The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S6462-S6465 on May 10, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. CHAFEE (for himself and Mr. Pell):
S. 786. A bill to designate the United States Post Office building located at 24 Corliss Street, Providence, Rhode Island, as the ``Harry Kizirian Post Office Building,'' and for other purposes; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
THE HARRY KIZIRIAN POST OFFICE BUILDING ACT OF 1995
Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I send to the desk a bill for Senator Pell and myself. This deals with the designation of the U.S. Post Office building located on 24 Corliss Street in Providence. Under the new designation it becomes the ``Harry Kizirian Post Office Building.''
Mr. President, today Senator Pell and I are introducing legislation to name the post office at 24 Corliss Street in Providence, RI after a renowned Rhode Islander and a proud American--Harry Kizirian. Representatives Jack Reed and Patrick Kennedy are introducing identical legislation in the House of Representatives. The Rhode Island congressional delegation is united in its desire to honor Harry Kizirian for his years of service to our State.
Mr. President, just a word about Harry Kizirian. He is a celebrated citizen in our State. For many, many years he has been postmaster of our principal post office. He is a community leader.
Harry Kizirian is a household name in Rhode Island because of his lifelong career in the Postal Service but, even more so, because of his involvement
with and commitment to his community. He has served on the board of directors of Butler Hospital, Big Brothers of Rhode Island, the Providence Human Relations Commission, Rhode Island Blue Cross, and the Rhode Island Heart and Lung Associations. Over the years he has earned countless awards
[[Page S6463]] and citations for his community involvement. He was inducted into the Rhode Island Hall of Fame and received the Roger Williams Award. He served on advisory boards for Rhode Island College, Providence Heritage Commission on R.I. Medal of Honor Recipients, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Marine Corps League. Harry Kizirian is a husband, a father, a grandfather, a Postmaster to Rhode Island, and a decorated World War II hero.
The lessons learned from Harry Kizirian are lessons of fortitude, valor, strength of character, and perseverance.
While Harry was just a boy in school, at Mt. Pleasant High School in Providence, he went to work part-time as a postal clerk. He was 15 years old and his father had died, so Harry took responsibility for supporting his family. He did so while keeping his grades up and participating in athletics. Twenty years later, at 35, Harry was named Postmaster of Rhode Island, a position he held for more than 25 years.
Like many young men at the time, Harry's job was interrupted by World War II. The day after high school graduation Harry enlisted in the Marine Corps.
After going through training, he ended up with the marines that were invading Okinawa.
He fought on Okinawa with the
6th Marine Division. He was awarded the Navy Cross--the second highest honor a Marine can receive--for his valor on Okinawa. What did he do for it?
Harry and a group of Marines were pinned down by a Japanese machine gunner. Harry got up and ran toward the machine gun. He was shot in the legs. Despite his injuries, he pulled himself forward and eliminated the enemy position. This extraordinary act of valor sent Harry Kizirian, a teenage boy, to a hospital in Guam with the Navy Cross, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart with a gold star.
Harry Kizirian was seen by millions of Americans as the face of the war in the Pacific. Before he was injured, a news photographer captured his image, the image of a boy in battle--by that time he was the age of 19--for the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Last November, I was present when Harry was honored by his old Atwood-Bucci Detachment of the Marine Corps. The famous photograph was prominently displayed on the podium. It has been 50 years since that picture was snapped and many have glorified the war, but not Harry. Harry's message to young people, and to all of us, is that ``war is awful. There's no way to describe it. Nobody wins a war.''
After the war, Harry returned to Providence and to his job at the post office. He was a substitute clerk. By 1954 he was made foreman. He was named Assistant Superintendent during the transition from the old postal system to the turnkey mechanization system. The Providence post office on Corliss
Street was the first post office in the country to use the turnkey system. The turnkey system was the first fully automated system for sorting the mail. Until that point, all of the mail was sorted by hand. The new system was not easily implemented, but once again Harry persevered. In 1961, Harry was rewarded for his hard work and dedication. He was named Postmaster of Rhode Island.
What better way to honor the life and lessons of Harry Kizirian than to name the Post Office on Corliss Street for him. I am pleased to introduce this bill today with Senator Pell and hope that it will receive speedy consideration by the Subcommittee on Post Office and Civil Service of the Governmental Affairs Committee.
So it seems very fitting, Mr. President, that this post office in our capital city should be named after Harry Kizirian.
Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I join with my friend and colleague, Senator Chafee of Rhode Island, in introducing legislation to designate the U.S. Post Office building at 24 Corliss Street, Providence, as the Harry Kizirian Post Office Building.
I am enthusiastic about this designation. I can think of no more fitting tribute. Harry Kizirian has made extraordinary contributions to the United States, to Rhode Island and to Providence.
A very brief review of his contributions is instructive. Harry enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Mt. Pleasant High School. He subsequently became Rhode Island's most decorated marine.
He fought in Okinawa and was shot in battle. He earned the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star with a ``V'', the Purple Heart with a Gold Star and, finally, the Rhode Island Cross.
Upon his return to Rhode Island, he went to work at the post office, where he had worked as a 15-year-old to support his widowed mother. He worked his way up through leadership positions in the Postal Service.
He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as postmaster in 1961, a position he held for 25 years. In addition to his military service and his work in the Postal Service, he has served on numerous committees and boards in Rhode Island.
Harry served on the board of directors of Butler Hospital, Big Brothers of Rhode Island, the Providence Human Relations Commission, Rhode Island Blue Cross and Rhode Island Heart and Lung Associations.
He also was a member of the Community Advisory Board of Rhode Island College, the Providence Heritage Commission, the Commission on Rhode Island Medal Honor Recipients, DAV and the Marine Corps League.
Harry Kizirian already is a Rhode Island landmark. His name has become synonymous with the qualities he exemplifies--dedication, loyalty, leadership and hard work.
The Harry Kizirian Post Office Building will be an entirely appropriate testament to his remarkable life and friendships.
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By Mr. BURNS:
S. 787. A bill to provide an exemption from certain hazardous material transportation regulations for small cargo tank vehicles with a capacity of not more than 3,500 gallons that transport petroleum, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATORY RELIEF ACT OF 1995
Mr. BURNS. Madam President, today I am introducing legislation to reduce yet another regulatory burden on many petroleum marketers and other small businesses across the country. My bill would prohibit the Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration [RSPA] from enforcing an unwarranted and unnecessary regulation on operators and owners of small cargo tanks of 3,500 gallons or less and return that authority back to the States where it belongs. Specifically, my bill would repeal a regulation promulgated by RSPA which requires cargo tank operators and owners to comply with cumbersome Federal testing inspections and retrofitting mandates.
Members of the Montana-Western Petroleum Marketers Association and the Petroleum Marketers Association of America have been especially negatively impacted with RSPA's requirements. The cost of the regulation to small businesses often costs thousands of dollars, with little additional safety protection. In addition, the Federal inspection requirements often force cargo tank operators to travel great distances to comply with the regulations. It is time that we force regulators to be responsible and establish justification before the implementation of such regulations. I think we could send a clear message by passing my proposed legislation.
Many of the cargo tank owners and operators are owned by small ``mom and pop'' businesses, who operate on a slim profit margin. The cost of compliance can be devastating to their business. For years, States had the authority to inspect small cargo tank vehicles. Not only was this more convenient for owners and operators, but States had the ability to structure the program to benefit their constituents. I think we should return this authority to the States and allow them to make decisions which best suit their needs.
Up until 1991, RSPA provided an exemption of cargo tanks carrying 3,500 gallons of petroleum product or less. However, since that time, RSPA has decided that no tank is too small to regulate and that all cargo tank operators should operate under the same rules. In theory this may sound reasonable, but, in reality, small cargo tanks are very different from larger tanks and should be treated as such. I ask for
[[Page S6464]] your support of my legislation and introduce it today to restore some common sense into the Federal bureaucracy.
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By Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. Moynihan, and Mr. Kyl):
S. 789. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the section 170(e)(5) rules pertaining to gifts of publicly traded stock to certain private foundations, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
gifts legislation
Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation on behalf of myself, Senator Moynihan, and Senator Kyl, which would permit the full value deduction for gifts of appreciated stock to private foundations.
Since 1984, donors have been allowed to deduct the full fair market value of certain gifts and publicly traded stock given to private foundations. In other words, if an individual has a private foundation that he has set up, and he has some stock--in General Electric, for example, that has appreciated substantially--when he makes a gift of that stock to the foundation, and General Electric, say, is trading at 58, that the full value of that stock, namely each share at the present value of 58, is a deductible contribution by the donor.
Clearly, if an individual made such a contribution to Yale University or to the United Way, whatever it was, the full value of the stock would be a deductible contribution.
And the question here is, what about now, the contribution of that stock to a private foundation? Up until January 31, 1994--in other words last January--December 31--it has been possible to get a full deduction for the contribution of stock to a private foundation.
Unfortunately, on that date, the action which provided for the full deductibility terminated. It sunsetted.
Mr. President, I would like to stress that private foundations are nonprofit organizations. They support charitable activity. They have to do that or they are not allowed an exemption. They provide support for making grants to other nonprofit agencies.
In other words, sometimes a private foundation has the capacity to make a charitable contribution itself to the United Way or Nature Conservancy or the Sierra Club or whatever it might be. They provide support for such things as scholarships and disaster relief. Also, they make grants to individuals.
Now, foundations are created by endowments, money given by individuals or by families or by corporations. They make grants and operate programs with the income earned from investing the endowments. Since most foundations have permanent endowments, they do not have to raise funds each year from the public in order to continue their work.
Most functions, charitable activities every year have to go out and raise money so they are reluctant to get into long-term commitments, but foundations such as the Ford Foundation with a substantial amount of money that they know is there--realizing the income is going to be there next year, they are not dependent upon annual donations--act as the research and development arm of our society.
In a 1965 Report on Private Foundations, the Treasury Department recognized the special nature of foundations by describing them as
``uniquely qualified to initiate thought and action, experiment with new and untried ventures, dissent from prevailing attitudes, and act quickly and flexibly.'' Indeed, foundations reflect the innovative spirit of the individuals and corporations that endow them.
There are more than 30,000 private foundations in America today that provide over $10 billion annually to support innumerable projects, large and small. Among other things, they help the poor and disadvantaged, advance scientific and medical research, and strengthen the American educational system.
Let me give you a few examples of some of the medical advances that have occurred as a result of the financial assistance provided by private foundations:
The polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk in 1953 after the Sarah Scaife Foundation provided him with the money he needed to establish and equip his virus laboratory.
With the help of the Commonwealth Fund, Dr. Papanicolaou discovered in 1923 that cervical cancer could be diagnosed before a woman presented any symptoms. That breakthrough led to the basic and now routine diagnostic technique known as the Pap smear.
In 1951 Dr. Max Theiler received the Nobel prize in medicine for his work in developing the yellow fever vaccine. That effort was the direct result of a 30-year, all-out commitment by the Rockefeller Foundation to eradicate this disease.
But, Mr. President, private foundations have been involved in many more aspects of our daily lives than simply funding medical advances. Dr. John V.N. Dorr was an engineer in the early 1950's. He speculated that many accidents occurring on our Nation's highways during inclement weather were the result of drivers hugging the white lines painted in the middle of the road. Dorr believed that if similar lines were painted on the shoulder side of the road, lives could be saved.
Dorr convinced transportation engineers in Westchester County, NY, to test his theory along a particularly treacherous stretch of highway. The dropoff in accidents along this part of the road was dramatic, and Dr. Dorr used his own foundation to publicize the demonstration's results nationally. Today, although State funds are now used to paint white lines on the shoulder side of the Nation's highways, every person traveling in a motor vehicle is indebted to Dorr and his foundation for implementing this life-saving discovery.
As these examples indicate, private foundations provide a great many benefits to our society. By permanently extending this tax incentive, we can continue to encourage individuals to dedicate a substantial portion of their wealth to public, rather than private purposes. I hope my colleagues will support this legislation.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my distinguished colleague, Senator Chafee, in introducing a bill to restore a full, fair-market-value deduction for gifts of publicly traded stock to private foundations. This was in fact the law through 1994, but the provision in the tax code providing for a charitable deduction measured by the fair market value of stock donated to a private foundation expired on December 31, 1994.
As many in this body will recall, I worked for many years to restore a full, fair-market-value deduction for gifts of appreciated property to public charities. That deduction had been limited in 1986 tax legislation for taxpayers subject to the alternative minimum tax, so that they could only deduct the ``basis''--usually, the original purchase price--of property donated to public charities, such as college and universities, museums and other charitable institutions that receive the larger share of their support from the public at large. Happily, the full, fair-market-value deduction for all such gifts--personal property, real estate and intangible property such as stock--was restored on a permanent basis in the 1993 budget legislation, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.
The bill we introduce today concerns charitable gifts to private foundations, which unlike public charities, receive their support from, and are often controlled by, a limited group of individuals. A full, fair-market-value deduction for gifts of publicly traded stock had been available in the case of private foundations over the past 10 years under a special rule enacted in 1984 and scheduled to expire on December 31, 1994. This automatic expiration was intended to provide Congress an opportunity to review the private foundation contribution rule with the benefit of several years of practical experience under it. I believe that most commentators have concluded that the private foundation rules are working relatively well, and that the rule providing for fair-market-value deductions for gifts of publicly traded stock has not been a source of compliance problems. As a result, there is no reason to provide different treatment for gifts of publicly traded stock to private foundations that is currently provided for such gifts to public charities. The bill we introduce today would conform the rules for both.
Mr. President, private foundations are an important aspect of America's
[[Page S6465]] nonprofit, independent sector. The contributions made by nonprofit institutions to our society in the areas of education, health, disaster relief, the advancement of knowledge and the preservation of our history and cultural artifacts is vast. I daresay it is often not fully understood or appreciated, particularly the extent to which nonprofit institutions perform functions that are typically governmental undertakings in other societies. Nonprofit institutions are a part of our culture that we should take care not to lose, and government has a role in insuring that they thrive. The legislation we introduce today is a part of that role.
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