[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7466-S7469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SMALL BUSINESS JOB PROTECTION ACT OF 1996
The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous agreement, the minority
leader is recognized.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to use just 2
minutes of my leader time prior to the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we are about to cast some very important
votes this afternoon. I believe it is fair to say the American people
are going to be watching very carefully. These are the ones they
understand all too well. Many have not had a raise in 5 years. They
have not seen an increase in the minimum wage more than once in the
last 15. Many of them now have lost ground.
The question before us is very simple: Should 13 million Americans
get a raise? It should not matter where you work or how long you have
been working. Anyone who works 40 hours a week should not have to live
in poverty.
We have all made our speeches as passionately as we know how about
the need to improve our welfare system. There is no better way to get
people off welfare than to give them a job that pays something beyond a
minimum wage, so that they are not relegated to poverty for the rest of
their lives. We have all talked about how pro-family we are. Nothing
could be more profamily than to ensure parents have a working wage,
that instead of working two or three jobs, they can work one and tend
to their children at those times when otherwise they would have to
work.
So the choice is very clear. Either we vote for this increase or
sentence millions of workers to even more poverty and family troubles
than they are experiencing right now.
No one should be confused about the amendments. The Bond amendment
guts the minimum wage bill. As the National Retail Federation said,
this is the best chance to defeat the minimum wage bill. The Kennedy
amendment will strengthen it.
We have a chance to do something positive today. We should do it in a
bipartisan way. We have done it before and passed votes on the minimum
wage in this Chamber. The House of Representatives did it just 6 weeks
ago. We can do it, too, this afternoon. Let us vote to give millions of
Americans the raise they deserve.
I yield the floor.
Mr. ROTH addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the majority leader
is recognized.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
chairman of the Finance Committee.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Modification of Amendment No. 4436
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I send to the desk a modification to the
managers' amendment that has been cleared by the two managers and the
two leaders.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator has the
right to modify the underlying amendment.
The modification is as follows:
On page 26, between lines 6 and 7, insert:
SEC. 1467. TREATMENT OF MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS UNDER SECTION
415.
(a) Compensation Limit.--Paragraph (11) of section 415(b),
as added by section 1444(a), is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or a multiemployer plan (as defined in
section 414(f)'' after ``section 414(d))'', and
(2) by inserting ``and multiemployer'' after
``governmental'' in the heading thereof.
(b) Exemption for Survivor and Disability Benefits.--
Subparagraph (I) of section
[[Page S7467]]
415(b)(2), as added by section 1444(c), is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or a multiemployer plan (as defined in
section 414(f))'' after ``section 414(d))'' in clause (i)
thereof,
(2) by inserting ``or multiemployer'' after
``governmental'' in clause (ii) thereof, and
(3) by inserting ``and multiemployer'' after
``governmental'' in the heading thereof.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to years beginning after December 31, 1996.
SEC. 1468. PAYMENT OF LUMP-SUM CREDIT FOR FORMER SPOUSES OF
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.
(a) In General.--Title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in section 8342(c) by striking ``Lump-sum'' and
inserting ``Except as provided in section 8345(j), lump-
sum'';
(2) in section 8345(j)--
(A) in paragraph (1) by inserting after ``that individual''
the following: ``, or be made under section 8342 (d) through
(f) to an individual entitled under section 8342(c),''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Any payment under this subsection to a person bars
recovery by any other person.'';
(3) in section 8424(d) by striking ``Lump-sum'' and
inserting ``Except as provided in section 8467(a), lump-
sum''; and
(4) in section 8467--
(A) in subsection (a) by inserting after ``that
individual'' the following: ``, or be made under section 8424
(e) through (g) to an individual entitled under section
8424(d),''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Any payment under this section to a person bars
recovery by any other person.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply with respect to any death occurring after the
90th day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
On page 26, line 7, strike ``1467'' and insert ``1469''.
Mr. ROTH. This modification includes two provisions. First,
multiemployer pension plans are exempted from the Tax Code pension
benefit limits and, second, employee contributions to the Federal
Government retirement funds would be subject to the judgment of a
divorce court in the same way annuity and survivor benefits are subject
to such orders.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, it has taken a long time for the Senate to
finally come to the point where we are today. It has been delayed for
weeks--actually, I guess, months--so I do wish to thank the
distinguished Democratic leader for his cooperation in setting up this
process that we begin voting on today.
I also especially thank the chairman of the Finance Committee and the
ranking member of the Finance Committee. They did a very good job in
the committee on the small business relief package. It was passed
unanimously, I believe. We now have a leaders'-managers' amendment that
will further improve it, and I think that is a very significant part of
this legislation. I commend them for the work they have done.
I remind my colleagues today that we need to remember that small
businesses play a crucial, in fact, probably the most important, role
in the creation of new jobs in this country. More than 75 percent of
all new employment opportunities in America occur in small businesses.
They account for over 50 percent of all sales and produce 55 percent of
our gross domestic product.
In that context, I have always been reluctant to vote for any measure
which would restrict the formation and expansion of small business.
It is all too easy for Congress to promise benefits--like the
increase of minimum wage--and to look the other way when our
legislative mandate destroys jobs instead of creating them, and
prevents willing workers from climbing up the opportunity ladder.
That is why I strongly support what was reported out of the Finance
Committee with this small business tax relief, and why I also support
very aggressively the amendment offered by Senator Bond. If we are
going to impose a higher minimum wage and thereby limit job creation
and economic opportunity, the least we can do is to offer some support,
some buffer for small businesses to be protected from the worst effects
of our good intentions.
So the Bond amendment is the responsible thing to do. It is a modest
amendment, despite all the rhetoric directed against it. It would
exempt from the higher minimum wage those small businesses which gross
less than $500,000 a year.
I believe this has had bipartisan support in the past. In fact,
President Clinton's own Administrator of the Small Business
Administration endorsed this concept as recently as 1995. And not so
long ago, Senator Bumpers proposed an even broader exemption that had
the support of 12 Democratic Senators who still serve here today. The
Bond amendment also has a training wage. If we do not have a training
wage for entry level people, First, they may not get a job or, second,
if they have a job they run the risk of losing it. There is something
worse than low wages and that is no wages. This helps to address that,
providing entry-level training wage assistance.
There are several other very good features in this legislation for
small businesses, though, beyond the Bond amendment. It increases to
$25,000 the amount small businesses can write off for their purchase of
equipment. It makes important changes to the tax rules concerning
independent contractors, to reduce IRS harassment of those workers and
of the businesses that contract for their services. It also extends
several important tax provisions that have expired, including the
exclusion from income for employer-provided educational assistance and
the tax credit for research and development expenses.
The bill and the managers' amendment contain pension simplification
measures that will expand pension coverage and eliminate much of the
red-tape that often deters employers from offering pension plans. The
bill creates a new form of pension plan for small businesses, rightly
called the SIMPLE Act, crafted to address the concerns of the men and
women in the small businesses all across this country.
Equally important, finally, after talking about it for years, we are
going to allow a full IRA deduction for the spousal IRA. The spouse who
works inside the home now can only deduct $200 for her IRA instead of
the regular $2,000. We should absolutely do this. At long last, the
spouses would be treated the same as others.
There are other good provisions in this legislation. I endorse
particularly the small business relief package. I urge my colleagues to
support that. I urge my colleagues to vote against the Kennedy
amendment.
There is a minimum wage increase in the Bond amendment, and the basic
package, which is the House-passed package, has the minimum wage
increase in it. When you couple that minimum wage increase with these
small business tax reliefs and the small business exemption, then you
have a package that really provides increased wages and protection from
job loss. I urge my colleagues to vote for the Bond amendment, against
the Kennedy amendment, and I yield the floor.
Vote on Amendment No. 4272
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now
vote on the Bond amendment, No. 4272. The yeas and nays have not been
ordered.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Mississippi [Mr.
Cochran] and the Senator from Maine [Mr. Cohen] are necessarily absent.
I further announce that if present and voting, the Senator from Maine
[Mr. Cohen] would vote ``yea.''
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 52, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 183 Leg.]
YEAS--46
Abraham
Ashcroft
Bennett
Bond
Brown
Burns
Chafee
Coats
Coverdell
Craig
DeWine
Domenici
Faircloth
Frahm
Frist
Gorton
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Helms
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kassebaum
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Pressler
Roth
Santorum
Shelby
Simpson
Smith
[[Page S7468]]
Snowe
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NAYS--52
Akaka
Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Bradley
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Campbell
Conrad
D'Amato
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Exon
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Graham
Harkin
Hatfield
Heflin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnston
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Nunn
Pell
Pryor
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Simon
Specter
Wellstone
Wyden
NOT VOTING--2
Cochran
Cohen
The amendment (No. 4272) was rejected.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. FORD. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
VOTE ON Amendment No. 4435
The VICE PRESIDENT. The question recurs on the Kennedy amendment.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there a sufficient second? There is a
sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the Kennedy
amendment No. 4435. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will
call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Mississippi [Mr.
Cochran] and the Senator from Maine [Mr. Cohen] are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
Maine [Mr. Cohen] would vote ``nay.''
The VICE PRESIDENT. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 52, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 184 Leg.]
YEAS--46
Akaka
Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Bradley
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Campbell
Conrad
D'Amato
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Exon
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Harkin
Heflin
Hollings
Inouye
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Pell
Pryor
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Simon
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--52
Abraham
Ashcroft
Bennett
Bond
Brown
Burns
Chafee
Coats
Coverdell
Craig
DeWine
Domenici
Faircloth
Frahm
Frist
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hatfield
Helms
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Johnston
Kassebaum
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Nunn
Pressler
Roth
Santorum
Shelby
Simpson
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NOT VOTING--2
Cochran
Cohen
The amendment (No. 4435) was rejected.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I move to lay that motion on the table.
Mr. LOTT. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Vote on Amendment No. 4436, as Modified
The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the Roth
amendment.
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The VICE PRESIDENT. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Mississippi [Mr.
Cochran] and the Senator from Maine [Mr. Cohen] are necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 96, nays 2, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 185 Leg.]
YEAS--96
Abraham
Akaka
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Bradley
Breaux
Brown
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Campbell
Chafee
Coats
Conrad
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Exon
Faircloth
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Frahm
Frist
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Harkin
Hatch
Hatfield
Heflin
Helms
Hollings
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnston
Kassebaum
Kempthorne
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Nunn
Pell
Pressler
Pryor
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Shelby
Simpson
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--2
Byrd
Simon
NOT VOTING--2
Cochran
Cohen
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which
the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. ROTH. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The VICE PRESIDENT. Under the previous order, the question is on the
engrossment of the amendments and third reading of the bill.
The amendments were ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill was read a third time.
The VICE PRESIDENT. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
The yeas and nays have not been ordered.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The VICE PRESIDENT. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass? On this question, the yeas and nays
have been ordered, and the clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Mississippi [Mr.
Cochran] and the Senator from Maine [Mr. Cohen] are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
Maine [Mr. Cohen] would vote ``yea.''
The result was announced--yeas 74, nays 24, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 186 Leg.]
YEAS--74
Abraham
Akaka
Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Bradley
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Conrad
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Exon
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Frist
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Harkin
Hatfield
Heflin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnston
Kassebaum
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
McConnell
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nunn
Pell
Pressler
Pryor
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Shelby
Simon
Simpson
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--24
Ashcroft
Bennett
Bond
Brown
Burns
Coats
Coverdell
Craig
Faircloth
Frahm
Gramm
Hatch
Helms
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
Nickles
Smith
Thomas
NOT VOTING--2
Cochran
Cohen
The bill (H.R. 3448), as amended, was passed.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. ROTH. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kempthorne). The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, first of all, I want to express my
appreciation to
[[Page S7469]]
the distinguished senior Senator from New York for contributions he has
made in bringing this tax legislation to a successful conclusion. I can
say in all honesty, it would not have happened without his wise
counsel, his advice and willingness to work across the aisle. I greatly
appreciate it.
I also wish to express my appreciation to the many staff people who
worked so hard to bring this legislation to the Senate floor. While
many of us were back home, perhaps working hard there in local offices,
or celebrating our Nation's birthday, we had many, many staff members
from Senator Moynihan's office, the staff of the two leaders, as well
as mine, dedicating long hours to trying to bring this legislation that
we have just voted on to conclusion.
I would like to especially mention Lindy Paull, Frank Polk, Mark
Prater, Rosemary Becchi, Sam Olchyk, Doug Fisher, Lori Peterson, Brig
Gulya, Tom Roesser, as well as Mark Patterson, Jon Talisman, Patti
McClanahan, and Maury Passman for their excellent work.
For the managers' amendment, I would like to express my thanks to
Annette Guarisco and Susan Connell, of Senator Lott's office.
From Senator Daschle's office: Larry Stein, Alexandra Deane Thorton,
Glenn Ivey, Leslie Kramerich.
Again, I thank Senator Moynihan and his very excellent staff for
their help and cooperation.
Mr. MOYNIHAN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I rise to reciprocate and thank Mark
Patterson and making a doubly reference to Lindy Paull.
This was the first major tax bill that our distinguished chairman has
reported out of his committee and to the floor. I think it is a tribute
to the way he has handled this matter, and it reflects his career in
the Senate, that the bill passed by a 3-to-1 margin, 74 to 24. There
will be no discussion of vetoes anywhere else in town. We will now
appoint conferees.
I would like to say from our side that we look to the leadership of
the chairman in conference. I am sure we will insist on our measures,
and I expect to come back wholly pleased and honored by the association
and more than pleased with the outcome.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the vote earlier on the minimum wage was
a resounding victory for the minimum wage, and a convincing repudiation
of a cynical attempt to kill the bill. The Senate rose to the occasion
to have the minimum wage. President Clinton can sign this bill with
pride.
Enough is enough is enough. It has been a long time since Congress
acted to make the minimum wage a living wage. Along with Social
Security and Medicare, the minimum wage is one of the three most
successful social programs ever enacted. In this context we have
protected Social Security, we have protected Medicare, and today we are
protecting the minimum wage.
Today's vote means that millions of Americans will soon receive the
long overdue increase they deserve in the minimum wage. Today's vote
means that a solid majority of the Senate has kept the faith with the
fundamental principle of the minimum wage. No one who works for a
living should have to live in poverty.
Today's vote means that minimum wage workers are no longer the
invisible Americans. We see them every day--the child care workers who
care for children, the health care aides who care for patients in
hospitals, and senior citizens in nursing homes, teachers' aides who
labor in the classroom to educate their pupils, and the millions of
other Americans who work hard days and long hours to make America work.
Their work is indispensable to our country. And today the Senate gave
them a helping hand.
The minimum wage has not gone up in 5 years. We all know that the gap
between the rich and poor is widening in America. The economy may be
doing well. But the benefits are flowing primarily to those at the top.
Corporate downsizing and layoffs may not affect the wealthy, but the
vast majority of Americans are being left out and left behind, and
those at the bottom of the ladder are being left farther behind.
They need our help, and today they received it.
____________________