Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself and Mrs. Murray):

S. 1497. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow tax-exempt bond financing for fixed-wing emergency medical aircraft; to the Committee on Finance.

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that will remove an unintended obstacle in the tax-exempt bond rules so that states can use these bonds to finance the purchase of fixed-wing air ambulances in the same way they can now use them to finance the purchase of medical helicopters.

The difference between a medical helicopter and a fixed wing air ambulance
may seem minor to some, but if you live in a remote area the difference can be as big as life or death.

Air medical services, AMS, are an essential component of the health care system. When appropriately used, air critical care transport saves lives and reduces the cost of health care by minimizing the time the critically injured and ill spend out of a hospital, by bringing more medical capabilities to the patient than are normally provided by ground emergency medical services, and by quickly getting the patient to the right specialty care. Dedicated medical helicopters and fixed wing aircraft are mobile flying emergency intensive care units deployed at a moment's notice to patients whose lives depend on rapid care and transport.

In remote rural areas, the use of helicopters often is impractical and unsafe because of the long distances that patients must be transported, sometimes during poor weather conditions. In these situations, the better alternative is a fixed-wing aircraft.

Both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft cost millions of dollars to purchase or lease, operate, house and maintain. But under the way that the tax-exempt bond rules currently work, states are prohibited from using these bonds to finance air ambulance services in rural areas, even though they can use these bonds for helicopters. This result was not what Congress intended, and our bill would make that clear.

Under current law, tax-exempt bonds can not be issued for the purchase of any ``airplane, skybox or other privacy luxury box, health club facility, facility primarily used for gambling, or store the principal business of which is the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption off premises.'' The restrictions were enacted in order to prevent tax-exmpt bonds to be used for frivolous or extravagant purposes. Unfortunately, the law has been interpreted to exclude the purchase of new fixed-wing planes to provide air ambulance services, but the purchase of helicopters--which are not airplanes--is permitted.

This result is not what was intended by the restrictions and our bill would simply make it clear that the general restriction against the use of tax-exempt bonds for purchasing an airplane does not apply in the case of planes that are equipped for and exclusively dedicated to emergency medical services.

There is supporting precedent in distinguishing planes for air ambulance services different than other airplanes. The air transportation excise tax provides an exemption for air transportation that is used to provide ``emergency medical services ..... by a fixed-wing aircraft equipped for and exclusively dedicated on that flight to acute care emergency medical services.''

This issue hits close to home for me and my colleagues who are joining me on this legislation, but we are certainly not alone with respect to the need to ensure that folks in our rural and remote areas have access to needed medical services.

Inland Northwest Health Services, INHS, is a non-profit organization that provides critical health care support services in the Inland Northwest, including air ambulance services through Northwest MedStar. INHS is based in Spokane, Washington, and provides health care services in Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Northern Idaho, and Western Montana. Unfortunately, this unintended restriction in the tax code is preventing INHS from asking the appropriate state authorities to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance the purchase of new fixed-wing planes for air ambulance service.

The legislation that I am introducing with Senator Murray is a common-sense fix to this problem, and I hope we can address it quickly.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source