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There are two methods of calculating a deduction to allow a firm to recover the costs of their capital investment: cost depletion, and percentage depletion. Cost depletion allows for the recovery of the actual capital investment--the costs of discovering, purchasing, and developing a mineral reserve--over the period during which the reserve produces income. Using
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However, under percentage depletion, the deduction for recovery of a company's investment is a fixed percentage of ``gross income''--namely, sales revenue--from the sale of the mineral. Under this method, total deductions typically exceed, let me be clear on that point, Mr. President, exceed the capital that the company invested.
The rates for percentage depletion are quite significant. Section 613 of the U.S. Code contains depletion allowances for more than 70 metals and minerals, at rates ranging from 10 percent to 22 percent.
In addition to repealing the percentage depletion allowances for minerals mined on public lands, Mr. President, my bill also creates a new fund, called the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. One fourth of the revenue raised by the bill, or approximately $120 million dollars, will be deposited into an interest bearing fund in the Treasury to be used to clean up abandoned hardrock mines in states that are subject to the 1872 Mining Law. Mineral Policy Center estimates that there are 557,650 hardrock abandoned mine sites nationwide and the cost of cleaning them up will range from $32.7 billion to $71.5 billion.
There are currently no comprehensive federal or state programs to address the need to clean up old mine sites. Reclaiming these sites requires the enactment of a program with explicit authority to clean up abandoned mine sites and the resources to do it. My legislation is a first step toward providing the needed authority and resources.
Mr. President, in today's budget climate we are faced with the question of who should bear the costs of exploration, development, and production of natural resources: all taxpayers, or the users and producers of the resource? For more than a century, the mining industry has been paying next to nothing for the privilege of extracting minerals from public lands and then abandoning its mines. Now those mines are adding to the nation's environmental and financial burdens. We face serious budget choices this fiscal year, yet these subsidies remain a persistent tax expenditure that raise the deficit for all citizens or shift a greater tax burden to other taxpayers to compensate for the special tax breaks provided to the mining industry.
Mr. President, the measure I am introducing is fairly straightforward. It eliminates the percentage depletion allowance for hardrock minerals mined on public lands while continuing to allow companies to recover reasonable cost depletion.
Though at one time there may have been an appropriate role for a government-driven incentive for enhanced mineral production, there is now sufficient reason to adopt a more reasonable depletion allowance that is consistent with those given to other businesses.
Mr. President, the time has come for the Federal Government to get out of the business of subsidizing business. We can no longer afford its costs in dollars or its cost to the health of our citizens. This legislation is one step toward the goal of ending these corporate welfare subsidies.
I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the legislation be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Elimination of Double Subsidies for the Hardrock Mining Industry Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF PERCENTAGE DEPLETION ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN HARDROCK MINES.
(a) IN GENERAL.--Section 613(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to percentage depletion) is amended by inserting ``(other than hardrock mines located on lands subject to the general mining laws or on land patented under the general mining laws)'' after ``In the case of the mines''.
(b) GENERAL MINING LAWS DEFINED.--Section 613 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) GENERAL MINING LAWS.--For purposes of subsection (a), the term `general mining laws' means those Acts which generally comprise chapters 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162 of title 30 of the United States Code.''
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1998.
SEC. 3. ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND.
(a) IN GENERAL.--Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to establishment of trust funds) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 9511. ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND.
``(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.--There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the `Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund' (in this section referred to as `Trust Fund'), consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to the Trust Fund as provided in this section or section 9602(b).
``(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.--There are hereby appropriated to the Trust Fund amounts equivalent to 25 percent of the additional revenues received in the Treasury by reason of the amendments made by section 2 of the Elimination of Double Subsidies for the Hardrock Mining Industry Act of 1999.
``(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.--
``(1) IN GENERAL.--Amounts in the Trust Fund shall be available, as provided in appropriation Acts, to the Secretary of the Interior for--
``(A) the reclamation and restoration of lands and water resources described in paragraph (2) adversely affected by mineral (other than coal and fluid minerals) and mineral material mining, including--
``(i) reclamation and restoration of abandoned surface mine areas and abandoned milling and processing areas,
``(ii) sealing, filling, and grading abandoned deep mine entries,
``(iii) planting on lands adversely affected by mining to prevent erosion and sedimentation,
``(iv) prevention, abatement, treatment, and control of water pollution created by abandoned mine drainage, and
``(v) control of surface subsidence due to abandoned deep mines, and
``(B) the expenses necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.
``(2) LANDS AND WATER RESOURCES.--
``(A) IN GENERAL.--The lands and water resources described in this paragraph are lands within States that have land and water resources subject to the general mining laws or lands patented under the general mining laws--
``(i) which were mined or processed for minerals and mineral materials or which were affected by such mining or processing, and abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation status before the date of the enactment of this section,
``(ii) for which the Secretary of the Interior makes a determination that there is no continuing reclamation responsibility under State or Federal law, and
``(iii) for which it can be established to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that such lands or resources do not contain minerals which could economically be extracted through remining of such lands or resources.
``(B) CERTAIN SITES AND AREAS EXCLUDED.--The lands and water resources described in this paragraph shall not include sites and areas which are designated for remedial action under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) or which are listed for remedial action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
``(3) GENERAL MINING LAWS.--For purposes of paragraph (2), the term `general mining laws' means those Acts which generally comprise chapters 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162 of title 30 of the United States Code.''
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.--The table of sections for subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 9511. Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund.''
By Mr. BOND:
S. 592. A bill to improve the health of children; to the Committee on Finance.
HEALTHY KIDS 2000 ACT
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, one year ago today, the Birth Defects Prevention Act passed the House of Representatives, clearing its way for the President's signature.
With this new funding, the Centers for Disease Control has implemented a national strategy, in conjunction with the States and local organizations such as the March of Dimes, to prevent the devastating incidence of birth defects.
Building upon that success, today I rise to introduce the Healthy Kids 2000 Act--comprehensive approach which addresses the broad spectrum of health issues affecting our nation's children.
And I want to thank the March of Dimes and the National Association of Children's Hospitals for supporting me in this effort to improve the health of our nation's children and pregnant women as we move into the new millennium.
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I also want to thank my colleague from Ohio, MIKE DEWINE, for his work on children's health issues, and for allowing me to adopt some of his ideas for inclusion in this bill. Senator DEWINE has been a dedicated leader on children's health, and has been essential to the development of the sections of this bill that focus on poison control centers and pediatric research within the National Institutes of Health.
I am struck, every time I go into the neonatal wards across my home state of Missouri, at the tiny one and two pound babies, hooked up to monitors and tubes and looking so helpless. Many of them will survive; a few may not. My first thought is always one of thanks that I have been blessed with a very healthy son.
The good news is that we are making progress in preventing diseases and in making sick and injured children well. Healing never thought possible a few years ago for those who are burn victims, or born with birth defects, or trauma victims, or even cancer patients, now occurs on a daily basis around our country.
The question about how to finance health care and how to improve access to and the quality of health care, however, are the hottest challenges we face as a nation.
There are some things we can all agree on: that the care and well-being of our children should come first, particularly those who are ill. Prenatal care is also paramount, because a great deal of child health is determined in the womb.
Thus as a nation, we must stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
That is why I am introducing the ``Healthy Kids 2000 Act.'' The idea behind it is simple: we want pregnant women to be healthy, and we want children to be healthy. So we are going to remove some of the barriers they encounter in receiving good, appropriate health care.
This bill will give States the flexibility to enroll eligible pregnant women in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and to coordinate essential outreach efforts to enroll qualified children. This program has already been funded by Congress to assist 10 million children whose families lack health insurance. These children are eligible to receive basic health care services like immunizations and antibiotics for ear infections, but pregnant women are not now eligible. Since so much of a child's health is determined in the womb, it is imperative that low-income pregnant women receive quality prenatal care.
Similarly, we need to ensure that the National Institutes of Health research machine is focusing on diseases and conditions which afflict our nation's children, such as birth defects, SIDS, cystic fibrosis, juvenile diabetes, and arthritis, just to name a few. A simple statistic will highlight this need: 80% of prescription medications marketed in the U.S. today are not approved by the FDA for use by children under 12 because studies have not been conducted to document their safety or whether or not they work for children. That is a terrible disservice to the young people of our country who may need the relief of a particular prescription drug.
This bill will also consolidate programs and provide more funds for local initiatives to prevent birth defects and maternal mortality.
150,000 infants are born each year with a serious birth defect, and birth defects are still the leading cause of infant death. During the 1990s we have witnessed an increase in maternal death during pregnancy and childbirth. There is no question that we need better approaches to ensure that women have healthier, safe pregnancies, and healthier babies. And my bill will help fund these vital prevention strategies.
This bill will also ensure direct access to obstetric care, and direct access to pediatric care. Children have health needs that are very different than those of the adult population. Diseases and medications behave differently than in adults, and when children are treated, it should be by those who understand those differences.
Finally, this initiative will assist children's hospitals in educating the next generation of pediatricians. Even with strapped budgets, teaching children's hospitals offer the more egalitarian health care in this country. These hospitals turn no one away. And it is essential that we support this noble mission by equipping children's hospitals with the tools to continue their educational and research efforts.
So much of the most important work in our society goes unnoticed, and unrewarded. Saving the lives of our children, improving the health of our children, even caring for our children on a daily basis is not glamorous work, or sometimes even all that much fun. Doctors, nurses, mothers, fathers, child-care workers and teachers are performing the most difficult, and the most important, work of our society: raising up the next generation to be happy, healthy, and productive citizens.
We must assist them in their efforts, and we can take a positive step by debating and enacting Healthy Kids 2000.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that letters of support be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS,
Alexandria, VA, March 9, 1999.
Hon. CHRISTOPHER
``KIT'' BOND,
U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
DEAR SENATOR BOND: The National Association of Children's Hospitals (N.A.C.H.), which represents more than 100 children's hospitals across the country, strongly supports your efforts to address the full spectrum of children's health care needs through your new ``Healthy Kids 200 Act,'' legislation that knits together several important individual initiatives to improve the health and well-being of our nation's children.
This legislation takes a comprehensive approach to addressing barriers and obstacles, both health system and governmental, that families and pediatric providers encounter in improving the health care of children. Its focus on strengthening health coverage, graduate medical education, research, and public health protections for children clearly reflects the children's hospitals' own four-fold missions of clinical care, education, research, and public health advocacy for child health. Together, they are essential to the ability of communities to meet the unique health care needs of their children.
CHILDREN'S HEALTH COVERAGE
This legislation recognizes that the prescription for good, comprehensive health care for children is not only health insurance coverage but also quality and access to care. The ``Healthy Kids 200 Act'' would provide important health care protections for children as well as enable providers, professionals, systems, and workers to assure improved quality of health care for children.
By providing families access to providers that specialize in pediatrics for the care delivered to their children, the legislation takes the important step of ensuring that children receive health care in the most appropriate setting and condition possible.
The legislation recognizes that, as the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry writes, ``[c]hildren have health and development needs that are markedly different from adults and require age-appropriate care. Developmental changes, dependency on others, and different patterns of illness, disability and injury require that attention be paid to the unique needs of children in the health system.''
In addition, the legislation improves upon the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by allowing states the option to use SCHIP to provide health insurance coverage for pregnant women. The linkages between prenatal care and healthy children have long been understood in American social policy, including Medicaid, the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and WIC. As the GAO found in its report Health Insurance; Coverage Leads to Increased Health Care Access for Children, Medicaid coverage of maternal and child health improves health care access but also decreases infant and child mortality.
For these reasons, N.A.C.H. supports giving states the option of covering low income, uninsured pregnant women through SCHIP, as well as the bill's provision to establish automatic enrollment of their infants upon birth through that critical first year of life.
PEDIATRIC EDUCATION< p> N.A.C.H. applauds you for including in the ``Healthy Kids 2000 Act'' the commitment to commensurate federal graduate medical education support for independent children's hospitals proposed by the ``Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act,'' which you have twice co-sponsored with Senator Bob Kerrey (D-MO). Through the establishment of a capped time-limited fund, the legislation would go a long way toward providing a more equitable competitive playing field for independent children's hospitals.
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