Trent Lott: “because there is no committee report accompanying this legislation, I would like to engage Chairman Grassley in a…”

“because there is no committee report accompanying this legislation, I would like to engage Chairman Grassley in a colloquy to clarify the intent of two provisions contained in this important legislation. First, among the tax benefits contained in this package is the employee retention credit. This incentive will play a pivotal role in helping businesses retain their employees even it they are temporarily out of business while the gulf coast rebuilds. As I understand the committee's intent, the credit will apply both where a company is completely out of business, and where it did not suffer total devastation to its trade or business operations. For example, the credit would apply in cases where one part of the operation in the designated zone was rendered ``inoperable'' while another location of that same business continued to operate. Is that correct?”