March 4, 1980
Page 4569
Mr. JAVITS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may yield to the Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE) for the purpose of submitting an amendment and that I may regain the floor as soon as his amendment is disposed of.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Chair hears none.
The Senator from Maine is recognized.
UP AMENDMENT NO. 1005
(Purpose: To treat employment of United States citizens by the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission as employment under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act)
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I thank my good friend from New York.
I call up an amendment and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment will be stated.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE) proposes an unprinted amendment numbered 1005.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the end of the bill add the following new section:
EMPLOYMENT OF CERTAIN CITIZENS FOR FUTA PURPOSES
SEC. 207. (a) For purposes of chapter 23 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (the Federal Unemployment Tax Act) , service performed by a citizen of the United States as an employee of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission shall be considered to be employment within the meaning of section 3306(c) of such Code.
(b) This section shall apply with respect to remuneration paid after December 31, 1979, for service performed after such date.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, this amendment, which the Senate has considered before and adopted in legislation that did not fully get enacted into law, would provide unemployment insurance coverage for U.S. citizen employees of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission.
The Roosevelt Campobello International Park was created in 1964 by a Canadian-American treaty to commemorate and preserve the summer home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada. In accordance with the spirit of that agreement and the statutes which established the park, the Commission has a policy of equal opportunity in employment, compensation, and fringe benefits for both Canadian and American employees.
The Commission's U.S. employees are subject to U.S. social security taxes and are eligible for old age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits, as well as workmen's compensation. In nearly all ways they are treated as though they were employed on U.S. soil.
However, these U.S. citizens have been unable to secure unemployment insurance coverage in the United States.
This amendment would treat employment of U.S. citizens by the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission as employment under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. The amendment would. in turn, permit the State of Maine to provide unemployment insurance coverage for these employees pursuant to title 26, section 1043(311) (G), of the Maine revised statutes.
This amendment would insure that United States and Canadian employees of the Commission are employed on an equal basis. It is supported by the Commission and is in accord with the agreement reached between the United States and Canadian Governments on this issue.
I might add, Mr. President, that this matter has been the subject of lengthy discussions between the U.S. Treasury Department and the Canadian Government.
The Treasury Department suggested this amendment as a solution.
I appreciate the assistance of the Canadian Government and the U.S. Treasury Department in resolving this matter. I hope the distinguished floor manager would accept this amendment in order that the problem may be finally resolved.
Mr. BOREN. Mr. President, on behalf of the majority, we shall be very pleased to accept this amendment. As the Senator from Maine has said, the Senate has already approved a similar measure before. There are no additional costs associated with this proposal. It simply will allow coverage of the U.S. citizen employees of the commission under the unemployment insurance program and will allow them to begin to pay into the fund. There will be no objection.
I have checked this also with the other side of the aisle. The manager of the bill on that side has no objection. I am prepared to accept the amendment.
Mr. MUSKIE. I thank my good friend.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. MUSKIE. I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. JAVITS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.