Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I wish to speak in support of the
Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act, which I have introduced with my
colleague Senator Cantwell. Few issues are as important to the American
people as the availability of good jobs in our communities.
Unemployment in Maine and across the country remains unacceptably high.
It is crucial that we continue to improve job training initiatives to
help people find jobs in fields with open positions.

Many business owners in Maine have told me that they have jobs
available, but they cannot find qualified and trained workers to fill
these vacant positions. One way for employees to acquire the skills
needed to succeed in these in-demand fields is through apprenticeship
programs. Apprentices gain hands-on experience that is invaluable to
employers and can help workers secure a well-paying job.

According to the Department of Labor's Employment and Training
Administration, more than 44,000 participants graduated from the
apprenticeship system in fiscal year 2014. In Maine, there were almost
700 registered apprentices. That number, however, is likely
insufficient to meet tomorrow's needs. One manufacturer in Maine
estimates that nearly 2.7 million manufacturing employees are expected
to retire in the next decade. We must do all we can to ensure that an
adequate pool of skilled workers is available to fill these well-paying
jobs.

Our bill helps achieve this goal by giving tax credits to businesses
that hire apprentices. To ensure that workers are given adequate time
to prove their value, the apprentice must be employed for seven months
in order for a business to claim the credit. Our bill also provides
incentives for experienced workers who spend at least 20 percent of
their time passing their hard-earned knowledge on to the next
generation. These workers would be allowed to receive some retirement
income early, without facing tax penalties. Finally, our bill ensures
that the brave men and women who defend our country are given credit
for the skills they learn while serving. Training received while
serving in the Armed Forces would count toward an apprentice's training
requirement.

This bill would help better align the needs of our Nation's employers
with potential employees to promote hiring and the creation of new
jobs. I encourage all my colleagues to support this bill, and I am
pleased to join Senator Cantwell in introducing it.

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that would
prohibit the IRS from the targeting any U.S. citizens for exercising
their constitutional rights under the First Amendment.

The history of the IRS offers abundant examples of the Agency
trampling on these rights. In the most recent controversy, which came
to light in 2013, the IRS applied a heightened scrutiny to applications
from conservative groups that were seeking tax-exempt status. Delaying
these groups' applications suggests an attempt to chill the
constitutional right of speech and association by groups that hold
conservative views. No matter what your political views, the details
that have emerged are truly alarming. The IRS admitted that it
deliberately targeted conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt
status for extra review if they included such words as ``tea party,''
``patriots,'' or ``9/11'' in their names. It also acknowledged
targeting applications from groups that criticized how this country is
being run or whose purpose was to address government spending,
government debt, taxes, or simply to make America a better place. These
inappropriate criteria stayed in place for more than 18 months and
resulted in substantial delays in processing the applications of many
different groups. In some cases, the applications remained outstanding
for more than 2 years.

The IRS also sought to compel some of the targeted groups to divulge
their membership lists. IRS officials have subsequently admitted there
was absolutely no reason for Agency personnel to have sought that kind
of information.

Such behavior, unfortunately, is not a one-time aberration, and the
targets have been on both sides of the aisle. A May 2013 Time magazine
article noted that the IRS has been involved in scandals going back at
least as far as the Kennedy administration, which used the service to
investigate so-called rightwing groups. President Nixon employed a
secret IRS operation to investigate and audit political opponents.
During the Johnson administration, the IRS targeted some antiwar
activists. In the decades since, a number of political activists from
both the conservative and liberal ends of the spectrum, as well as
whistleblowers, have been subjected to intimidating and discriminatory
scrutiny by the IRS.

The IRS's history of abuses demonstrates that Congress must be ever-
vigilant in protecting taxpayers. The Agency's power allows it to
pervade the most sensitive aspects of Americans' private lives.
Irrespective of whether those singled out are liberal or conservative,
Democrat or Republican, Independent or Green Party members, regardless
of their personal views, the targeting of private citizens for
exercising their First Amendment rights is out of bounds and cannot be
tolerated.

Seventeen years ago, when the IRS was accused of using abusive
tactics towards taxpayers, Congress responded by passing the IRS
Restructuring and Reform Act. That act created the Taxpayer Bill of
Rights, strengthened taxpayer protections against unauthorized
collection activities, and established an oversight board to ensure
that taxpayers are properly treated by the IRS.

The bill I am introducing today builds on the 1998 act, as well as an
amendment I authored in 2013, which became law, that prohibited the IRS
from using funds provided through the fiscal year 2014 IRS funding bill
to target American citizens for exercising their First Amendment
rights. That prohibition on the use of funds was continued in the
fiscal year 2015 funding bill, and the legislation I am offering today
would make that prohibition permanent.

The First Amendment is one of our most cherished and sacred freedoms,
and its free exercise must be vigorously protected.

It has been said the power to tax is the power to destroy. The
American people cannot and will not tolerate any abuse of that power.

It is imperative that Congress act to make sure the power of the IRS
is never again used to harass or abuse Americans for exercising their
First Amendment rights. The bill I have introduced is tailored to that
end. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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