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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2012 No. 154 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was Cut Medicaid, pays for nursing homes Now, that’s a pretty interesting posi- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- for seniors, of course, priority number tion, and their position is the job cre- pore (Mr. HARPER). 2. ators who earn over $250,000 a year will f Cut the already inadequate COLA for go on strike, strike if their tax rates go seniors on Social Security, even up. They won’t produce jobs. DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO though 40 percent of seniors depend Tell me about the jobs they have pro- TEMPORE principally or totally upon Social Se- duced in the last decade with those tax The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- curity, and the COLA already under- cuts. It doesn’t seem to work, does it? fore the House the following commu- estimates inflation, particularly for But in the Clinton era, when their nication from the Speaker: medical care, prescription drugs, and rates went up to 39.6 from 35, they paid WASHINGTON, DC, other essentials they have to buy. Cut a little bit more and, guess what, the December 4, 2012. that. Not a driver of the deficit but, economy boomed. We had 3.8 percent I hereby appoint the Honorable GREGG hey, why not? Cut that. unemployment, we balanced the budg- HARPER to act as Speaker pro tempore on One more specific, preserve the Bush- et, and we paid down debt. this day. era tax rates for income over $250,000. JOHN A. BOEHNER, But now they’re saying if they went Speaker of the House of Representatives. Now, there’s a big misunderstanding back to those Clinton-era rates, dis- about that. It’s not a tax increase on f aster would result. Well, you know everybody who earns over $250,000. It’s what? MORNING-HOUR DEBATE only the income over $250,000 that That’s the same thing they said when The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- would get additional taxes if the Bush- they opposed Clinton tax increases in ant to the order of the House of Janu- era rates went away and the Presi- ’94. They said disaster will result. Not ary 17, 2012, the Chair will now recog- dent’s proposal was passed. a single Republican, fiscal conserv- nize Members from lists submitted by But, no, they want to preserve that, atives that they are, voted for the in- the majority and minority leaders for totally preserve tax cuts for people creases in taxes that President Clinton morning-hour debate. with income over $250,000. They also put forward, which ultimately led to a The Chair will alternate recognition want to preserve the reduced capital balanced budget and paying down debt between the parties, with each party gains rate and dividends rate which for the first time in 50 years. Not one limited to 1 hour and each Member principally benefits—who else—mil- of them because they said it would other than the majority and minority lionaires and billionaires. bring economic disaster and, instead, it leaders and the minority whip limited Now, they did promise the J. Wel- brought prosperity. to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall lington Wimpy revenue plan. Remem- So they just brought out that old debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. ber J. Wellington Wimpy? Popeye, I’ll broken record. They glued it back to- f gladly pay you Tuesday for a ham- gether, or maybe they, you know, burger today. translated it into a digital format or THE J. WELLINGTON WIMPY That’s their revenue plan. Next year something, but they’re playing it REVENUE PLAN we’ll close unspecified tax loopholes, again, and it’s as valid now as it was The SPEAKER pro tempore. The but we’re going to lower the tax rates then. Chair recognizes the gentleman from on investor income, lower the tax rates So it’s the same old plan. Stick it to Oregon (Mr. DEFAZIO) for 5 minutes. on the people at the top. But they’re the middle class, stick it to the sen- Mr. DEFAZIO. Well, yesterday the going to raise $800 billion by closing iors, and benefit the ultra-wealthy in Republicans released a vague press re- unspecified loopholes. this country. That’s not a new plan. lease saying it constituted a What would that be? That’s the same old broken record. counteroffer to the President’s road- Do they want to take away the mid- map to avoid driving over the fiscal dle class’ one tax shelter, that is, the f cliff. ability to deduct the interest on their Now, the Republican plan purports to home mortgage? Probably. cut $1.3 trillion and raise $800 billion in If they’re going to raise that $800 bil- SAFER ACT FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT new revenues. It did contain four spe- lion, it’s going to come from something VICTIMS cifics. Four. pretty big, and they don’t want to The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Cut Medicare, specific number 1, $600 touch the billionaire-millionaire job- Chair recognizes the gentleman from billion. creator class. Texas (Mr. POE) for 5 minutes. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H6589 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 23:57 Dec 04, 2012 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04DE7.000 H04DEPT1 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with H6590 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE December 4, 2012 Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, one That’s why I’ve introduced, along curity interests’’ has come to mean in- of the most marvelous scientific break- with Congresswoman MALONEY from vading and occupying foreign nations. throughs in the criminal justice sys- New York, the bipartisan SAFER Act, The Iraq war lasted 9 years and was re- tem has been DNA evidence. I remem- companion bill with the bipartisan bill sponsible for untold human misery. ber when I was a judge in the court- in the Senate by Senator CORNYN and The Afghanistan war, now in its 12th house when DNA started being used at Senator BENNET. year, continues to damage our national the courtroom. The SAFER Act does a lot of good security interests instead of enhancing Prior to DNA, many times prosecu- things, but basically it allows funding them. It hasn’t defeated the Taliban, tors and law enforcement had to rely to go so to make sure that we test nor has it alleviated crushing poverty on blood samples and fingerprints. But these cases. It audits these backlogs so or produced a stable democracy in Af- once DNA came in, we learned that ev- that we know where these cases are ghanistan. And then there’s the cost— erybody has a unique genetic makeup that are sitting on the shelves. So it some $10 billion a month. That would that can be tested and it can be traced does the audit. It gets more funding. It be a staggering amount of money for a to perpetrators of crime when they brings these cases to justice so that we successful policy. For a failed policy, commit a crime, especially in sexual can make sure that these victims of it’s downright scandalous. And it is assault cases. crime have their day in court as well. rarely mentioned in all the conversa- And convictions have gone up. The b 1010 tions about so-called deficit crises and evidence is better. The proof beyond a fiscal cliffs. reasonable doubt is much more con- DNA is a wonderful thing. It’s impor- USAID and other civilian arms of crete in DNA cases. tant that we make sure that that evi- government could do a world of good In 1985, there was a 13-year-old girl dence is available for law enforcement, towards solving the AIDS crisis with a named Lavinia Masters. Lavinia lived prosecutors, and judges in the court- fraction of that money. Why does the in Dallas, Texas. One evening she told room. Pentagon get a blank check while her folks good night. She went to her She was a child. Lavinia was a child agencies that dispense aid have to fight bedroom, which should be, Mr. Speak- when she was sexually assaulted. That for every single nickel that they re- er, the safest place on Earth for chil- was a long time ago. But there are ceive? Why do we spend without re- dren. Went to sleep, and during the 400,000 cases waiting to be tested. This straint on wars and weapons that de- middle of the night, she was woken up is something that we can do in a bipar- stroy lives but we squeeze those pro- by an outlaw putting a knife to her tisan way today, to test those cases so throat. He sexually assaulted her. Then grams that save lives? we can bring justice to the victims of For many years now—and you have he snuck away in the darkness of the crime and make sure those outlaws get night. all heard me; this is my 443rd 5-minute their day in court as well and be held speech on this issue.