[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 61 (Monday, April 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4040]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TAX BENEFIT FOR RUPERT MURDOCH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 1995, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] is recognized 
during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, this weekend, the New York Daily News made 
some disturbing revelations about the kinds of secret, backroom deals 
being cut by House Republicans.
  Last week, the House passed legislation that would allow tax 
deductions for the self-employed and repeal tax benefits for minority 
broadcasters.
  But hidden in the conference report was one special provision that 
would allow Rupert Murdoch to reap tens of millions of dollars in tax 
benefits.
  According to Sunday's New York Daily News, and I quote:

       Republicans dropped their opposition to the tax break after 
     learning Murdoch was the beneficiary of the legislation and 
     consulting Gingrich, according to six sources involved in the 
     negotiations.

  In fact, according to an earlier New York Daily News story on 
Saturday, a Senate staffer is reported as saying, ``the Republicans 
were going to kill the deal until they found out that Murdoch owned the 
station. Then they almost magically approved it.''
  Keep in mind: The Republicans claimed they opposed this kind of tax 
break. And in 18 other pending cases, they refused to allow these deals 
to go forward.
  Only the case involving Rupert Murdoch's TV station in Atlanta was 
allowed to go through with a special tax break.
  I am here today to call on Speaker Newt Gingrich to explain exactly 
why his own publisher got special treatment, and exactly why this 
multi-million-dollar tax break for Rupert Murdoch was allowed to 
secretly slip through.
  For the Speaker to claim that he had to agree to a special provision 
that was put in by a Senator is ludicrous.
  Just last week, when Democrats tried to keep a Senate provision that 
would stop billionaires who renounce their citizenship from avoiding 
their taxes, the Speaker said no.
  And following lockstep with his lead, every Republican but five voted 
against closing this loophole for billionaires.
  Now we find that hidden in this same bill was a special provision 
that would allow one billionaire, who just happens to be the Speaker's 
publisher, to reap a multi-million-dollar windfall.
  Does anybody really believe that the Speaker could not do anything to 
stop this?
  It seems to me that the lesson here is no matter which way you cut 
it, if you are a multimillionaire or if you are a billionaire, 
Republican tax bills are going to look out for you.
  What we have here is a window on the whole Contract With America and 
the way the Gingrich Republicans operate.
  This week we are going to be dealing with what the Speaker himself 
calls the crown jewel of the contract--a tax bill that will give more 
than half its benefits to people making more than $100,000 a year.
  The Gingrich Republican tax bill may be a crown jewel for the 
wealthy--but for the rest of America, it's fool's gold.
  Last week's special windfall for Rupert Murdoch must not stand.
  There is still time for the Senate to stop this multi-million-dollar 
boondoggle.
  I am calling on the Senate to strip this provision out and send us a 
clean bill.
  Bob Dole should send this bill back without the special break for 
Rupert Murdoch.
  Even more important, the Speaker himself needs to come clean, on his 
ties with Murdoch, on his role in this special tax break, and on the 
tangle of special interests that are tainting all his dealings.
  This is precisely the kind of thing we warned about when Newt 
Gingrich entered his $4.5 million book deal with Rupert Murdoch.
  And this is why now, more than ever, we need a professional, 
nonpartisan, outside counsel to come in and sort out this whole mess.
  It is looking more and more every day like the so-called Contract 
With America is really a contract with corporate special interests, or 
perhaps a contract with Newt Gingrich's special friends.


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