I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 610
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a
refundable credit for a portion of the amount paid for natural gas.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
Mr. RUSH (for himself, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. LIPIN-
SKI, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. SHIMKUS) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow indi-
viduals a refundable credit for a portion of the amount
paid for natural gas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Middle Income Home
Heating Assistance Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR HIGH NATURAL GAS
COSTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes-
ignating section 35 as section 36 and by inserting after
section 34 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 35. CREDIT FOR HIGH NATURAL GAS COSTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual,
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed
by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount equal to
the excess (if any) of—
‘‘(1) the amount paid for natural gas to heat
the principal residence (within the meaning of sec-
tion 121) of the taxpayer for the taxable year, over
‘‘(2) 150 percent of the average annual amount
paid for natural gas to heat such residence for the
testing period.
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM CREDIT.—The amount allowed
as a credit under subsection (a) for a taxable year
shall not exceed $500.
‘‘(2) PHASE-OUT.—The amount of the credit al-
lowable under subsection (a) shall be reduced by an
amount which bears the same ratio to the amount
of the credit (determined without regard to this
paragraph) as—
‘‘(A) the amount by which the modified ad-
justed gross income of the taxpayer for the tax-
able year exceeds 150 percent of the poverty
level (as defined by the Office of Management
and Budget), bears to
‘‘(B) the phaseout range for the taxable
year.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULE.—For pur-
poses of this section—
‘‘(1) TESTING PERIOD.—The testing period is
the 3-taxable year period immediately preceding the
taxable year for which the credit is claimed.
‘‘(2) PHASEOUT
RANGE.—For purposes of
paragraph (2)(B), the phaseout range for the tax-
able year shall be the amount equal to 300 percent
of poverty level.
‘‘(3) POVERTY LEVEL.—For purposes of this
subsection, the poverty level shall take into account
the number of children who are dependents of the
taxpayer and shall be determined in accordance with
criteria established by the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget.
‘‘(4) MODIFIED
ADJUSTED
GROSS
INCOME.—
The term ‘modified adjusted gross income’ shall
have the meaning given to such term by section
32(c)(5).
‘‘(5) PRICE OF GAS DETERMINED ON A PER
THERM BASIS.—For purposes of this section, the
amount paid for natural gas shall be determined on
a per therm basis and shall not include any amount
paid for taxes.
‘‘(d) AMOUNT
OF CREDIT TO BE DETERMINED
UNDER TABLES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the credit
allowed by this section shall be determined under ta-
bles prescribed by the Secretary.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR TABLES.—The tables
prescribed under paragraph (1) shall reflect the pro-
visions of subsections (a) and (b) and shall state the
poverty levels for taxpayers who are single, married,
and have up to 10 dependents (not counting the
spouse).’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or
from section 35 of such Code’’ before the period at
the end.
(2) The table of sections for such subpart C of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
striking the item relating to section 35 and inserting
the following new items: