ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Thomas Announces Request for Written Comments on Temporarily Suspending the Duty on Certain Steam or Other Vapor Generating Boilers Used in Nuclear Facilities

Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee is requesting written public comments for the record from all parties with an interest in the possible amendment of the HTSUS by altering subheading 9902.84.02 (permanent listing at 8402.11.00), Watertube boilers with a steam production exceeding 45 t per hour, for use in nuclear facilities, to become temporarily duty-free. The Committee is not asking for public comment on other duty suspensions at this time.

BACKGROUND:

Energy costs have risen to alarming levels resulting in hardship and blackouts in parts of the country. Perhaps hardest hit have been people and businesses in California, who are looking for ways to increase immediately the capacity to generate electricity. Suspending the duty on boilers used in nuclear power plants will directly help the operators of nuclear power plants and increase their efficiency and generating capacity. In particular, nuclear plants that provide electricity to California are intended to benefit from the proposal, as well as other states purchasing boilers. The provision could be included at a later date in "The Electricity Emergency Act of 2001," introduced by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), for the purpose of providing relief to electricity users this year. The current rate of 4.9 percent was enacted in last year's Public Law 106-476, "Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000." Last year's duty reduction of 4.9 percent is due to expire on December 31, 2003, at which time the rate will return to 5.2 percent. The language follows:

(a) IN GENERAL. - Heading 9902.84.02 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended -

(1) by striking "4.9%" and inserting "Free"; and
(2) by striking "12/31/2003" and inserting "12/31/2006".

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and comments date noted on label, by the close of business, Monday, May 14, 2001, to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.