I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4835 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax relief to promote 
investments in mine safety. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 1, 2006 
Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania 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 provide 
tax relief to promote investments in mine safety. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. PARTIAL EXPENSING FOR ADVANCED MINE 
SAFETY EQUIPMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of subchapter B of chap-
ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
itemized deductions for individuals and corporations) is 
amended by inserting after section 179D the following new 
section:
‘‘SEC. 179E. ELECTION TO EXPENSE ADVANCED MINE SAFE-
TY EQUIPMENT. 
‘‘(a) TREATMENT AS EXPENSES.—A taxpayer may 
elect to treat 50 percent of the cost of any qualified ad-
vanced mine safety equipment property as an expense 
which is not chargeable to capital account. Any cost so 
treated shall be allowed as a deduction for the taxable year 
in which the qualified advanced mine safety equipment 
property is placed in service. 
‘‘(b) ELECTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An election under this sec-
tion for any taxable year shall be made on the tax-
payer’s return of the tax imposed by this chapter for 
the taxable year. Such election shall specify the ad-
vanced mine safety equipment property to which the 
election applies and shall be made in such manner 
as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe. 
‘‘(2) ELECTION
IRREVOCABLE.—Any election 
made under this section may not be revoked except 
with the consent of the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED ADVANCED MINE SAFETY EQUIP-
MENT PROPERTY.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘qualified advanced mine safety equipment property’ 
means any advanced mine safety equipment property for 
use in any underground mine located in the United 
States—
‘‘(1) the original use of which commences with 
the taxpayer, and 
‘‘(2) which is placed in service by the taxpayer 
after the date of the enactment of this section. 
‘‘(d) ADVANCED MINE SAFETY EQUIPMENT PROP-
ERTY.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘advanced 
mine safety equipment property’ means any of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) Emergency communication technology or 
device which is used to allow a miner to maintain 
constant communication with an individual who is 
not in the mine. 
‘‘(2) Electronic identification and location de-
vice which allows an individual who is not in the 
mine to track at all times the movements and loca-
tion of miners working in or at the mine. 
‘‘(3) Emergency oxygen-generating, self-rescue 
device which provides oxygen for at least 90 min-
utes. 
‘‘(4) Pre-positioned supplies of oxygen which (in 
combination with self-rescue devices) can be used to 
provide each miner on a shift, in the event of an ac-
cident or other event which traps the miner in the 
mine or otherwise necessitates the use of such a self-
rescue device, the ability to survive for at least 48 
hours. 
‘‘(5) Comprehensive atmospheric monitoring 
system which monitors the levels of carbon mon-
oxide, methane, and oxygen that are present in all 
areas of the mine and which can detect smoke in the 
case of a fire in a mine. 
‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) COORDINATION
WITH
SECTION
179.—No 
expenditures shall be taken into account under sub-
section (a) with respect to the portion of the cost of 
any property specified in an election under section 
179. 
‘‘(2) BASIS REDUCTION.—For purposes of this 
title, the basis of any property shall be reduced by 
the portion of the cost of such property taken into 
account under subsection (a). 
‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 
property placed in service after the date which is 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 
(b) ALTERNATIVE ELECTION TO INCREASE MINIMUM 
TAX LIMITATION.—Section 53 of such Code (relating to 
credit for prior year minimum tax liability) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(e) TEMPORARY ELECTION TO INCREASE MINIMUM 
TAX LIMITATION FOR MINE SAFETY INVESTMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A taxpayer may elect to in-
crease the limitation under subsection (c) for a tax-
able year by the cost of any qualified advanced mine 
safety equipment property, as defined for purposes 
of section 179E, placed into service during such tax-
able year. 
‘‘(2) ELECTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An election under this 
subsection for any taxable year shall be made 
on the taxpayer’s return of the tax imposed by 
this chapter for the taxable year. Such election 
shall specify the advanced mine safety equip-
ment property to which the election applies and 
shall be made in such manner as the Secretary 
may by regulations prescribe. 
‘‘(B) ELECTION IRREVOCABLE.—Any elec-
tion made under this subsection may not be re-
voked except with the consent of the Secretary. 
‘‘(C) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—A taxpayer 
making an election under this subsection for 
any taxable year may not make an election for 
such year under section 179E.
‘‘(3) CREDIT REFUNDABLE.—The aggregate in-
crease in the credit allowed by this section for any 
taxable year by reason of this subsection shall for 
purposes of this title (other than subsection (b)(2) 
of this section) be treated as a credit allowed to the 
taxpayer under subpart C. 
‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—The election made under 
this subsection shall not apply with respect to prop-
erty placed in service after the date which is 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 263(a)(1) of such Code is amended 
by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (J), by 
striking the period at the end of subparagraph (K) 
and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by inserting after subpara-
graph (K) the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(L) expenditures for which a deduction is 
allowed under section 179E.’’. 
(2) Section 312(k)(3)(B) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘or 179D’’ each place it ap-
pears in the heading and text thereof and inserting 
‘‘179D, or 179E’’. 
(3) Section 1016(a) of such Code is amended 
by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (36), by 
striking the period at the end of paragraph (37) and
inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(38) to the extent provided in section 
179E(e)(2).’’. 
(4) Section 1245(a)(2)(C) of such Code is 
amended by inserting ‘‘179E,’’ after ‘‘179D,’’. 
(5) The table of sections for part VI of sub-
chapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 179D the 
following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 179E. Election to expense advanced mine safety equipment’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to costs paid or incurred after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 2. MINE RESCUE TEAM TRAINING TAX CREDIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 45N. MINE RESCUE TEAM TRAINING CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—For purposes of section 
38, the mine rescue team training credit determined under 
this section with respect to any eligible employer for any 
taxable year is an amount equal to the lesser of— 
‘‘(1) 20 percent of the amount paid or incurred 
by the taxpayer during the taxable year with respect 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
00:20 Mar 05, 2006
Jkt 049196
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4835.IH
H4835
to the training program costs of each qualified mine 
rescue team employee (including wages of such em-
ployee while attending such program), or 
‘‘(2) $10,000 per qualified mine rescue team 
employee. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED MINE RESCUE TEAM EMPLOYEE.— 
For purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified mine res-
cue team employee’ means with respect to any taxable year 
any full-time employee of the taxpayer who is— 
‘‘(1) a miner eligible for more than 6 months 
of such taxable year to serve as a mine rescue team 
member as a result of completing, at a minimum, an 
initial 20-hour course of instruction as prescribed by 
the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s Office 
of Educational Policy and Development, or 
‘‘(2) a miner eligible for more than 6 months 
of such taxable year to serve as a mine rescue team 
member by virtue of receiving at least 40 hours of 
refresher training in such instruction. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.—For purposes of this 
section, the term ‘eligible employer’ means any taxpayer 
which employs individuals as miners in underground mines 
in the United States. 
‘‘(d) WAGES.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘wages’ has the meaning given to such term by subsection
(b) of section 3306 (determined without regard to any dol-
lar limitation contained in such section). 
‘‘(e) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 
taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.’’. 
(b) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS 
CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (29), by striking the 
period at the end of paragraph (30) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, 
and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(31) the mine rescue team training credit de-
termined under section 45N(a).’’. 
(c) CREDIT ALLOWED AGAINST MINIMUM TAX.— 
Subparagraph (B) of section 38(c)(4) of such Code (relat-
ing to specified credits) is amended by redesignating 
clause (ii) as clause (iii) and inserting after clause (i) the 
following new clause: 
‘‘(ii) for taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2005, and before January 1, 
2009, the mine rescue team training credit 
determined under section 45N(a).’’. 
(d) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Section 280C of such 
Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(e) MINE RESCUE TEAM TRAINING CREDIT.—No 
deduction shall be allowed for that portion of the expenses
otherwise allowable as a deduction for the taxable year 
which is equal to the amount of the credit determined for 
the taxable year under section 45N(a).’’. 
(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45N. Mine rescue team training credit.’’. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2005. 
Æ