Union Calendar No. 284

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3415

[Report No. 104–576, Part I]

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to

cated to the general fund of the Treasury.bus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and dedimotor fuels excise tax rates enacted by the Omnirepeal the 4.3-cent increase in the transportation

MAY 15, 1996

Committee on Commerce discharged; committed to the

Union and ordered to be printedCommittee of the Whole House on the State of the
IB

Union Calendar No. 284

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3415

[Report No. 104–576, Part I]

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

MAY 15, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means

MAY 15, 1996

Referral to the Committee on Commerce extended for a period ending not

later than May 15, 1996

MAY 15, 1996

Committee on Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee of the

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal

the 4.3-cent increase in the transportation motor fuels
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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

6 enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

7 1993 and dedicated to the general fund of the Treasury.

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

9 ENACTED BY THE OMNIBUS BUDGET REC10 ONCILIATION ACT OF 1993 AND DEDICATED

11 TO GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4081 of the Internal Rev13 enue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition of tax on gaso14 line and diesel fuel) is amended by adding at the end the

15 following new subsection:

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

17 RATES ENACTED BY THE OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILI18 ATION ACT OF 1993 AND DEDICATED TO GENERAL FUND

19 OF THE TREASURY.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the applicable pe21 riod, each rate of tax referred to in paragraph (2)

22 shall be reduced by 4.3 cents per gallon.
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1 ‘‘(2) RATES OF TAX.—The rates of tax referred

2 to in this paragraph are the rates of tax otherwise

3 applicable under—

4 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(2)(A) (relating to gas5 oline and diesel fuel),

6 ‘‘(B) sections 4091(b)(3)(A) and

7 4092(b)(2) (relating to aviation fuel),

8 ‘‘(C) section 4042(b)(2)(C) (relating to

9 fuel used on inland waterways),

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

11 4041(a) (relating to diesel fuel and special

12 fuels),

13 ‘‘(E) section 4041(c)(2) (relating to gaso14 line used in noncommercial aviation), and

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

16 certain methanol or ethanol fuels).

17 ‘‘(3) COMPARABLE TREATMENT FOR COM18 PRESSED NATURAL GAS.—No tax shall be imposed

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

20 applicable period.

21 ‘‘(4) COMPARABLE TREATMENT UNDER CER22 TAIN REFUND RULES.—In the case of fuel on which

23 tax is imposed during the applicable period, each of

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

25 6421(f)(3)(B)(ii), 6427(b)(2)(A), 6427(l)(3)(B)(ii),
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1 and 6427(l)(4)(B) shall be reduced by 4.3 cents per

2 gallon.

3 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION WITH HIGHWAY TRUST

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

5 is imposed during the applicable period, each of the

6 rates specified in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (C)(i) of

7 section 9503(f)(3) shall be reduced by 4.3 cents per

8 gallon.

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

10 this subsection, the term ‘applicable period’ means

11 the period after the 6th day after the date of the en12 actment of this subsection and before January 1,

13 1997.’’

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

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

16 of this Act.

17 SEC. 3. FLOOR STOCK REFUNDS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—If—

19 (1) before the tax repeal date, tax has been im20 posed under section 4081 or 4091 of the Internal

21 Revenue Code of 1986 on any liquid, and

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

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

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

25 the person who paid such tax (hereafter in this section
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1 referred to as the ‘‘taxpayer’’) an amount equal to the ex2 cess of the tax paid by the taxpayer over the amount of

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

4 taxable event occurred on such date.

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

6 shall be allowed or made under this section unless—

7 (1) claim therefor is filed with the Secretary of

8 the Treasury before the date which is 6 months

9 after the tax repeal date, and

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

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

12 (A) the dealer submits a request for refund

13 or credit to the taxpayer before the date which

14 is 3 months after the tax repeal date, and

15 (B) the taxpayer has repaid or agreed to

16 repay the amount so claimed to such dealer or

17 has obtained the written consent of such dealer

18 to the allowance of the credit or the making of

19 the refund.

20 (c) EXCEPTION FOR FUEL HELD IN RETAIL

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

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

23 the place where intended to be sold at retail.

24 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
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1 (1) the terms ‘‘dealer’’ and ‘‘held by a dealer’’

2 have the respective meanings given to such terms by

3 section 6412 of such Code; except that the term

4 ‘‘dealer’’ includes a producer, and

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

6 day after the date of the enactment of this Act.

7 (e) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar to the

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

9 Code shall apply for purposes of this section.

10 SEC. 4. FLOOR STOCKS TAX.

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

12 on which tax was imposed under section 4081 or 4091

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

14 1997, and which is held on such date by any person, there

15 is hereby imposed a floor stocks tax of 4.3 cents per gal16 lon.

17 (b) LIABILITY FOR TAX AND METHOD OF PAY18 MENT.—

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

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

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

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

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

24 the Secretary shall prescribe.
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1 (3) TIME FOR PAYMENT.—The tax imposed by

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

3 1997.

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

5 (1) HELD BY A PERSON.—A liquid shall be con6 sidered as ‘‘held by a person’’ if title thereto has

7 passed to such person (whether or not delivery to

8 the person has been made).

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

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

11 meanings given such terms by section 4083 of such

12 Code.

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

14 has the meaning given such term by section 4093 of

15 such Code.

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

17 the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate.

18 (d) EXCEPTION FOR EXEMPT USES.—The tax im19 posed by subsection (a) shall not apply to gasoline, diesel

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

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

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

23 use.

24 (e) EXCEPTION FOR FUEL HELD IN VEHICLE

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

2 motorboat.

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

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

5 subsection (a)—

6 (A) on gasoline held on January 1, 1997,

7 by any person if the aggregate amount of gaso8 line held by such person on such date does not

9 exceed 4,000 gallons, and

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

11 such date by any person if the aggregate

12 amount of diesel fuel or aviation fuel held by

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

14 gallons.

15 The preceding sentence shall apply only if such per16 son submits to the Secretary (at the time and in the

17 manner required by the Secretary) such information

18 as the Secretary shall require for purposes of this

19 paragraph.

20 (2) EXEMPT FUEL.—For purposes of para21 graph (1), there shall not be taken into account fuel

22 held by any person which is exempt from the tax im23 posed by subsection (a) by reason of subsection (d)

24 or (e).
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1 (3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—For purposes of

2 this subsection—

3 (A) CORPORATIONS.—

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—All persons treated

5 as a controlled group shall be treated as 1

6 person.

7 (ii) CONTROLLED GROUP.—The term

8 ‘‘controlled group’’ has the meaning given

9 to such term by subsection (a) of section

10 1563 of such Code; except that for such

11 purposes the phrase ‘‘more than 50 per12 cent’’ shall be substituted for the phrase

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

14 in such subsection.

15 (B) NONINCORPORATED PERSONS UNDER

16 COMMON CONTROL.—Under regulations pre17 scribed by the Secretary, principles similar to

18 the principles of subparagraph (A) shall apply

19 to a group of persons under common control

20 where 1 or more of such persons is not a cor21 poration.

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

23 including penalties, applicable with respect to the taxes

24 imposed by section 4081 of such Code in the case of gaso25 line and diesel fuel and section 4091 of such Code in the
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1 case of aviation fuel shall, insofar as applicable and not

2 inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection, apply

3 with respect to the floor stock taxes imposed by subsection

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

5 such section 4081 or 4091.

6 SEC. 5. BENEFITS OF TAX REPEAL SHOULD BE PASSED ON

7 TO CONSUMERS.

8 (a) PASSTHROUGH TO CONSUMERS.—

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

10 Congress that—

11 (A) consumers immediately receive the

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

13 the transportation motor fuels excise tax rates

14 enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

15 Act of 1993, and

16 (B) transportation motor fuels producers

17 and other dealers take such actions as nec18 essary to reduce transportation motor fuels

19 prices to reflect the repeal of such tax increase,

20 including immediate credits to customer ac21 counts representing tax refunds allowed as

22 credits against excise tax deposit payments

23 under the floor stocks refund provisions of this

24 Act.

25 (2) STUDY.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen2 eral of the United States shall conduct a study

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

4 tax imposed by the Omnibus Budget Reconcili5 ation of 1993 to determine whether there has

6 been a passthrough of such repeal.

7 (B) REPORT.—Not later than January 31,

8 1997, the Comptroller General of the United

9 States shall report to the Committee on Fi10 nance of the Senate and the Committee on

11 Ways and Means of the House of Representa12 tives the results of the study conducted under

13 subparagraph (A).

14 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR EX15 PENSES OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE DE16 PARTMENT OF ENERGY.

17 Section 660 of the Department of Energy Organiza18 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7270) is amended—

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

20 ‘‘APPROPRIATIONS’’; and

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

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

23 are authorized to be appropriated for salaries and ex24 penses of the Department of Energy for departmental ad-
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1 ministration and other activities in carrying out the pur2 poses of this Act—

3 ‘‘(1) $104,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

4 ‘‘(2) $104,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

5 ‘‘(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

6 ‘‘(4) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

7 ‘‘(5) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

8 ‘‘(6) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.’’.

9 SEC. 7. SPECTRUM AUCTIONS.

10 (a) COMMISSION OBLIGATION TO MAKE ADDITIONAL

11 SPECTRUM AVAILABLE BY AUCTION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communica13 tions Commission shall complete all actions nec14 essary to permit the assignment, by March 31,

15 1998, by competitive bidding pursuant to section

16 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

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

18 frequencies that—

19 (A) individually span not less than 12.5

20 megahertz, unless a combination of smaller

21 bands can, notwithstanding the provisions of

22 paragraph (7) of such section, reasonably be ex23 pected to produce greater receipts;

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

25 megahertz;
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1 (C) are located below 3 gigahertz; and

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

3 of this Act—

4 (i) been assigned or designated by

5 Commission regulation for assignment pur6 suant to such section;

7 (ii) been identified by the Secretary of

8 Commerce pursuant to section 113 of the

9 National Telecommunications and Infor10 mation Administration Organization Act

11 (47 U.S.C. 923); or

12 (iii) reserved for Federal Government

13 use pursuant to section 305 of the Com14 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 305).

15 (2) CRITERIA FOR REASSIGNMENT.—In making

16 available bands of frequencies for competitive bid17 ding pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission

18 shall—

19 (A) seek to promote the most efficient use

20 of the spectrum;

21 (B) take into account the cost to incum22 bent licensees of relocating existing uses to

23 other bands of frequencies or other means of

24 communication;
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1 (C) take into account the needs of public

2 safety radio services;

3 (D) comply with the requirements of inter4 national agreements concerning spectrum allo5 cations; and

6 (E) take into account the costs to satellite

7 service providers that could result from multiple

8 auctions of like spectrum internationally for

9 global satellite systems.

10 (b) FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MAY

11 NOT TREAT THIS SECTION AS CONGRESSIONAL ACTION

12 FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—The Federal Communications

13 Commission may not treat the enactment of this Act or

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

15 of the intent of Congress with respect to the award of ini16 tial licenses of construction permits for Advanced Tele17 vision Services, as described by the Commission in its let18 ter of February 1, 1996, to the Chairman of the Senate

19 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.