the meaning given such term by section 4093 of

9 such Code.

10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

11 the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate.

12 (d) EXCEPTION FOR EXEMPT USES.—The tax im13 posed by subsection (a) shall not apply to gasoline, diesel

14 fuel, or aviation fuel held by any person exclusively for

15 any use to the extent a credit or refund of the tax imposed

16 by section 4081 or 4091 of such Code is allowable for such

17 use.

18 (e) EXCEPTION FOR FUEL HELD IN VEHICLE

19 TANK.—No tax shall be imposed by subsection (a) on gas20 oline or diesel fuel held in the tank of a motor vehicle or

21 motorboat.

22 (f) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF FUEL.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—No tax shall be imposed by

24 subsection (a)—
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1 (A) on gasoline held on January 1, 1997,

2 by any person if the aggregate amount of gaso3 line held by such person on such date does not

4 exceed 4,000 gallons, and

5 (B) on diesel fuel or aviation fuel held on

6 such date by any person if the aggregate

7 amount of diesel fuel or aviation fuel held by

8 such person on such date does not exceed 2,000

9 gallons.

10 The preceding sentence shall apply only if such per11 son submits to the Secretary (at the time and in the

12 manner required by the Secretary) such information

13 as the Secretary shall require for purposes of this

14 paragraph.

15 (2) EXEMPT FUEL.—For purposes of para16 graph (1), there shall not be taken into account fuel

17 held by any person which is exempt from the tax im18 posed by subsection (a) by reason of subsection (d)

19 or (e).

20 (3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—For purposes of

21 this subsection—

22 (A) CORPORATIONS.—

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—All persons treated

24 as a controlled group shall be treated as 1

25 person.
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1 (ii) CONTROLLED GROUP.—The term

2 ‘‘controlled group’’ has the meaning given

3 to such term by subsection (a) of section

4 1563 of such Code; except that for such

5 purposes the phrase ‘‘more than 50 per6 cent’’ shall be substituted for the phrase

7 ‘‘at least 80 percent’’ each place it appears

8 in such subsection.

9 (B) NONINCORPORATED PERSONS UNDER

10 COMMON CONTROL.—Under regulations pre11 scribed by the Secretary, principles similar to

12 the principles of subparagraph (A) shall apply

13 to a group of persons under common control

14 where 1 or more of such persons is not a cor15 poration.

16 (g) OTHER LAW APPLICABLE.—All provisions of law,

17 including penalties, applicable with respect to the taxes

18 imposed by section 4081 of such Code in the case of gaso19 line and diesel fuel and section 4091 of such Code in the

20 case of aviation fuel shall, insofar as applicable and not

21 inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection, apply

22 with respect to the floor stock taxes imposed by subsection

23 (a) to the same extent as if such taxes were imposed by

24 such section 4081 or 4091.
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1 SEC. 5. BENEFITS OF TAX REPEAL SHOULD BE PASSED ON

2 TO CONSUMERS.

3 (a) PASSTHROUGH TO CONSUMERS.—

4 (1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

5 Congress that—

6 (A) consumers immediately receive the

7 benefit of the repeal of the 4.3-cent increase in

8 the transportation motor fuels excise tax rates

9 enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

10 Act of 1993, and

11 (B) transportation motor fuels producers

12 and other dealers take such actions as nec13 essary to reduce transportation motor fuels

14 prices to reflect the repeal of such tax increase,

15 including immediate credits to customer ac16 counts representing tax refunds allowed as

17 credits against excise tax deposit payments

18 under the floor stocks refund provisions of this

19 Act.

20 (2) STUDY.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen22 eral of the United States shall conduct a study

23 of the repeal of the 4.3-cent increase in the fuel

24 tax imposed by the Omnibus Budget Reconcili25 ation of 1993 to determine whether there has

26 been a passthrough of such repeal.
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1 (B) REPORT.—Not later than January 31,

2 1997, the Comptroller General of the United

3 States shall report to the Committee on Fi4 nance of the Senate and the Committee on

5 Ways and Means of the House of Representa6 tives the results of the study conducted under

7 subparagraph (A).

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR EX9 PENSES OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE DE10 PARTMENT OF ENERGY.

11 Section 660 of the Department of Energy Organiza12 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7270) is amended—

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

14 ‘‘APPROPRIATIONS’’; and

15 (2) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(b) FISCAL YEARS 1997 THROUGH 2002.—There

17 are authorized to be appropriated for salaries and ex18 penses of the Department of Energy for departmental ad19 ministration and other activities in carrying out the pur20 poses of this Act—

21 ‘‘(1) $104,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

22 ‘‘(2) $104,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

23 ‘‘(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

24 ‘‘(4) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

25 ‘‘(5) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and
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1 ‘‘(6) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.’’.

2 SEC. 7. SPECTRUM AUCTIONS.

3 (a) COMMISSION OBLIGATION TO MAKE ADDITIONAL

4 SPECTRUM AVAILABLE BY AUCTION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communica6 tions Commission shall complete all actions nec7 essary to permit the assignment, by March 31,

8 1998, by competitive bidding pursuant to section

9 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

10 U.S.C. 309(j)) of licenses for the use of bands of

11 frequencies that—

12 (A) individually span not less than 12.5

13 megahertz, unless a combination of smaller

14 bands can, notwithstanding the provisions of

15 paragraph (7) of such section, reasonably be ex16 pected to produce greater receipts;

17 (B) in the aggregate span not less than 25

18 megahertz;

19 (C) are located below 3 gigahertz; and

20 (D) have not, as of the date of enactment

21 of this Act—

22 (i) been assigned or designated by

23 Commission regulation for assignment pur24 suant to such section;
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1 (ii) been identified by the Secretary of

2 Commerce pursuant to section 113 of the

3 National Telecommunications and Infor4 mation Administration Organization Act

5 (47 U.S.C. 923); or

6 (iii) reserved for Federal Government

7 use pursuant to section 305 of the Com8 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 305).

9 (2) CRITERIA FOR REASSIGNMENT.—In making

10 available bands of frequencies for competitive bid11 ding pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission

12 shall—

13 (A) seek to promote the most efficient use

14 of the spectrum;

15 (B) take into account the cost to incum16 bent licensees of relocating existing uses to

17 other bands of frequencies or other means of

18 communication;

19 (C) take into account the needs of public

20 safety radio services;

21 (D) comply with the requirements of inter22 national agreements concerning spectrum allo23 cations; and

24 (E) take into account the costs to satellite

25 service providers that could result from multiple
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1 auctions of like spectrum internationally for

2 global satellite systems.

3 (b) FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MAY

4 NOT TREAT THIS SECTION AS CONGRESSIONAL ACTION

5 FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—The Federal Communications

6 Commission may not treat the enactment of this Act or

7 the inclusion of this section in this Act as an expression

8 of the intent of Congress with respect to the award of ini9 tial licenses of construction permits for Advanced Tele10 vision Services, as described by the Commission in its let11 ter of February 1, 1996, to the Chairman of the Senate

12 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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