Laura_Evans's Blog

Rescue Plan... Bailout Bill... whatever you call it... the legislation passed the House... now signed by the Speaker... signed by President Bush.

But did you know there's a whole lot more on that bill, than just billions upon billions to rescue Wall Street.

take a look at the following pork and tell us what you think!

2008 Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act.

* Manufacturers of kids' wooden arrows - $6 million.
* Puerto Rican and Virgin Is- lands rum producers - $192 million.
* Wool research.
* Auto-racing tracks - $128 million.
* Corporations operating in American Samoa - $33 million.
* Small- to medium-budget film and television productions - $10
million.

Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed
for use by children

Current law places an excise tax of 39 cents on the first sale by the
manufacturer, producer, or importer of any shaft of a type used to
produce certain types of arrows. This proposal would exempt from the
excise tax any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations
or artificial means to enhance the spine of the shaft used in the
manufacture of an arrow that measures 5/16 of an inch or less and is
unsuited for use with a bow with a peak draw weight of 30 pounds or
more. The proposal is effective for shafts first sold after the date of
enactment. The estimated cost of the proposal is $2 million over ten
years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

The Oregon senators were the initial sponsors of the provisions.
According to Bloomberg News, the provision would be worth $200,000 to
Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon.



Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track
facility

Track owners want to be able write-off the cost of their facilities on
their taxes over seven years - a depreciation timetable many of them
have used for decades. But the IRS has wanted to stretch it to at least
15 years and has raised questions whether the increasingly popular
tracks really belong in the same tax category as amusement parks.

Auto track owners are simply trying to get out of paying more taxes -
which they'd have to do if they deducted less every year. These owners
have gotten plenty of tax breaks over the years from states and
localities eager to get speedways. The provision would be extended 2
years till the end of 2009 and would cost $100 million. The provision
encompasses all facilities including grandstands, parking lots and
concession stands.

Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto
Rico and the Virgin Islands

Extends until December 31, 2009 a rebate against excise taxes charged
on rum imported from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A $13.50 per
proof gallon excise tax is applied to distilled spirits imported to the
U.S. Under this provision a $13.25 rebate is returned to PR and the VI,
and is retroactive back to January 1, 2008.  Permanent law sets the
rebate at $10.50 per proof gallon, but the PR and VI provisions have
generally been in place since the first Clinton Administration.  The
most recent extension of the $13.50 rebate expired January 1, 2008. Cost
is $192 million.

Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit

The legislation reestablishes and extends the lucrative tax credit for
companies doing research and experimentation in the United States.
Companies that have benefited from this provision include Microsoft
Corp., Boeing Co., United Technologies Corp., Electronic Data Systems
Corp. and Harley-Davidson. The two-year extension is estimated to cost
$19 billion.


Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the
Exxon Valdez litigation
The bailout bill would give a tax break to Exxon Valdez plaintiffs,
allowing them to average out their punitive damages awards over three
years rather than suffer a one-time tax hit from the Internal Revenue
Service, as well as other provisions. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is a big
supporter of this provision. Cost is estimated at $49 million.


Sec. 601. Secure rural schools and community self-determination
program.
Secure Rural Schools lead sponsors Reps. DeFazio (D-OR), Bill Sali
(R-ID); Sens. Wyden (D-OR), Larry Craig (R-ID), are major boosters of
this program that expired in 2006. In 1908 the federal government agreed
to share logging revenue from Forest Service land with neighboring
communities that could not tax the land because it was federal. As
logging declined in the 1990s, the "county payments" program was
initiated in 2000 to directly provide federal funding, more than half
going to Oregon, to deal with the loss of revenue. The original version
of this provision was introduced as a bill in early 2007 and was
estimated to cost $2.2 billion when the OR and ID delegations came to
agreement. To give the package more heft, Payment In Lieu of Taxes
(PILT) was added to the package, bringing the total cost to $3.3
billion. PILT provides more general funding to counties for federal
lands located within their borders. Sen. Reid (D-NV) talked about the
PILT program being one of the important elements of the package when the
Senate passed the bailout bill.


Sec 502. Provisions related to film and television productions

In an effort to keep film and television productions in the U.S, they
would be eligible for a tax incentive program. Under this program, the
cost of production of qualifying films would be permitted to be
immediately expensed -- that is, fully deducted from income for tax
purposes -- in the year the expenditures occur. This provision also
makes permanent other favorable tax treatments for production.
Historically Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) has been a supporter (dating from
its creation in the 2004 corporate tax bill). The cost is estimated at
$478 million over 10 years.


Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool
products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds
The tariff relief (duty savings) is intended to benefit U.S. worsted
wool fabric producers that use imported fibers and yarns as inputs, as
well as U.S. tailored clothing manufacturers that use imported fabrics
as inputs.  This provision was originally introduced as a bill in
December 2007 by Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Melissa Bean (D-IL).
It extends current law provisions until 12/31/14, and in some cases
to12/31/15. The 2010 to 2015 cost is estimated to be $148 million.



Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa

This extends by two years a previously approved tax credit, the
American Samoa economic development credit. In general, this credit
allows certain corporations operating in American Samoa a tax credit.
The possessions tax credit allows these corporations to offset a portion
of their U.S. tax liability on income earned in American Samoa from
active business operations, sales of assets used in a business, or
certain investments in American Samoa. The cost is $33 million,
according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.


Other Examples:
Here are some other interesting provisions


Sec. 201. Inclusion of cellulosic biofuel in bonus depreciation for
biomass ethanol plant property

Current law allows taxpayers to write-off 50% of the cost of any
facility placed in service before January 1, 2013 that produces
cellulosic ethanol.  This provision expands the types of facilities that
may be written-off to include production of other cellulosic biofuels in
addition to cellulosic ethanol.



Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters

Allows employers to provide a benefit to employees for costs associated
with bicycle commuting, including purchase and repair of a bicycle,
bicycle improvements, and bicycle storage. This provision was proposed
in 2007 in the Senate by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and in the House by Rep.
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). This provision is estimated to cost $10
million.


Sec. 323. Enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food
inventory


Extends by two years, until December 31, 2009, a provision allowing for
deductions related to the charitable donation of “apparently wholesome
food”-defined as food intended for human consumption that meets all
quality and labeling standards imposed by law and regulations even
though the food may not be readily marketable. This provision also
changes the application of the law as it relates to donations by farmers
and ranchers. The cost is $149 million, according to Joint Committee on
Taxation.


Sec. 324. Extension of enhanced charitable deduction for contributions
of bookinventory

Extends by two years, until December 31, 2009, a tax benefit for the
contribution of books to public schools. The provision is worth $49
million.


Sec. 602. Transfer to abandoned mine reclamation fund


Transfers interest earned on money in the abandoned mine reclamation
fund to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund, which
helps pay health benefits for retired miners and their dependents who
worked under collective bargaining agreements that promised lifetime
health-care benefits.  States with the most miners receiving benefits
have historically been Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia,
and Ohio. This provision extends existing law to include a $9 million
transfer for 2010.