Benchmarks

October 11, 2004

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks

E1873

1. Schedule F (Form 1040) (farm businesses);
2. Form 1041 (estates and trusts);
3. Form 1065 (partnerships);
4. Form 1065-B (electing large partnerships);
5. Form 1120 (corporations);
6. Form 1120-A (short tax return for corporations);
7. Form 1120S (S corporations); and
8. Other Form 1120 series returns.

2005 Forms 4626, 6251, and Schedule I of Form 1041 would have to be revised to add a new line to reflect the difference between the regular tax deduction and alternative minimum tax deduction.

The instructions for all affected forms and schedules listed above would have to be revised to reflect the new deduction.

The tax forms and publications for 2007 and 2010 would have to be updated to reflect the increasing percentage of qualified production activities income taken into account beginning in those years.

Programming changes would be required to reflect the new 10 line form, the two additional lines on the above forms and schedules, and the changing percentages. Currently, the IRS tax computation programs are updated annually to incorporate mandated inflation adjustments. Any programming changes necessitated by the provision would be included during that process.

The following 2006 publications, among others, would have to be revised to cover the new deduction, adding 3 to 6 pages to each.

1. Publication 225 (farmers);
2. Publication 334 (small business tax guide);
3. Publication 541 (corporations);
4. Publication 542 (partnerships); and
5. Publication 535 (business expenses).

Training materials and the Internal Revenue Manual would have to be revised to reflect the new deduction.

MERRICK LITTLE LEAGUE
BASEBALL

HON. PETER T. KING

OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 7, 2004

Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Merrick Little League Baseball Team as our New York State Champions. These athletes should be very proud of this enormous accomplishment. I know I share in the pride of their parents, coaches and residents of Merrick.

In fact, I would like to recognize and honor the following players who will certainly be ranked the best in the New York State Little League: Louis Eiler, John Eyerman, Chad Fuschillo, Zachary Goldstein, Frankie Leavey, Jordan Leopold, Alex Ras, Robert Rosen, Brandon Serota, Noah Shulman, and Thomas Viverto.

In addition, I want to extend special recognition to the Merrick Little League Coaches Robert Ras and Michael Serota, as well as Manager Jason Shulman.

On behalf of myself and the United States House of Representatives I congratulate the Merrick Little League Baseball Team on this wonderful achievement.

SIMMONS AMENDMENT TO H.R.

4548

HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

OF ILLINOIS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 7, 2004

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, on June 23, 2004 during the debate of the Simmons amendment to H.R. 4548, the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2005, I was misquoted in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. My statement should have read:

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Simmons amendment. Unlike some other amendments in this bill that are offered for partisan advantage, this amendment is offered by a former CIA officer with detailed knowledge of how the U.S. intelligence community works. To my knowledge, there are only three current Members of Congress who worked with the CIA: our chairman, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss), the author of this amendment; the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons); and me, who was detailed to the CIA from navy intelligence.

This amendment seeks to change our intelligence culture to become more effective in the age of the Internet. Today, every two-bit terror organization in the world has a Web site broadcasting information on its activities. Internet news, political parties, and foreign government sites all offer new material to our intelligence community.

For years in the cold war, our enemies collected open-source data on us, but we were forced to collect secret data on them. That is now changing. There is a wealth of open-source data on our adversaries. Every analyst in the community should be encouraged to use as much current and accurate open-source data as possible; and I applaud the gentleman, who knows the CIA so well, for offering this amendment to keep our culture up to date with the current technology.

THANK YOU, STAFF SERGEANT
CHRISTOPHER B. WILSON

HON. ERIC CANTOR

OF VIRGINIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 7, 2004

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful nation and the citizens of the Seventh District of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I would like to personally thank Staff Sergeant Christopher B. Wilson for his honorable service to the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

I celebrate his return from service abroad, and this country will forever be grateful for his leadership, unwavering dedication to the mission, and the bravery he demonstrated each day in the face of danger. Staff Sergeant Wilson, a proud member of the Virginia National Guard's 229th Military Police Company, returned home to his family and friends in April of 2004. He served two tours of duty defending our homeland and liberating the people of Iraq. He defended our nation's capital during Operation Noble Eagle. Again he answered our nation's call-to-arms, spending 14 months in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

We will never forget his service as he has set an enduring example for all Americans. His service is a perfect model for all men and

women in uniform who wage the daily war on terror. His family and community, the American Military, and the United States of America should be proud of his service.

His actions are consistent with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States of America. Staff Sergeant Christopher B. Wilson, I again thank you for your selfless service and welcome you home.

HONORING THE CONTRIBUTION OF
COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

HON. RAÚL M. GRIJALVA

OF ARIZONA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 7, 2004

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, community health centers (CHCs) are at the forefront of the noble endeavor to provide quality health care to our nation's most underserved communities. Nearly 900 CHCs throughout the country treat more than 12 million patients who are typically low-income, uninsured, and disproportionately affected by chronic diseases such as diabetes. Ninety percent of patients live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and nearly half (5 million) lack health insurance. CHC patients are predominantly women, who require gynecologic and obstetric care, as well as pediatric care for their children. CHC patients are also ethnically and linguistically diverse—with nearly one-third whose native tongue is not English.

Not only are many CHCs the sole source of health care in the underserved communities where they operate, but they are also the sole providers of other crucial services such as dental care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and assistance to domestic violence victims. In my state, Arizona, CHCs service about 350,000 people in 85 neighborhoods—from densely populated urban centers to far-flung rural towns and tribal communities deep in desert locales, miles away from the nearest community. Last year, nearly 1.5 million visits were made to Arizona's CHCs.

Clearly, health centers save our health care system an untold amount of money by treating patients who, due to lack of access and finances, would otherwise end up in the emergency room needing intensive and expensive treatment. Yet, CHCs struggle to generate adequate revenues to maintain their operations. They do not pocket any of the savings they bring to the system, which are instead transferred by hospitals and private physicians. And while the latter can absorb losses from treating uninsured patients due to their high percentage of privately insured patients, CHCs receive the majority of their reimbursement from Medicaid, which accounts for 36% of all their revenues. Federal grants make up the second largest source of funding, at 22%. By contrast, only six percent of CHC revenues come from reimbursements of private insurers.

This year, the House allotted $1.84 billion to the federal CHC direct grant program in the FY 2005 Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill. Although this is a welcome increase from the federal government's funding of $1.57 billion for FY 2004, I am disappointed that the Health Community Access Program was eliminated. Without Medicaid, however,