TABLE 3.-EXCISE TAX RATES ON CERTAIN CHEMICALS FOR THE HAZARDOUS
SUBSTANCE SUPERFUND1

Tax per ton

$4.87

4.87

.4.87

4.87

4.87

4.87

3.44

4.87

4.87

4.87

4.87

2.64

4.45

3.75

4.45

3.41

2.30

4.45

4.45

2.70

4.45

1.52

1.69

1.87

4.45

1.87

3.59

3.97

0.29

4.23

4.14

4.45

4.45

4.45

2.85

2.12

2.22

1.90

0.20

0.28

0.26

0.24

'The tax on feedstock chemicals is scheduled to expire December 31, 1995, or earlier if (1) the Superfund unobligated balance exceeds $3,500 million at the end of 1993 or 1994, and if the unobligated balance is estimated to exceed this amount at the end of the following year if no Superfund taxes were to be imposed during such year, or (2) when total Superfund tax revenues exceed $11,970 million (including the sec. 59A tax revenues).

2 For periods before 1992, the tax rate for xylene was $10.13.

TABLE 4.-LIST OF TAXABLE SUBSTANCES SUBJECT TO THE EXCISE TAX
ON CERTAIN IMPORTED (CHEMICAL) SUBSTANCES (SECS. 4671-4672)

Taxable substance1

Taxable substance1

1For applicable tax, see relevant chemical feedstock tax rates in table 3. Imported taxable substances generally are taxed at the rate applicable to the chemical feedstocks that are components of the taxable imported substance.

The Secretary of the Treasury is required to add any substance to the list if the Secretary determines that taxable chemicals constitute more than 50 percent of the weight or value of the materials used to produce such substance (determined on the basis of the predominant method of production); the Secretary may remove only those substances which meet neither test.

Section 6. Trust Funds

This section describes the legislative history, current status, and workings of a number of Federal Trust Funds within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. Several additional trust funds not included here are described in a separate Committee document entitled, "Overview of Entitlement Programs-1993 Green Book: Background Material and Data on Programs Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means." That document_discusses the_Black_Lung Disability Trust Fund and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. Also see section 7, “Social Security Payroll Taxes," and section 8, “Unemployment Compensation Payroll Taxes," infra.

A. Airport and Airway Trust Fund

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

1970 Act and 1971 Amendment

The Airport and Airway Trust Fund was established as of July 1, 1970, by the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970 (Title II of the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970, P.L. 91–258, the "1970 Act"). The 1970 Act provided that new and increased aviation user taxes were to be deposited into the Trust Fund and, with interest earned on the deposits, were to be available to meet specified airport and airway obligations of the United States incurred under Title I of the 1970 Act, as in effect on the date of enactment. Amounts in the Trust Fund were available for making specified expenditures, as provided in appropriations acts, until July 1, 1980.

The 1970 Act authorized Trust Fund expenditures for the maintenance and operation of air navigation facilities, qualified airport planning and construction purposes, airway facilities and equipment, research and development, safety, and related departmental administrative expenses. However, a 1971 amendment (P.L. 92174) to Title I of the 1970 Act removed the authorization for spending Trust Fund moneys for maintenance and operation of the airway system. This amendment also limited the authority for meeting administrative costs from the Trust Fund to only such administrative expenses related to the remaining authorized purposes.

1973 Amendment

A 1973 amendment (P.L. 93-44) to Title I of the 1970 Act increased the authorization levels for airport grants for fiscal years 1974 and 1975, increased the Federal share for certain airport grants and safety and security equipment costs, and amended the definition of airport development to specifically include security equipment required under regulations of the Department of Transportation.

1976 Amendment

The Airport and Airway Development Act Amendments of 1976 (P.L. 94-353) further amended Title I of the 1970 Act to include several additional expenditure categories to be authorized from the Trust Fund. The new expenditure categories were: snow removal equipment; noise suppressing equipment; construction of physical barriers and landscaping for the purpose of reducing the effect of aircraft noise in areas adjacent to public airports; acquisition of land or property interests for airport noise control purposes; airport terminal development (the public, non-revenue-producing areas, including baggage facilities and passenger moving equipment); and specified amounts for maintenance of airway facilities. Thus, the 1971 prohibition against authorizing airway operating and maintenance costs from the Trust Fund was partially removed by the 1976 amendment. In addition, the 1976 amendment provided auation levels for airport grants and other existing Trust Fund expenditure programs through fiscal year 1980, and increased the Federal share for certain airport grants for fiscal years 1977_and 1978. Further, the 1976 amendment conformed the Trust Fund statute to the authorization provisions of the Act.

1979 Amendment

The Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979 (P.L. 96193) further amended Title I of the 1970 Act to authorize Trust Fund appropriations for airport noise compatibility planning programs and airport noise compatibility grants and to increase the airport development authorization amounts for fiscal year 1980. In addition, the Act amended the Trust Fund language (section 108(f)(1)(A) of the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970) to conform to the 1979 amendments.

1980 Amendment

In 1980, Public Law 96-298 was enacted to extend the aviation excise taxes and require the deposit of the revenues from these taxes into the Trust Fund from July 1, 1980 until October 1, 1980. In 1980, the Committee on Ways and Means also reported the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1980 as a Committee amendment, to be offered as Title II to H.R. 6721, in order to extend aviation excise taxes and the Trust Fund until October 1, 1985. However, the bill was not considered by the House prior to the adjournment of the 96th Congress. As a result, expenditures from the Trust Fund were not authorized after September 30, 1980. Further, on October 1, 1980, many of the aviation excise taxes automatically expired or were reduced, and the deposit of the remaining aviation excise tax revenues into the Trust Fund was terminated.

1981 Amendment

In 1981, the Committee on Ways and Means approved a technical and conforming amendment to the Trust Fund provisions in order to allow expenditures to be made from the Trust Fund through September 30, 1981. The Committee amendment was included in H.R. 4182, the fiscal year 1981 Airport Development Authorization Act, which was approved by the House in July 1981.

The provisions of H.R. 4182 were later enacted as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35).

Also in 1981, the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation approved H.R. 2643 to set funding levels for airport and airway programs for fiscal years 1982 and 1983. At the adjournment of the first session of the 97th Congress, a financing title for the bill was pending in the Committee on Ways and Means.

1982 Amendment

On May 12, 1982, the Committee on Ways and Means reported H.R. 4800 as a financing title for H.R. 2643; the amendment extended and reinstated various aviation excise taxes and the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for the period July 1, 1982, through December 31, 1983.

Title V of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) (P.L. 97-248) contained the provisions of the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982, authorizing spending from thẹ Trust Fund for airport programs at higher levels over the period fiscal years 1982 through 1987. Aviation excise tax provisions (similar to those in H.R. 4800) were also included in title III of TEFRA to raise sufficient revenue to fund the airport and airway spending authorized in title V of the Act. The various aviation excise taxes were extended and reinstated, some at higher tax rates, for the period September 1, 1982, through December 31, 1987.

Three modifications were made in the passenger ticket tax and an exemption was provided from the fuel and air transportation taxes for helicopters used in timber operations or hard mineral exploration or development where the Federal aviation system and Federal-aid airports are not utilized. The Airport and Airway Trust Fund expenditure authority was extended through fiscal year 1987 and its expenditure purposes were updated to include the changes made in title V of the 1982 Act. (Adjustments in certain of the airport and airway spending programs were subsequently made in H.R. 6211 (P.L. 97-424), and conforming cross references in the Trust Fund provisions were also included.) The Trust Fund provisions were also transferred to the Internal Revenue Code, effective September 1, 1982.

1984 Amendment

The Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-369) expanded the previous exemptions from the aircraft fuels and air transportation taxes for helicopters not using Federally-aided airports or Federal airway facilities to include helicopters employed in the exploration and development of oil and gas (effective on April 1, 1984).

1987 Amendment

The Airport and Airway Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-223) included a separate revenue title for the purpose of funding a 5-year Trust Fund spending authorization with extension of the aviation excise taxes. The 1987 Act extended for 3 years the existing law airport and airway-related excise taxes and exemptions (January 1, 1988 through December 31, 1990), and extended for 5 years authority to spend from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (October 1, 1987 through September 30, 1992).