S2930 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 13, 2014 We want a code that promotes eco- families pay more for college or why Heller McConnell Schatz Hirono Menendez Schumer nomic growth and treats everyone fair- homeowners face a huge tax bill after Hoeven Merkley Scott ly. A lot of Members have worked hard getting out from under a mountain of Inhofe Mikulski Sessions to develop ideas, but the reality is tax debt. Simply dropping those tax incen- Isakson Moran Shaheen reform is not happening tomorrow. tives sacrifices valuable priorities Johanns Murkowski Shelby Johnson (SD) Murphy Stabenow Reaching a comprehensive, bipartisan without getting the real job of com- Johnson (WI) Murray Tester plan is going to take time, focus, and prehensive reform done. Let us pass the Kaine Nelson Thune hard work. EXPIRE Act and let us move on to ur- King Paul Toomey I know something about that because Kirk Portman Udall (CO) gently needed bipartisan comprehen- Klobuchar Pryor Udall (NM) I have put as much sweat equity into sive tax reform. Landrieu Reed Vitter bipartisan tax reform as any Member With that, I yield the floor. Leahy Reid Walsh of this body, starting with our former Levin Risch Warner colleague Senator Gregg. We sat next f Manchin Roberts Warren Markey Rockefeller Whitehouse to each other on a sofa every week for CLOTURE MOTION McCain Rubio Wicker 2 years to write the first bipartisan McCaskill Sanders Wyden The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Federal income tax reform plan in 30 NAYS—3 OATS SCHATZ). Pursuant to rule XXII, the years. Senator C has joined Sen- Coburn Flake Lee ator BEGICH and I in this effort and we Chair lays before the Senate the pend- are not alone. Chairman CAMP has put ing cloture motion, which the clerk NOT VOTING—1 forward an ambitious tax reform draft will state. Boozman that lays out several ideas as well on The assistant legislative clerk read The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this how to make the Tax Code simpler. All as follows: vote the yeas are 96, the nays are 3. of these proposals contain the kinds of CLOTURE MOTION Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- ideas we ought to examine as we look We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- sen and sworn having voted in the af- to reform our Tax Code. Once the issue ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the firmative, the motion is agreed to. of these extenders is settled, I look for- Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move The Senator from Tennessee. to bring to a close debate on the motion to ward to working with Senator HATCH Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, proceed to Calendar No. 332, H.R. 3474, an act does the Senator from Massachusetts and all our colleagues on a broad-based to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 tax reform plan that will grow our en- to allow employers to exempt employees wish to address the Senate at this tire economy. with health coverage under TRICARE or the time? In the meantime, it would be a mis- Veterans Administration from being taken Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I ask take to leave American families and into account for purposes of the employer that the Chair recognize the Senator American businesses out in the cold. mandate under the Patient Protection and from Tennessee. Temporary provisions of the Tax Code Affordable Care Act. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- continue to expire, leaving jobs, inno- Harry Reid, Ron Wyden, Robert Menen- ator from Tennessee. vation, investment, and people’s homes dez, Patty Murray, Barbara Boxer, Jon Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I Tester, Debbie Stabenow, Maria Cant- in limbo. By providing certainty to thank the Senator from Massachusetts. well, Bill Nelson, Thomas R. Carper, I ask unanimous consent that the businesses and families for the next 2 Patrick J. Leahy, Brian Schatz, Mark years, the EXPIRE Act creates the R. Warner, Charles E. Schumer, John junior Senator from Tennessee and I be space needed for true tax reform. I D. Rockefeller IV, Benjamin L. Cardin, permitted to engage in a colloquy, and don’t want us to lose sight of that dur- Martin Heinrich. I ask for the attention of the Senate. ing this debate. These extenders are The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without important, but we are also going to imous consent the mandatory quorum objection, it is so ordered. talk on the floor about building a call has been waived. The Senate will be in order. Senators bridge to reform that this country des- The question is, Is it the sense of the will please take their conversations perately needs. We know there are in- Senate that debate on the motion to out of the well. equities in the Tax Code. The inability proceed to H.R. 3474, an act to amend Mr. ALEXANDER. Thank you, Mr. to have the certainty and predict- the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to President. ability we need is holding us back. allow employers to exempt employees REMEMBERING HARLAN MATHEWS We need to make sure we have a Tax with health coverage under TRICARE Mr. President, a few days ago we lost Code that gives everybody in America or the Veterans Administration from a prominent Tennessean, Harlan Mat- the opportunity to get ahead, espe- being taken into account for purposes hews. He was 87 years old, and he lived cially our hard-working, middle-class of the employer mandate under the Pa- a long and distinguished life. citizens, our entrepreneurs and busi- tient Protection and Affordable Care Harlan Mathews served in the Senate nesses. Our people work hard for the Act shall be brought to a close? seat in which I now have the privilege money they earn each and every day. The yeas and nays are mandatory of serving. When Senator Al Gore was They want to pay their fair share, but under the rule. elected Vice President more than 20 when they are asked to contribute part The clerk will call the roll. years ago—Harlan Mathews took his of their paycheck each month, they de- The assistant legislative clerk called seat and then retired from the Senate serve a tax system that is transparent the roll. after serving two years of his appoint- and equitable. We need to simplify the Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator ment. code. We need to level the playing is necessarily absent: the Senator from But that was, by a long shot, not a field. We need to get rid of the dispari- Arkansas (Mr. BOOZMAN). description of his public service. Yes- ties between different types of income The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 96, terday Senator CORKER and I were at that elevates some workers over oth- nays 3, as follows: his funeral and memorial service in Nashville, which was a beautiful serv- ers. [Rollcall Vote No. 143 Leg.] I encourage all of my colleagues ice, a simple service, as he would have today to, first, back this legislation so YEAS—96 imagined. The theme that kept coming we don’t see, for example, innovation Alexander Cardin Durbin through again and again was what a Ayotte Carper Enzi and our veterans and teachers suffer as Baldwin Casey Feinstein fine mentor and unselfish public serv- we work toward bipartisan tax reform; Barrasso Chambliss Fischer ant Harlan Mathews had been in our second, to be open about sharing their Begich Coats Franken State for 60 years. He was a World War Bennet Cochran Gillibrand ideas with the Finance Committee and Blumenthal Collins Graham II veteran, came to Vanderbilt Univer- all Members about innovative bipar- Blunt Coons Grassley sity, and in 1950 met a young Governor tisan reforms that can improve our en- Booker Corker Hagan whose name was Frank Clement—a ris- tire Tax Code. Voters send us to work. Boxer Cornyn Harkin ing star in national politics. He became Brown Crapo Hatch They are looking for results. They Burr Cruz Heinrich his assistant and served in a variety of don’t want to hear excuses about why Cantwell Donnelly Heitkamp State government positions with very VerDate Mar 15 2010 00:03 May 14, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G13MY6.010 S13MYPT1 smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with SENATE May 13, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2931 little interruption until he was ap- modest. The service was only about 40 and mentor to dozens over the four decades pointed by Governor McWherter to or 45 minutes to reflect that. of his public career. serve for 2 years in Al Gore’s seat. He would have been a terrific Senator Upon leaving the U.S. Senate in December of 1994, Mathews joined the Nashville office Twenty years ago Harlan Mathews de- if he had been here for 25 years because of the law firm of Farris, Mathews, Bobango cided not to run for reelection and has of what we know about him. He wasn’t PLC. He remained active in the legislature lived the past 20 years in Nashville. We out front. He was behind the scenes. He and politics, serving as an informal advisor were there with his wife Pat, his sons, worked to get things done. He was al- and fundraiser for Gov. Phil Bredesen. and a host of friends. ways results-oriented, and he didn’t Throughout Mathews’ career, he never What I think about Harlan Mathews mind who got the credit. Sometimes took for granted the people he served and the is that other than his great friend there is a shortage of that in the Sen- responsibility he held.