Making our skies safer

Last Wednesday, the House of

Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Arming Pilots Against Terrorism

Act (H.R. 4635) in a 310 to 113 vote.

I supported H.R. 4635 because

it will improve the safety of air travel in our country. We need to look

no further than the events of Sept. 11 for evidence of the need to improve

air travel in our country. Even though the President and Congress have

taken measures seeking to improve the safety protections for air travel,

the last line of protection against a terrorist is the pilot. This legislation

would ensure that pilots would be able to defend themselves in the event

of an attempted hijacking as a last line of defense, should terrorists

enter the cockpit.

Specifically, the Arming Pilots

Against Terrorism Act would establish the federal flight deck officer

program, which would allow pilots to be voluntarily deputized by the Transportation

Security Administration (TSA). After undergoing training, the pilot would

be deputized as a federal law enforcement officer and licensed to carry

a firearm in the cockpit. While the original version of H.R. 4635 would

have limited participation to only 2 percent of pilots, I supported an

amendment to remove this limit and extend the program to all pilots interested

in participating; this amendment to include all pilots in the program

was adopted in a 250 to 175 vote.

It is my hope that the Senate

will follow the House's lead and join in enabling our pilots to protect

themselves and the passengers they serve.

Border security

Also last Wednesday, the House

Ways and Means Committee, on which I serve, passed the Customs Service

portion of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (H.R. 5005) in a 34 to 3

vote.

The Homeland Security Act of

2002 would implement President Bush's proposal to create a Department

of Homeland Security. Under the President's proposal, the Department would

draw on the services of already existing departments and agencies. For

example, under the President's proposal, the Customs Service, the Coast

Guard, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service would be moved from

their current departments of Treasury, Transportation, and Justice, respectively,

to a newly-created Department of Homeland Security. As a result, several

House committees have jurisdiction over the various provisions of this

legislation.

Even though Ways and Means

has voted out its provisions of H.R. 5005, several committees continue

to consider their jurisdiction. After these committees have voted on and

passed the provisions which they oversee, the bill, in its entirety, will

be considered by the Select Committee on Homeland Security. Even though

I supported this portion of the bill, I continue to have reservations

about creating a new Department of Homeland Security.

Also last week, several Suspension

Bills usually noncontroversial measures were passed by the U.S. House

of Representatives, and included:

Armed Services Tax Fairness

H.R. 5063 amends the Internal

Revenue Code to provide relief to members of the military and their families.

H.R. 5063 provides relief in two areas: 1) The gratuity death payment,

and 2) capital gains on the sale of their home.

Historically, survivors of

military personnel who are killed during service to their country have

received a $3,000 tax-free gratuity death payment. In 1991, this payment

was increased to $6,000 (in connection with the Persian Gulf War). Unfortunately,

because the tax code was not adjusted when this amount was increased,

the first $3,000 was tax-free, but the second $3,000 was considered to

be taxable income. H.R. 5063 will correct this inequity.

The second remedy provided

of existing laws related to capital gains tax relief on the sale of their

primary residence. Under present law, an individual is not subject to

capital gains tax on the first $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple)

of gain on the sale of a home if they have lived in the home for two out

of the past five years.

When members of the Armed Forces

are transferred, they are often precluded from taking advantage of this

tax relief because they are unable to satisfy the 5-year rule. The legislation

fixes this inequity by ignoring time spent away from home when calculating

the 5-year period.

In essence, the rule places

military personnel in the same position they would have been had they

not been transferred. Under no fault of their own, members of our Armed

Services are being unfairly punished for serving our country. This legislation

brings equity to the tax code by eliminating these penalties on military

personnel.