18108 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 158, Pt. 13 December 21, 2012 SENATE—Friday, December 21, 2012 The Senate met at 1 p.m. and was At approximately 2 p.m., there will vote with some Republicans and it will called to order by the Honorable SHEL- be a rollcall vote on adoption of the na- pass. The clock is ticking until the Na- DON WHITEHOUSE, a Senator from the tional defense conference report. We tion goes over the fiscal cliff and taxes State of Rhode Island. will work on an agreement for amend- go up for every family in America. But ments in order to complete action on there is still time for the Speaker to PRAYER the supplemental as well as an agree- hit the brakes and avoid that cliff. We The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- ment on FISA. don’t need the ‘‘Thelma and Louise’’ fered the following prayer: f projection over that cliff. Let us pray. The Senate-passed bill would protect RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY 98 percent of families and 97 percent of Eternal God, You only are immortal, LEADER so today we offer our thanksgiving. small businesses from crippling tax Thank You for life and for opportuni- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- hikes while President Obama and the ties to make our Nation stronger. pore. The majority leader is recog- Speaker work toward a compromise Thank You for the peace You give, nized. agreement. That agreement should be even in the midst of storms. Use our f comprehensive. If Republicans truly want to ensure American families’ Senators today, filling them with THE FISCAL CLIFF strength and purpose. May they labor taxes don’t go up on January 1, they to encourage the right and correct the Mr. REID. Mr. President, last night should simply pass the Senate bill. The wrong. When they meet with reversal the House of Representatives proved only reason Speaker BOEHNER hasn’t and failure, may they not become what we have known for quite a while: brought our bill to the floor sooner is weary but continue to work to fulfill Speaker BOEHNER’s plan to raise taxes he knows it will pass. He worked for a Your will. on 25 million middle-class taxpayers day or two seeing if he could bring that We pray in Your sacred Name. Amen. while handing out $50,000 bonuses to up so it wouldn’t pass. That didn’t millionaires and billionaires was dead f work either. on arrival. We said that yesterday. We Americans are not fooled by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE knew the so-called Plan B was no plan Speaker’s phony procedural excuses for The Honorable SHELDON WHITEHOUSE at all. It couldn’t pass the Senate. It failing to bring this solution to a vote. led the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: turns out it couldn’t pass the House ei- They are tired of excuses. They expect I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the ther. It is too bad Speaker BOEHNER action. United States of America and to the Repub- wasted 1 week on this futile political Let me be very plain. There is noth- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, stunt, and that is all we can call it. ing preventing the Speaker from tak- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. But at least now House Republicans ing up our bill and giving middle-class f have gotten the message loudly and families certainty. I say to my friend, clearly that any comprehensive solu- the Speaker: This isn’t a game. It isn’t APPOINTMENT OF ACTING tion to the looming fiscal cliff will PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE about scoring political points or put- need to be a bipartisan solution. No ting wins on the board. There will be The PRESIDING OFFICER. The comprehensive agreement can pass ei- very serious consequences for millions clerk will please read a communication ther Chamber without both Democratic of families if Congress fails to com- to the Senate from the President pro and Republican votes, which means promise, and there will be very serious tempore (Mr. LEAHY). any solution will have to ask the most consequences for our country if Con- The assistant legislative clerk read fortunate among us to pay a little gress fails to compromise. the following letter: more to reduce the deficit and ensure It is time for the Speaker to return U.S. SENATE, partisanship doesn’t take the Nation to to the negotiating table ready to com- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, the brink of default. promise, and it is time for the House— Washington, DC, December 21, 2012. Nothing that has passed the House of especially House Republicans—to re- To the Senate: Representatives fits that test—noth- member what is at stake. Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, ing. A few days ago President Obama of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby I repeat, the $250,000 program would OEHNER appoint the Honorable SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, and Speaker B appeared poised pass overwhelmingly in the House. It is a Senator from the State of Rhode Island, to to strike a grand bargain, but we have up to the Speaker to let that vote perform the duties of the Chair. heard that before. Instead of making occur. PATRICK J. LEAHY, hard choices of compromise, as Presi- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- President pro tempore. dent Obama has been willing to do, the pore. The Republican leader. Mr. WHITEHOUSE thereupon as- Speaker retreated to his corner and re- f sumed the chair as Acting President sorted to political stunts, but that pro tempore. stunt fell flat. THE DAY AFTER f It is time for the Speaker and all Re- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, publicans to return to the negotiating most people, of course, are focused on SCHEDULE table. We have never left. It is time for what happened last night over in the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Republicans to work with us to find House. I would like to focus on the pore. The Senator from North Carolina. the middle ground. That is the only press conference that congressional Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. President, fol- hope of averting the devastating im- Democrats held just a few hours ear- lowing leader remarks, the Senate will pacts of the fiscal cliff. The fiscal cliff lier. begin consideration of the conference needs to be avoided. Here were the leaders of the Demo- report to accompany H.R. 4310, the Na- In the meantime, the Speaker should cratic Party in the Senate—other than tional Defense Authorization Act. The bring the middle-class tax cut passed the President, these are the folks with filing deadline for second-degree by the Senate 5 months ago to the floor the greatest responsibility for pro- amendments to the emergency supple- of the House for a vote. We know it will tecting the American people from a mental bill is 1:30 p.m. today. pass. All he has to do is let Democrats massive tax hike coming in January— ● This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. VerDate Sep 11 2014 10:20 Aug 09, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR12\S21DE2.000 S21DE2 rmajette on DSKBCKNHB2PROD with BOUND RECORD December 21, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 158, Pt. 13 18109 and what did they do? They stood in Let’s vote on amendments from all ready turned that bill down. The real front of the cameras and laughed. They sides, and then let’s go to conference answer lies in the Speaker, who con- laughed. They giggled at a bunch of with the House of Representatives. trols the House of Representatives, bad jokes and told the American people They have already passed a bill—one I talking to the President and working they didn’t plan to do anything this support—to prevent a tax hike on all things out. week—nothing, absolutely nothing. Americans and reform the Tax Code. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Democrats in the House vowed they Why don’t we take it up here? Let’s get pore. The Republican leader. wouldn’t vote for this bill, the major- this done. Mr. MCCONNELL. All I was sug- ity leader vowed he would ignore it if it It is called legislating. That is what gesting to my friend the majority lead- made it out of the House and landed in we used to do in Congress. Democrats er is that you have the tax bill that the Senate, and the President vowed he may be popping champagne corks originated in the House. It came over would veto it if it made it out of the today about bringing down Plan B, but to the Senate. If our friends in the ma- Senate. all their efforts to do so yesterday will jority don’t like that version of it, they So Democrats spent literally all day not protect a single taxpayer from a could call it up, amend it, and see if yesterday defeating a bill that would massive tax hike in just a few weeks. there is a majority in the Senate for make current tax rates permanent for The American people are waiting. something. more than 99 percent of Americans, and Surely, we can do better than this. It seems to me that the time for fin- they laughed about it. Ten days to go Let’s do it. ger-pointing is about over.