Senate the Senate Met at 9:30 A.M
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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, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012 No. 103 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was appoint the Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLI- TAX CUTS called to order by the Honorable BRAND, a Senator from the State of New Mr. REID. Madam President, over KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from York, to perform the duties of the Chair. the last few years Americans who are the State of New York. DANIEL K. INOUYE, very wealthy have taken home a great- President pro tempore. er share of the Nation’s income since PRAYER Mrs. GILLIBRAND thereupon as- the 1920s. That is 90 years. A larger per- sumed the chair as Acting President The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- centage of what is out there the rich pro tempore. fered the following prayer. are getting. The rich are getting richer Let us pray. f and the poor are being squeezed, as are Lord, You illuminate our lives with RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY the middle class. The rich are doing Your presence and protect us from dan- LEADER well. ger. You keep us from stumbling and The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- But while the bank accounts of a few falling. In the fret and fever of these pore. The majority leader is recog- fortunate Americans have grown, their challenging times, thank You for this nized. tax bills have not. The wealthiest quiet moment when we can lift our Americans now pay the lowest tax hearts to You. Today, make the high- f rates in more than 50 years. est incentive of our Senators be not to SMALL BUSINESS JOBS AND TAX While this generous Tax Code has win over one another but to win with RELIEF ACT—MOTION TO PROCEED been good for their bottom lines, it one another by doing Your will for all. Mr. REID. Madam President, what is hasn’t been good for America’s bottom Lord, make them faithful agents who the matter now before the Senate? line. Hundreds of billions of dollars in are determined to bring Your purposes The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- tax cuts—some say more than $1 tril- to pass. Correct their mistakes, redeem pore. The motion to proceed to S. 2237. lion—have been handed out dispropor- their failures, confirm their right ac- SCHEDULE tionately to the rich by the previous tions, and crown their day with the Mr. REID. Madam President, the administration, fueling skyrocketing blessing of Your approval. next hour will be equally divided be- deficits and a growing national debt. We pray in Your loving Name. Amen. tween the two leaders or their des- Democrats and Republicans alike f ignees. The Republicans will control agree that we have to reduce the def- icit and rein in the debt. Unfortu- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE the first half, the majority will control the final half. nately, the same Republicans who say The Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLI- We are hopeful we will be able to we have to get our fiscal house in order BRAND, a Senator from the State of agree to the motion to proceed to S. also claim millionaires and billionaires New York, led the Pledge of Alle- 2237, the Small Business Jobs and Tax cannot afford to contribute even a tiny giance, as follows: Relief Act, today. bit more and share the effort that is I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the MEASURE PLACED ON THE CALENDAR—S. 3369 before this country. United States of America, and to the Repub- Mr. REID. Madam President, I am These same Republicans say multi- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, millionaires such as Mitt Romney need indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. told that S. 3369 is at the desk and due for a second reading. lower taxes—even lower than the only f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- tax return we have been able to see of APPOINTMENT OF ACTING pore. The clerk will report the bill by Governor Romney, which showed his PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE title for the second time. rate at 16 percent. We don’t know what is in the other tax returns he should The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The legislative clerk read as follows: have made public. Tax returns were clerk will please read a communication A bill (S. 3369) to amend the Federal Elec- made public by his father, who started to the Senate from the President pro tion Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for ad- ditional disclosure requirements for corpora- it, and everyone who has run for Presi- tempore (Mr. INOUYE). tions, labor organizations, super PACs, and dent since then has followed him. The legislative clerk read the fol- other entities, and for other purposes. George Romney set an example that lowing letter: Mr. REID. I object to any further his son should follow. We want to know U.S. SENATE, proceedings with respect to this bill at what is in those tax returns he refuses PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Washington, DC, July 11, 2012. this time. to show the American public. Did he To the Senate: The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- pay any taxes? Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, pore. Objection is heard. The bill will Well, I suggest to everybody that of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby be placed on the calendar. Mitt Romney doesn’t need another tax ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S4835 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 00:14 Jul 12, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A11JY6.000 S11JYPT1 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4836 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 11, 2012 break. In fact, he has so much money stopping us from doing what is right The Senate should make itself clear that he doesn’t even know where it is and doing it now? I hope it won’t be which policy it supports, and this is all located—Switzerland, Cayman Is- more Republican hostage-taking on be- our chance to do it. lands, Bermuda? No wonder he doesn’t half of the top 2 percent. On Monday, the President said if the want America to see his tax returns. RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER Senate passes this tax hike on small Mitt Romney is doing fine, and so are The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- businesses, he would sign it right away. the other millionaires and billionaires. pore. The Republican leader is recog- That is what he said 2 days ago, on It is the middle class I am worried nized. Monday. I can’t see why our friends on about, not the very wealthy. RAISING TAXES the other side would not want to give We all know times have been tough Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, him the chance. the last few years for ordinary Ameri- earlier this week President Obama re- With that, I ask unanimous consent cans who are struggling to keep a roof iterated his desire to raise taxes on that at 2 p.m. today the motion to pro- over their head and food on the table. small businesses earning over $250,000 a ceed to S. 2237 be adopted, and that the That is the literal truth. The last thing year. I and all of my Republican col- first two amendments in order to the they can afford now is a tax increase. leagues oppose this tax hike for the bill be the Hatch-McConnell amend- That is why Democrats want to keep same reason the President himself op- ment No. 2491, which would provide for taxes low for 98 percent of Americans, posed it 2 years ago—because raising the extension of current rates while we including almost 98 percent of small taxes would only make a bad economy work on tax reform, and a Reid or des- businesses—everyone making less than worse. ignee amendment to enact the Presi- $250,000 a year. But while Democrats But here it comes again—sort of like dent’s proposal, which, as I have said, are focused on how we can help 98 per- a bad penny—the liberal crusade for would impose job-killing tax hikes on cent of Americans, Republicans are fo- more government, regardless of the cir- nearly 1 million businessowners. cused on how they can help Mitt Rom- cumstances, the impact it would have The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- ney and the rest of the top 2 percent. on working Americans or the broader pore. Is there objection? They are willing to hold tax cuts for economy. Mr. REID. Madam President, reserv- everyone hostage to protect tax breaks On Monday the President issued the ing the right to object, we have been for that top 2 percent. following reckless ultimatum: Let me here before. We try to legislate here, Democrats don’t agree the top 2 per- raise taxes on about 1 million business and the program of the Republicans in cent of wage earners can’t afford to pay owners, and I promise I won’t raise the Senate has been to divert, deny, the same tax rate they paid when Bill taxes on everybody else. and obstruct. Clinton was President. Remember, that In the face of 41 straight months of I asked the Chair when we started was when the budget was balanced and unemployment above 8 percent, the what we were doing here, and we are on we were paying down the debt.