ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT

Neal and McDermott Announce a Joint Hearing on the “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007"

Congressman Richard Neal (D-MA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures,  and Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support,  today announced a joint hearing on legislation soon to be introduced H.R.___, called the “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007.”  The hearing will take place on Wednesday, October 17, 2007, at 10:00 am in room 1100 Longworth House Office Building.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on legislative proposals designed to help members of our armed forces and their families, as well as others volunteering in service to America.

BACKGROUND:

The Committee has jurisdiction over certain tax and other provisions that are intended to benefit our military, volunteer firefighters, and other service volunteers.   Some of the tax provisions are set to expire at the end of the year and must be addressed.  Other provisions need to be simplified.

The “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act” would make the following changes: (1) make permanent the provision that permits active duty individuals to make penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans; (2) make permanent and modify qualified mortgage bonds used to finance residences for veterans; (3) make permanent the ability to include combat pay as earned income for purposes of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); (4) extend the limitation period for filing tax refund claims resulting from Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) disability determinations; (5) make permanent the authority of the Social Security Administration to disclose tax return information to the Department of Veterans Affairs for purpose of determining eligibility for certain veteran programs; (6) permit recipients of military death benefit gratuities to roll over the amounts received, tax free, to a Roth IRA or an Education Savings Account; (7) permit an employer to make certain contributions to a qualified plan on behalf of an employee who was killed in combat; (8) for purposes of meeting the requirements of the uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), treat the day prior to the date of death as the date the employee returned to work for purpose of triggering payment of survivor benefits (or other beneficiary payments) under a qualified plan; (9) treat differential wage payments made by an employer to an employee who becomes active duty members of the uniformed services as wages for retirement plan purposes; (10) clarify the tax treatment for certain rebates of deductible State and local taxes for volunteer firefighters; (11) exclude certain reimbursed expenses that are incurred in the line of duty for volunteer firefighters; (12) clarify the application of the “5-year requirement with respect to the sale of a principal residence for Peace Corps volunteers”; (13) provide equitable treatment of most military cash allowances, beyond basic pay, for purpose of determining eligibility and benefit amounts for military families; (14) disregard certain annuity payments paid specifically to blind veterans for purpose of determining Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility and benefits under the SSI program; and (15) disregard any benefits or allowances paid to Americorps volunteers for purpose of determining eligibility and benefits under the SSI program.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Neal stated, “We cannot forget the everyday needs of our military families and other American heroes serving their country honorably in Iraq and around the globe. I believe we have an obligation to examine the Internal Revenue Code to make certain it is working in an effective way for these brave individuals. This proposed legislation is another example of our commitment to the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces each day with dedication and distinction.”

Chairman McDermott stated, “We don’t want to leave those who defend our country defenseless against being hit by unfair taxes or reductions in needed benefits, and we are going to serve our military heroes in this legislation by correcting inequities that are simply inconceivable.” 

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms.  From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov, select “110th Congress” from the menu entitled, “Hearing Archives” (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Hearings.asp?congress=18).  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.”  Once you have followed the online instructions, completing all informational forms and clicking “submit” on the final page, an email will be sent to the address which you supply confirming your interest in providing a submission for the record.  You MUST REPLY to the email and ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business October 31,  2007.  Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee.  The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines.  Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below.  Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1.   All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments.  Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2.  Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing.  Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3.  All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons, and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note:  All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.