Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) voted against the conference report for H.R. 4520, the FSC-ETI JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Strength) bill, a $136 billion package of corporate tax breaks, which passed the Senate on a 69-17-1 vote today. "On balance, although the package contains a number of helpful provisions, it ultimately falls short of what we owe to the people of my state and the people of this country," Akaka said in a Senate speech explaining his opposition to the conference report.

Akaka noted that the conference report, "contains some good provisions to help American businesses and works toward ending harmful tariffs currently placed on many of our exports. The conference report also contains some much-needed boosts for renewable energy and renewable fuels. As a longtime advocate for renewable and alternative energy sources, I believe these incentives are important to help our renewable energy businesses in Hawaii increase the amount of renewable energy used to produce electricity."

Senator Akaka cited the failure of the legislation to address four key issues debated during consideration of related tax packages during the 108th Congress: 1) the failure to allow teaching hospitals, including The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, to effectively use their real estate holdings to increase their endowment and further their charitable mission; (2) the failure to overturn overtime regulations promulgated this year by the Bush Administration which will deny overtime pay to millions of American workers; (3) the failure to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products in exchange for a $10 billion buyout for tobacco growers; and (4) the failure to improve the tax credit provided to employers who maintain the pay and benefits of their employees called to active duty in the National Guard and Reserves. Excerpts of Senator Akaka's floor statement on these issues follow:

TEACHING HOSPITALS

"I am disappointed that some of the measures in S. 476, the CARE Act, which passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 95 to 5, did not make it into the bill. In particular, Section 310 of the Senate's CARE Act bill is important for our teaching hospitals. The provision allows support organizations to utilize debt to improve teaching hospitals' real estate endowment. This would assist charitable teaching hospitals in my state of Hawaii and other states as well. Regrettably, this provision was not incorporated into the conference report."

NATIONAL GUARD/RESERVES

"I supported another provision in an amendment offered by my colleague from Louisiana, Senator Landrieu, that the Senate accepted by voice vote. This amendment sought to improve the credit for employers of the men and women in the Ready Reserve or National Guard who have been called to active military duty. In light of large deployments underway in my State of Hawaii and other areas of the U.S. - as the Senator from Louisiana said earlier, about 57 percent of Hawaii's Guard and Reserves have been called up - this was a very significant amendment to show that we honor the commitment that the Reserves and Guard have made to our country. I am very disappointed that this amendment was stripped in conference, despite a strong show of support by this body. I understand that there may be efforts to try to rectify this problem, and I hope that we get somewhere, but it should have been remedied during conference on this measure."

Note: After passage of the conference report the Senate modified and passed a House bill (H.R. 1779, the Guardsmen and Reservists Financial Relief Act of 2004) that provides guardsmen and reservists penalty-free retirement plan withdrawals and an employee credit ($15,000/50 percent of wages up to $30,000 per employee) and replacement employee credit to small businesses (50 or fewer employees) that pay employees activated by the Reserves or National Guard.

OVERTIME

"The conference report represents a missed opportunity related to the U.S. Department of Labor's overtime regulations. Since the Department published its proposed overtime regulations in the Federal Register in March 2003, Members of Congress have been trying to improve the regulations to ensure that all workers are not adversely affected by these changes. However, our concerns have not been heard by this Administration. Rather, this Administration continues to disregard the wishes of the majority of the members in this chamber that believe certain portions of the overtime regulations will take away overtime protections for some workers. On May 4, 2004, the Senate passed an amendment introduced by Senator Harkin that would allow for full implementation of any regulations that expanded or improved overtime coverage, but would prohibit the Department of Labor from implementing any new rules which would take away overtime protections currently guaranteed. And, once again, in conference, the provision was taken away."

FDA REGULATION OF TOBACCO

"An extremely important provision has been omitted from the conference report. By an overwhelming vote of 78 to 15, the Senate approved an amendment offered by my colleagues Senators Kennedy and DeWine to provide the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to regulate tobacco products. It is estimated that 2,000 children are hooked on tobacco every day. Flavoring cigarettes is one of the tactics used to entice children and teenagers to start smoking." Senator Akaka referenced an example of the type of marketing that the FDA regulation would have stopped. "This summer, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company produced flavored cigarettes that used images of my home state of Hawaii and the name of one of our islands in an attempt to make smoking more attractive. One of the cigarettes, which was named Kauai Kolada, is flavored with, 'Hawaiian hints of pineapple and coconut.'

"I am outraged that a manufacturer of such a deadly product would exploit and, therefore, taint images and names from Hawaii in their attempts to lure children into smoking. It presents a false promise of paradise. The DeWine-Kennedy amendment would have prohibited flavored cigarettes, such as the Kauai Kolada, and restricted tobacco advertising. ... It appears that certain tobacco companies want to continue to cultivate another generation of smokers so that they can increase their sale and reap more profits at the expense of the health and well-being of our families."