Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

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By Ms. MURKOWSKI:

S. 3422. A bill to provide for the tax treatment of income received in connection with the litigation concerning the Exxon Valdez oil spill; to the Committee on Finance.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that will help the commercial fishermen and others whose livelihoods were negatively impacted by the Exxon Valdez oilspill.

As all of us know, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 23, 1989, spilling 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska. A class action jury trial was held in Federal court in Anchorage, AK, in 1994. The plaintiffs included 32,000 fishermen among others whose livelihoods were gravely affected by this disaster. The jury awarded $5 billion in punitive
damages to the plaintiff class. The punitive damage award has been on repeated appeal by the Exxon Corporation since 1994. Many of the original plaintiffs, possibly more than 1,000 people, have already died.

Once the punitive damage award of the Exxon Valdez litigation is settled, many fishermen will receive payments to reimburse them for fishing income lost due to the environmental consequences of the Exxon Valdez oilspill. It is estimated that the eventual settlement could be $6.75 billion or more.

My bill gives the affected fishermen, as well as other plaintiffs in this case, a fair shake when it comes to contributions to retirement plans and averaging of income for tax purposes.

With respect to retirement plan contributions, my bill increases the caps on both deductions and income for traditional IRAs to the extent of the income a plaintiff receives from the settlement or judgment. Also, it allows the plaintiffs to make contributions to Roth IRAs and other retirement plans to the extent of the income received from the settlement or judgment.

Fishermen are currently allowed to average their income over a several year period due to the often inconsistent nature of the fishing business. The litigation stemming from the Exxon Valdez oilspill poses an even more unique situation since fishermen and other plaintiffs have been waiting to receive lost income--in the form of a settlement or judgment--for 12 years. My bill allows plaintiffs to average their income for the period of time between December 31 of the year they receive the settlement or judgment payment and January 1, 1994--the year of the original jury award in Federal court.

It is imperative that we address this important issue soon. The Exxon Corporation has appealed this case and a decision is expected later this year.

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, as follows:

S. 3422

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