I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4974

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a windfall profit

tax on oil and natural gas (and products thereof) and to allow an

income tax credit for purchases of fuel-efficient passenger vehicles, and

to allow grants for mass transit.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 26, 2000

Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Ms. RIVERS, Ms.

MCKINNEY, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, and Mr. FILNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation

and Infrastructure, 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 impose

a windfall profit tax on oil and natural gas (and products

thereof) and to allow an income tax credit for purchases

of fuel-efficient passenger vehicles, and to allow grants

for mass transit.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gas Price Spike Act

5 of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. WINDFALL PROFITS TAX.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986 (relating to alcohol, tobacco, and cer4 tain other excise taxes) is amended by adding at the end

5 thereof the following new chapter:

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 55—WINDFALL PROFIT ON

7 CRUDE OIL, NATURAL GAS, AND PROD8 UCTS THEREOF

‘‘Sec. 5886. Imposition of tax.

9 ‘‘SEC. 5886. IMPOSITION OF TAX.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other tax im11 posed under this title, there is hereby imposed an excise

12 tax on the sale in the United States of any crude oil, nat13 ural gas, or other taxable product a tax equal to the appli14 cable percentage of the windfall profit on such sale.

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

16 ‘‘(1) TAXABLE PRODUCT.—The term ‘taxable

17 product’ means any fuel which is a product of crude

18 oil or natural gas.

19 ‘‘(2) WINDFALL PROFIT.—The term ‘windfall

20 profit’ means, with respect to any sale, so much of

21 the profit on such sale as exceeds a reasonable prof22 it.

23 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—The term

24 ‘applicable percentage’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) 50 percent to the extent that the

2 profit on the sale exceeds 100 percent of the

3 reasonable profit on the sale but does not ex4 ceed 102 percent of the reasonable profit on the

5 sale,

6 ‘‘(B) 75 percent to the extent that the

7 profit on the sale exceeds 102 percent of the

8 reasonable profit on the sale but does not ex9 ceed 105 percent of the reasonable profit on the

10 sale, and

11 ‘‘(C) 100 percent to the extent that the

12 profit on the sale exceeds 105 percent of the

13 reasonable profit on the sale.

14 ‘‘(4) REASONABLE PROFIT.—The term ‘reason15 able profit’ means the amount determined by the

16 Reasonable Profits Board to be a reasonable profit

17 on the sale.

18 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT OF TAX.—The taxes

19 imposed by subsection (a) shall be paid by the seller.’’

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters

21 for subtitle E of such Code is amended by adding at the

22 end the following new item:

‘‘Chapter 55. Windfall profit on crude oil and refined petroleum

products.’’
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

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

3 of this Act.

4 SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR PURCHASING FUEL EFFICIENT AMER5 ICAN-MADE PASSENGER VEHICLES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

8 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is

9 amended by inserting after section 25A the following new

10 section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 25B. PURCHASE OF FUEL-EFFICIENT AMERICAN12 MADE PASSENGER VEHICLES.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual,

14 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed

15 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to

16 the cost of any qualified passenger vehicle purchased by

17 the taxpayer during the taxable year.

18 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM CREDIT.—The credit allowed by this

19 section for the taxable year shall not exceed—

20 ‘‘(1) $2,000 in the case of a qualified passenger

21 vehicle not described in paragraph (2) or (3),

22 ‘‘(2) $3,000 in the case of a qualified passenger

23 vehicle the fuel economy of which is—
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1 ‘‘(A) in the case a truck or sport utility ve2 hicle, at least 45 miles per gallon but less than

3 55 miles per gallon, and

4 ‘‘(B) in any other case, at least 55 miles

5 per gallon but less than 65 miles per gallon,

6 and

7 ‘‘(3) $4,000 in the case of a qualified passenger

8 vehicle the fuel economy of which is—

9 ‘‘(A) in the case a truck or sport utility ve10 hicle, at least 55 miles per gallon, and

11 ‘‘(B) in any other case, at least 65 miles

12 per gallon.

13 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED PASSENGER VEHICLE.—For pur14 poses of this section—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified auto16 mobile’ means any automobile (as defined in section

17 4064(b))—

18 ‘‘(A) which is purchased after the date of

19 the enactment of this section,

20 ‘‘(B) which is assembled in the United

21 States by individuals employed under a collec22 tive bargaining agreement,

23 ‘‘(C) the original use of which begins with

24 the taxpayer,
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1 ‘‘(D) substantially all of the use of which

2 is for personal, nonbusiness purposes, and

3 ‘‘(E) the fuel economy of such automobile

4 is—

5 ‘‘(i) at least 35 miles per gallon in the

6 case a truck or sport utility vehicle, and

7 ‘‘(ii) at least 45 miles per gallon in

8 any other case.

9 ‘‘(2) FUEL ECONOMY.—Fuel economy shall be

10 determined in accordance with section 4064.

11 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.—

12 ‘‘(1) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any

13 property for which a credit is allowable under sub14 section (a) shall be reduced by the amount of such

15 credit.

16 ‘‘(2) PROPERTY USED OUTSIDE UNITED STATES

17 NOT QUALIFIED.—No credit shall be allowed under

18 subsection (a) with respect to any property referred

19 to in section 50(b).’’

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

21 for such subpart A is amended by inserting after the item

22 relating to section 25A the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 25B. Purchase of fuel-efficient American-made passenger

vehicles.’’
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the

3 date of the enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 4. MASS TRANSIT FARE REDUCTIONS DURING GAS

5 PRICE SPIKES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

7 may make grants to the operator of a mass transit system

8 to assist the operator in reducing fares paid by passengers

9 using the system.

10 (b) USE OF GRANTS.—Grants received under the

11 program shall be used solely for implementing a fare re12 duction described in subsection (a) that is applied equally

13 to all passengers using the mass transit system.

14 (c) MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM DEFINED.—In this sec15 tion, the term ‘‘mass transit system’’ includes bus and

16 commuter rail systems.

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section in

19 a fiscal year amounts equivalent to the excess (if any) of—

20 (1) the revenues received during the preceding

21 fiscal year pursuant to chapter 55 of the Internal

22 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to windfall profit on

23 crude oil and refined petroleum products), over
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1 (2) the revenue cost for such fiscal year of sec2 tion 25B of such Code (relating to purchase of fuel3 efficient American-made passenger vehicles).

4 Amounts authorized under the preceding sentence shall re5 main available until expended.

6 SEC. 5. REASONABLE PROFITS BOARD.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde8 pendent board to be known as the ‘‘Reasonable Profits

9 Board’’ (hereafter in this section referred to as the

10 ‘‘Board’’).

11 (b) DUTIES.—The Board shall make reasonable prof12 it determinations for purposes of applying section 5886

13 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to windfall

14 profit on crude oil, natural gas, and products thereof).

15 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Board shall be con16 sidered an advisory committee within the meaning of the

17 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

18 (d) APPOINTMENT.—

19 (1) MEMBERS.—The Board shall be composed

20 of 3 members appointed by the President of the

21 United States.

22 (2) TERM.—Members of the Board shall be ap23 pointed for a term of 3 years.
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1 (3) BACKGROUND.—The members shall have no

2 financial interests in any of the businesses for which

3 reasonable profits are determined by the Board.

4 (e) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

5 (1) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the

6 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),

7 members of the Board shall be paid at a rate equal

8 to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate

9 of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule

10 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code,

11 for each day (including travel time) during which the

12 member is engaged in the actual performance of du13 ties vested in the Board.

14 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive

15 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist16 ence, in accordance with section 5702 and 5703 of

17 title 5, United States Code.

18 (f) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.—

19 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Board shall appoint

20 a Director who has no financial interests in any of

21 the businesses for which reasonable profits are de22 termined by the Board.

23 (2) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the

24 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),

25 the Director shall be paid at the rate of basic pay
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1 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under

2 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

3 (g) STAFF.—

4 (1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Director,

5 with the approval of the Board, may appoint and fix

6 the pay of additional personnel.

7 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—The Director may make

8 such appointments without regard to the provisions

9 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint10 ments in the competitive service, and any personnel

11 so appointed may be paid without regard to the pro12 visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter

13 53 of that title relating to classification and General

14 Schedule pay rates.

15 (3) DETAILEES.—Upon the request of the Di16 rector, the head of any Federal department or agen17 cy may detail any of the personnel of that depart18 ment or agency to the Board to assist the Board in

19 accordance with an agreement entered into with the

20 Board.

21 (4) ASSISTANCE.—The Comptroller General of

22 the United States may provide assistance, including

23 the detailing of employees, to the Board in accord24 ance with an agreement entered into with the Board.

25 (h) OTHER AUTHORITY.—
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1 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Board

2 may procure by contract, to the extent funds are

3 available, the temporary or intermittent services of

4 experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109 of

5 title 5, United States Code.

6 (2) LEASING.—The Board may lease space and

7 acquire personal property to the extent that funds

8 are available.

9 (i) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro10 priated such funds as are necessary to carry out this sec11 tion.

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