Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, right now the Senate is considering the small business jobs bill, a very important proposal that was part of President Obama's package to increase employment in this country. It will create a million jobs. This legislation will give tax credits to businesses that grow and hire. Yet Republicans are looking for any excuse to vote down the proposal for two reasons: No. 1, it has the support of President Obama and the Democrats in Congress. Second, it would strengthen the economy, which would help President Obama. We know Republicans will not do anything that helps President Obama, even if it is good for the economy, because their No. 1 goal is to defeat the President. My friend Mitch McConnell has said that. So Republicans are hiding behind their usual procedural trick, filibustering with unrelated amendments. If there is any doubt about Republicans' motivation to kill this legislation, take a look with me at the amendment proposed today by Senator Hatch of Utah. The first thing Senator Hatch's amendment would do is eliminate all the tax cuts, every tax cut we have in this proposal, every one of them, the one that is now before the Senate, to create a million jobs. The Hatch amendment would literally eliminate every provision in the bill designed to create jobs. Senator Hatch's amendment eliminates the 10-percent credit for employers to hire additional workers or increase their payrolls, a provision that would create--that part alone--a half million jobs. It strikes another deduction for businesses that invest in machinery and equipment which would create another half million jobs. But the Republican amendment does not stop there. It goes on to increase taxes for 25 million American families. The Republican amendment, I repeat, increases taxes for 25 million American families. Senator Hatch's amendment would extend tax breaks for the top 2 percent of Americans, but it fails to extend a number of tax cuts that help middle-class families get by in a very tough economy. For example, Senator Hatch's amendment, a Republican amendment, would increase taxes by $1,100 for 11 million families trying to pay for college--11 million families, in effect an increase of their taxes by $1,100. The Republican amendment would make it harder for 12 million large families to put food on the table. It would increase taxes by $800 for families that have three children or more. Senator Hatch's amendment, the Republican amendment, fails to extend the full childcare tax credit for 6 million families, increasing their taxes by $500 each. So no one is fooled by the Republican amendment. We see it for what it is, more Republican obstruction that comes with the added bonus of sticking it to the middle class. If that were not enough political theater for 1 day, my Republican colleagues also claim they are anxious to vote on President Obama's plan to cut taxes for 98 percent of American families. Once again, no one should be fooled. Republicans know very well the Senate will vote on the President's proposal to give middle-class families the certainty they will not be hit with a tax increase. We will vote on it this work period. I have already said so. They say they want a vote sooner, so let's lock in an agreement sooner. The President's plan to give 98 percent of Americans certainty their taxes will not go up and Republican plans to raise taxes on 25 million American families--Democrats are ready to have those votes right away and we will do it with a simple majority. Then we can get back to the task at hand, cutting taxes for millions of small businesses that want to expand and put Americans back to work. I have a consent agreement that I will go through with you. Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2237 Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that cloture be vitiated with respect to the substitute amendment on S. 2237, that the motion to commit be withdrawn and amendment Nos. 2525 and 2522 be withdrawn; that at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, July 12, the Senate vote in relation to the following amendments: amendment No. 2524, which is the Cantor language; substitute amendment No. 2521; that there be no other amendments or motions in order to the amendment to the bill prior to the votes other than motions to waive or motions to table; that upon disposition of the two amendments the Senate proceed to a vote on passage of S. 2237, as amended, if amended; further, that at a time to be determined by the majority leader after consultation with the Republican leader the Senate proceed to consideration of a bill to be introduced by Senator Reid or designee, extending the 2001, 2003, and 2009 tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans and 96 percent of small businesses as outlined by President Obama; that the only amendment in order to the bill be an amendment offered by Senator McConnell or designee, which is identical to the text of amendment No. 2491, as filed by Senator Hatch; that the amendment not be divisible; that there be 4 hours of debate on the amendment and the bill, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees prior to a vote in relation to the McConnell or designee amendment; that upon disposition of the amendment the Senate proceed to vote on the passage of the bill, as amended, if amended; that there be no motions or points of order to the amendment or the bill.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will be very brief. My friend the Republican leader said this morning, and I quote directly: I am trying to get a vote, a vote on what he says he's for, on what the President says he's for, and what the Republicans say they are for. That is what this consent agreement does. I am happy to let the Republican leader read the exact language. But let no one be fooled by this. The Hatch amendment does not do anything to protect small businesses. It does everything to protect Grover Norquist and his pledge; that is, make sure the American people are not satisfied. They believe--Democrats, Independents, and Republicans--that the top 2 percent of income earners in this country should contribute to solving the problems we have with the deficit and the debt in this country. That is what this is all about. I look forward to working with my friend the Republican leader to see if we can come to a position here where we can vote on the bill that is before us. I am concerned because the Hatch language eliminates our bill, but I am happy to have staff, during the night, look and see if we can arrive at some way to move forward. But I think I made my point clear.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am only trying to do what they said they wanted to do this morning. Senator Hatch came and gave a big speech: This is what they want to do. If they have something else they want to propose, I am happy to take a look at that, but I only am trying to do what they said they wanted to do this morning. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum unless my friend has more to say?

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 341, S. 2237.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the next hour will be equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. The majority will control the first half and the Republicans will control the final half. At 11:30 the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of John Fowkles to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee. At noon there will be a rollcall vote on the confirmation of that nomination. The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. to allow for our weekly caucus meetings. At approximately 2:25 p.m., there will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 2237, which is the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act. Measure Placed on Calendar--S. 3364

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I understand that S. 3364 is at the desk and is due for a second reading.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings with respect to this bill at this time.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, my Republican colleagues talk a good game on taxes, but Democrats' record of cutting taxes for small businesses speaks louder than Republican rhetoric. Since President Obama took office, taxes have been cut for small businesses 18 times. Today he will advance a plan to cut taxes for small firms for the 19th time in just 3\1/2\ years. The Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act would put money back into the coffers of true job creators. Under our plan business owners who hire new workers or give raises to current employees would get a 10- percent tax credit. Our legislation would also cut taxes for firms that invest in new equipment, allowing more than 2 million businesses to grow faster. These two proposals will create almost 1 million new jobs, and economists from across the political spectrum agree this is the most effective and efficient way to give the economy a badly needed boost. If my Republican colleagues want their record to match their rhetoric, they will end their filibuster of this worthy measure, and they will vote to support the real job creators. Unfortunately, while Republicans agree we should cut taxes, their approach is completely different from ours. Congressional Republicans want to lavish huge across-the-board tax cuts on billionaire hedge fund managers and mega-rich celebrities such as Donald Trump. Unlike our proposal, the Republican plan, which passed the House of Representatives, would not do a thing to encourage hiring. More than 99 percent of businesses in America would qualify for this extravagant tax break--even if they didn't create a single new job or raise wages for one solitary employee. In fact, fabulously rich so-called small business owners such as Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton could qualify for these wasteful giveaways. Even though three-quarters of Americans oppose more tax breaks for the wealthiest few, nearly half of the benefits of this $46 billion Republican proposal would go to millionaires and billionaires. Mr. President, we Democrats want to cut taxes for small businesses, but the Republican alternative that passed the House of Representatives is simply the wrong way to do it. Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following interns in Senator Bingaman's office be granted floor privileges during today's session: Marissa Hollowwa, Sarah Hurd, Leif Rasmussen, Edna Reyes, Emily Schwab, Katherine Wills, and Maia Brown.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following staff of the Finance Committee be granted floor privileges today: Jeffrey Arnold, Avital Barnea, Amanda Chapman, Selene Christman, Harun Dogo, Farrah Freis, Pete Markuson, Neil Pinney, Christopher Tausanovitch, Daniel West, Micah Scudder, and Danielle Herring.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. REID. I thank the Chair. Order of Business

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 341, S. 2237.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, there will be no rollcall votes today. The first vote of the week will be tomorrow at noon on the confirmation of the Fowlkes nomination. Measure Placed on Calendar--H.R. 4018

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I understand that H.R. 4018 is at the desk and due for a second reading.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings on this legislation at this time.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, last month we got a lot done. It was incredibly productive. Congress and President Obama worked together to prevent interest rates from doubling for more than 7 million college students, and we also worked to put 2.8 million Americans back to work or create new jobs and to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges, and other parts of our transportation system. The Senate passed an FDA bill, which was so necessary to focus on why we have, among other things, shortages of lifesaving drugs. We also passed something that will allow the construction industry to go forward, which is flood insurance for the entire country. We passed a farm bill that will strengthen the agriculture industry and support some 16 million jobs. We were able to accomplish this much last month because Republicans and Democrats worked together and compromised. Rather than wasting time participating in political theater, we actually legislated. I hoped to continue that productive process in this work period, characterized by cooperation between lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol and in both Chambers. Unfortunately, we already know that our colleagues in the House are going to waste much of this short work period refighting very old battles. Republicans had indicated they would support the ruling of the Supreme Court. They, in fact, said the Supreme Court is going to decide this matter regarding affordable health care. Well, they have now changed their tune. Mitt Romney has said he would nominate Supreme Court Justices just like Justice Roberts. I wonder if he is saying that to his rightwing base today. But now that the Court has upheld this landmark health care reform with the majority decision, written by Justice Roberts, Republicans refuse to admit that the matter is settled. This week the House will vote--and this is almost hard to comprehend--for the 31st time to repeal health care reform. They have already voted 30 times, but Speaker Boehner said: Let's do it again--31 times, taking many hours and many days that should have been spent on creating jobs. Congressional Republicans have spent months trying to repeal a law that has already saved lives and made people more safe as they look at health care in this country. While House Republicans hold a political showboat, the Senate will take a different approach. We are going to continue to try to be constructive and focus on jobs. While Republicans are stuck in the past, we will be addressing the most pressing issues facing this Nation: creating jobs and securing the economy. Last week's job report underscored the fact that Congress must do more to strengthen the recovery. So the Senate will immediately consider a package of commonsense tax cuts that will lower the cost of doing business for small businesses and pave the way for small businesses to succeed. Our legislation will cut taxes for small firms that invest in new workers and equipment. The Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act will provide a 10-percent income tax credit for companies that add up to $5 million to their payroll, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Businesses are eligible for a tax break if they hire new workers or if they raise the wages of hard-working employees already on their payroll. And because the credit is capped at $500,000, it is targeted to benefit small businesses most. The legislation will also allow companies to write off the entire cost of purchases, such as new equipment, and they will be able to do it in the year the purchases are made instead of writing them off over long periods of time. More than 2 million companies could get a boost to their bottom lines, creating hundreds of thousands more jobs. Proposals such as these have garnered Republican support in the past, and I hope they will receive bipartisan support again tomorrow. After our weekly caucus meetings tomorrow, the Senate will vote to end a Republican filibuster and begin to debate these tax cuts. Democrats can't undertake the work of strengthening the economy alone. We will need Republican support, which is why we have proposed consensus tax cuts that should pass the Senate overwhelmingly. It was good to see that so many reasonable Republicans were willing to work with us last month to save college students money, rebuild the Nation's infrastructure, and help protect American farmers. Tomorrow, Republicans will have an opportunity to prove they are willing to continue working with us to create jobs. Reservation of Leader Time

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 436, S. 1379.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be read a third time.

Mr. REID. I know of no further debate on this bill, Mr. President.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for a second reading but object to my own request.