[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5405-S5411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RESTORING EARNINGS TO LIFT INDIVIDUALS AND EMPOWER FAMILIES (RELIEF)
ACT OF 2001
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will now resume consideration of H.R. 1836, which the clerk will
report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 1836) to provide for reconciliation pursuant
to section 104 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for
fiscal year 2002.
Pending:
Collins/Warner amendment No. 675, to provide an above-the-
line deduction for qualified professional development
expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers and to
allow a credit against income tax to elementary and secondary
school teachers who provide classroom materials.
Feingold/Kohl amendment No. 724, to eliminate the Medicaid
death tax.
Feingold amendment No. 725, to increase the income limits
applicable to the 10 percent rate bracket for individual
income taxes.
Feingold motion to commit the bill to the Committee on
Finance with instructions to report back within three days.
Feingold amendment No. 726, to preserve the estate tax for
estates of more than $100 million in size and increase the
income limits applicable to the 10 percent rate bracket for
individual income taxes.
Reid (for Harkin) amendment No. 727, to delay the effective
date of the reductions in the tax rate relating to the
highest rate bracket until the enactment of legislation that
ensures the long-term solvency of the Social Security and
Medicare trust funds.
Lincoln amendment No. 711, to eliminate expenditures for
tuition, fees, and room and board as qualified elementary and
secondary education expenses for distributions made from
education individual retirement accounts.
Kerry amendment No. 721, to exempt individual taxpayers
with adjusted gross incomes below $100,000 from the
alternative minimum tax and modify the reduction in the top
marginal rate.
Lieberman/Daschle amendment No. 693, to provide immediate
tax refund checks to help boost the economy and help families
pay for
[[Page S5406]]
higher gas prices and energy bills and to modify the
reduction in the maximum marginal rate of tax.
Gramm amendment No. 736, to ensure debt reduction by
providing for a mid-course review process.
Corzine motion to commit the bill to the Committee on
Finance with instructions to report back within 3 days.
Baucus (for Conrad) amendment No. 743, to increase the
standard deduction and to strike the final two reductions in
the 36 and 39.6 percent rate brackets.
Baucus (for Conrad) amendment No. 744, to increase the
standard deduction and to reduce the final reduction in the
39.6 percent rate bracket to 1 percentage point.
Reid (for Carper) amendment No. 747, to provide responsible
tax relief for all income taxpayers, by way of a
$1,200,000,000,000 tax cut, and to make available an
additional $150,000,000,000 for critical investments in
education, particularly for meeting the Federal Government's
commitments under IDEA, Head Start, and the bipartisan
education reform and ESEA reauthorization bill.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wisconsin.
Amendment No. 724
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, my amendment would repeal the Medicaid
Estate Recovery Program, the real ``death tax'' for many elderly
Americans.
When nursing home bills force a person onto Medicaid, the Medicaid
Estate Recovery Program allows the government to put a lien on the
family house and, upon the death of the spouse, recover the amount that
Medicaid spent on nursing care.
This Medicaid death tax does not affect the wealthy. In order to
qualify for Medicaid, a person has to pay down assets, and the spouse
can only keep so much under the spousal impoverishment provisions. But
the Medicaid death tax effectively imposes a 100 percent estate tax on
these vulnerable Americans.
My amendment would repeal this Medicaid death tax. It offsets the
cost by shaving back ever so slightly the reductions in the estate tax
rates for the very largest estates.
I urge colleagues to support the amendment.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Montana.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I appreciate the amendment by my good
friend from Wisconsin. Medicaid spend-down is a large problem. All who
have studied this know it needs to be dealt with. This amendment was
offered in committee and defeated in committee. It is not germane to
this bill. This is a tax bill, not a Medicaid bill. I urge Senators not
to support it.
The pending amendment is not germane. Therefore, I raise a point of
order that the amendment violates section 305(b)(2) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget
Act, I move to waive the applicable sections of the act for
consideration of my amendment and I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second? There
is a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the motion. The
clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ensign). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 41, nays 58, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 132 Leg.]
YEAS--41
Akaka
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Byrd
Cantwell
Carnahan
Clinton
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Feinstein
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
McCain
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Stabenow
Torricelli
Wellstone
NAYS--58
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Campbell
Carper
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Collins
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Fitzgerald
Frist
Graham
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kyl
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Voinovich
Warner
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 41, the nays are 58.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is
sustained and the amendment falls.
The Senator from Wisconsin.
amendment no. 725
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, this amendment is about fairness.
The bill before us is tilted heavily toward high-income taxpayers.
The highest-income 1 percent of taxpayers would receive 35 percent of
the benefits, while the majority of taxpayers in the bottom three-
fifths of the population would get only a little more than 15 percent
of the bill's benefits.
My amendment would strike the cut in the top tax rate, and use the
savings to increase the amount of income covered by the 10 percent
income tax bracket. It would thus reduce the already large benefits to
that less than 1 percent of the population with incomes of more than
$297,000, and use the savings to give tax cuts to all income taxpayers.
This amendment would restore a modicum of fairness to this bill, and
I urge my colleagues to support it.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Feingold amendment goes directly
against one of the key pillars of this bipartisan tax bill now before
the Senate.
This amendment rejects the principle that we should have rate
reductions in all marginal rates and do it at all levels. I strongly
urge my colleagues to vote against the amendment that goes against the
bipartisan agreement.
In addition, we have higher marginal tax rates for businesses of the
self-employed at 39 percent then for corporations at 35 percent. We
believe there ought to be a closer relationship between the two.
Lastly, I plead with my colleagues, how many times do we have to vote
on the same amendment--time after time after time--just offered in a
little different way but by different Members? We have worked hard to
put together a bipartisan budget agreement, and we also wanted to bring
some civility to the process. What we did last night detracts from
that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No.
725.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the
amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 725 by the Senator from
Wisconsin.
The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 53, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 133 Leg.]
YEAS--46
Akaka
Bayh
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Byrd
Cantwell
Carnahan
Chafee
Cleland
Clinton
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
McCain
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
[[Page S5407]]
Sarbanes
Schumer
Stabenow
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--53
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Campbell
Carper
Cochran
Collins
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kyl
Landrieu
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Voinovich
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The amendment (No. 718) was rejected.
Motion to Recommit
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The next vote is on Feingold amendment No.
726.
The Senator from Wisconsin.
Mr. GRASSLEY. What is the number of the amendment?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is No. 726, Feingold amendment
No. 726.
The Senate will come to order. Senators will take their conversations
off the floor to the Cloakroom.
The Senator from Wisconsin.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, the estate tax provisions are a major
source of the unfairness in this bill. But even within the estate tax
provisions themselves, this bill tilts to the very wealthiest.
The bill would increase the unified credit exemption up to $4 million
a person, or $8 million a couple. This change alone will exempt all but
the very wealthiest.
But the bill would also reduce the rate of taxation that the few
extremely wealthy families who still have to pay the estate tax would
pay. It thus focuses tax cuts on the very pinnacle of wealth.
My motion would spread the estate tax relief in this bill more
broadly. My motion would recommit the bill to committee to strike all
the estate tax rate reductions in the bill and use the savings to
expand the amounts of the estate tax unified credit exemption amounts.
Thus under my amendment, more relatively smaller estates would be
exempted from taxation altogether. This would allow the unified credit
to increase to $5 million, or $10 million a couple.
I urge colleagues to support the amendment.
Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on my motion.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair will clarify. This is a motion to
recommit, not a vote on an amendment.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I think we need a clarification. The Chair told me it
was amendment No. 726. I want to know what we are voting on.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is a motion to recommit.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Is it still his amendment No. 726?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. No. It is a motion to recommit the bill to the
Finance Committee.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, No. 726 is next.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. This is a motion to recommit the bill to the
Finance Committee.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to have the motion read.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the motion.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Wisconsin, Mr. Feingold, moves to commit
the bill to the Committee on Finance with instructions that
the committee report back within 3 days changes that would
strike all the estate tax rate reductions in the bill and use
the savings to expand the amounts of the estate tax unified
credit exemption amounts.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. First of all, our bipartisan bill before us uses the
entire $145 billion to fund the increases in the unified credit. We
have $1 million, $2 million, $3 million, all by the year 2005, and that
is where Senator Feingold's money went. We still found more for a $4
million credit by the year 2009.
This action undoes a very carefully crafted bipartisan effort by
Senator Lincoln, Senator Kyl, Senator Baucus, and myself. I see this as
one other effort--amendment after amendment--trying to destroy
particularly the most easily crafted part of this bill, one mostly
agreed to, by Senator Lincoln and Senator Kyl. I hope we can get away
from these efforts to destroy this bipartisan compromise.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
The question is on agreeing to the motion to recommit. The yeas and
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 30, nays 69, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 134 Leg.]
YEAS--30
Akaka
Biden
Boxer
Byrd
Cantwell
Carnahan
Clinton
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Kennedy
Kohl
Levin
Lieberman
Murray
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Stabenow
Wellstone
NAYS--69
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Campbell
Carper
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Collins
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Edwards
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Johnson
Kerry
Kyl
Landrieu
Leahy
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Voinovich
Warner
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The motion was rejected.
Amendment No. 726
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, my next amendment eliminates the estate
tax repeal for estates larger than $100 million and uses the savings to
give tax cuts to all income-tax payers. Last year, the Treasury
Department said for 1998, 35 estates amounted to more than $100
million. Thirty-one of those estates paid $1.4 billion in taxes or 7
percent of all estate taxes. Repealing the estate tax for those estates
would have given those estates a tax cut averaging $45 million each.
My amendment by contrast would preserve the estate tax for these very
wealthy estates and apply the savings to an across-the- board tax cut
for all taxpayers by expanding the amount of income subject to the 10-
percent tax bracket. Too often the choices we have to weigh here are
heartbreakingly difficult. This is not one of those cases.
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 Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, all who have been voting to change the
estate tax provisions, listen to what is wrong with his amendment.
Every one of you who wants to tax people in the estates that we believe
should not be taxed will vote against his amendment. His amendment
seems too good to be true. It is too good to be true. It strikes repeal
and adds a $100 million unified credit. That ought to be enticing to
anybody, even anybody who is a Republican.
But remember, in our bill, when the estate tax is done away with, the
capital gains tax is applied to gains above a very low extended-up
basis for everybody. This bill before the Senate allows an extended-up
basis to $100 million. There would be no capital gains applied to any
of the growth. So you are ignoring a principle that we want all money
to be taxed at least once, by capital gains or by income tax.
[[Page S5408]]
I ask that Members not let $100 million of growth in an estate not be
allowed to be taxed at least once.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Enzi). All time has expired.
The question is on agreeing to the Feingold amendment No. 726.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 51, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 135 Leg.]
YEAS--48
Akaka
Bayh
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Byrd
Cantwell
Carnahan
Carper
Chafee
Clinton
Collins
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Hutchison
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
McCain
Mikulski
Murray
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Torricelli
Wellstone
NAYS--51
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Campbell
Cleland
Cochran
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kyl
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Voinovich
Warner
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The amendment (No. 726) was rejected.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.
CELEBRATING WITH SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, it was approximately 42 years ago that
our colleague, the senior Senator from West Virginia, cast his first
vote. It was in January of 1959. He has cast votes consistently,
virtually without missing a vote, for now more than four decades.
Robert C. Byrd just cast his 16,000th vote. I congratulate our senior
colleague from West Virginia.
(Applause, Senators rising.)
Mr. President, I also note it is a week from today that he will be
celebrating his 64th wedding anniversary as well, so there is much to
celebrate. But we congratulate Senator Byrd, we congratulate Senator
and Mrs. Byrd on their anniversary a week from today, and we thank him
for his great service to America.
I yield the floor.
Amendment No. 727
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No.
727 offered on behalf of the Senator from Iowa, Mr. Harkin.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, Senator Harkin asked me if we could pass
over his amendment temporarily and go on to another amendment.
Amendment No. 711
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No.
711 offered by Senator Lincoln.
The Senator from Arkansas.
Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, if we are truly serious about not
leaving any child behind, this amendment is essential. The amendment I
am offering strikes the provision within the education savings accounts
language that covers only the tuition, fees, room and board expenses
for K-12 by still permitting the ESA tax savings for other educational-
related expenses for all students including K-12. This amendment will
create a level playing field by providing the same tax benefits to all
parents regardless of where they send their children to school.
Under my amendment, all parents will be able to take advantage of ESA
accounts for K-12-related expenses to buy computers, uniforms, other
items--afterschool programs for their children--to use to supplement or
further their education. It treats all parents equally.
Using ESA accounts for private school tuition is simply vouchers by
another name. While I strongly believe in a parent's right to choose a
public school education or private school education for their children,
I am concerned that providing a tax incentive to pay private school
tuition will divert the critical resources needed to improve our public
schools.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Hutchinson.
Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, the amendment by my colleague from
Arkansas tears the very heart out of the Coverdell ESA that previously
passed this Chamber by large bipartisan majorities. This is by no means
vouchers, by any stretch of the imagination. These are education IRAs,
and the rights of parents should be preserved to have the maximum
flexibility in their use. In fact, studies indicate that 75 percent of
the parents who have used these ESAs have their children in public
schools.
It harms the bipartisan nature of the chairman's mark, the agreement
that was reached on education savings accounts, and to prohibit the use
of ESA moneys for tuition and fees or room and board as proposed by the
Senator from Arkansas would mean that the ESAs could only finance
tutoring, enrichment courses, and postsecondary education costs. It
would, in Arkansas, eliminate 26,645 children and their parents from
participation in the use of these education savings accounts.
This is a bipartisan measure. It has been agreed upon. It is not
vouchers by any stretch. I ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired. The question is on
agreeing to the amendment.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a
sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 41, nays 58, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 136 Leg.]
YEAS--41
Akaka
Baucus
Bayh
Bingaman
Boxer
Cantwell
Carnahan
Carper
Chafee
Clinton
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lincoln
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Stabenow
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--58
Allard
Allen
Bennett
Biden
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cleland
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kohl
Kyl
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Voinovich
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The amendment (No. 711) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Amendment No. 727
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 727.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is now pending under the
previous agreement.
The Senator has 1 minute.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, everyone in this body stated their
commitment to keeping Social Security and Medicare solvent. What this
amendment does is it says we are going to stick to that commitment
before we put in place certain tax policy changes.
This amendment is very simple and straightforward. It simply delays--
does not do away with--the implementation of the cut in the top rate
for the wealthiest of Americans until we have
[[Page S5409]]
passed, and the President has signed, legislation that OMB certifies
will assure the long-term solvency of both Social Security and
Medicare.
The bill before us sets us back in our effort to ensure Social
Security and Medicare solvency. In order to pay for these tax cuts,
which go disproportionately to the wealthy few, and then also to meet
our basic needs such as health care and law enforcement, in future
years Social Security and Medicare would be raided. This is
unacceptable. We need to strengthen these programs as we prepare the
baby boomers to retire and not raid them to give tax breaks to a very
wealthy few.
Again, this amendment simply says we delay the cut in the top rate
until we secure Social Security and Medicare.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired. The Senator
from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I think we went through similar debate
and a vote yesterday on an approach by the senior Senator from West
Virginia. So here we are again.
In March, we heard from people on the other side of the aisle that we
need an economic stimulus immediately. And now we see an amendment--and
it isn't just this amendment; it is amendment after amendment--seeking
to delay the tax reduction.
This is another attempt to delay a tax cut until other programs are
passed. We are working on making sure that Social Security and Medicare
are solvent. Our budget agreement of 2 weeks ago speaks to that. And
that does not mean we cannot provide tax relief for American taxpayers,
and do it right now.
I strongly urge the defeat of the amendment.
Mr. President, this amendment is not germane to the provisions of the
reconciliation bill before us. I raise a point of order against the
amendment under section 305(b)(2) of the Budget Act.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the
Congressional Budget Act, I move to waive the point of order and ask
for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 45, nays 54, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 137 Leg.]
YEAS--45
Akaka
Bayh
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Byrd
Cantwell
Carnahan
Carper
Cleland
Clinton
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Stabenow
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--54
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Campbell
Chafee
Cochran
Collins
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Voinovich
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 45, the nays are 54.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is
sustained and the amendment falls.
change of vote
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to change my vote
on rollcall vote No. 137 from nay to aye. This will not change the
outcome of the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(The foregoing tally has been changed to reflect the above order.)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Massachusetts is recognized for 1 minute.
Amendment No. 721
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 721 and 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.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, all of us know that in this bill there is
an alternative minimum tax problem. What my amendment seeks to do is
address that problem to the best of our ability by providing an
exemption to all taxpayers at the income level of $100,000 or less from
being put into the alternative minimum tax.
Today, there are 1.3 million Americans in the alternative minimum tax
who paid it last year. Because of this bill and the lack of indexing
for inflation, the result will be that almost 17 million Americans will
pay about $40 billion by the year 2010 as a consequence of being pushed
into a new bracket.
So we are telling people they are going to get a tax cut, but in
effect they are not because there is a serious alternative minimum tax
problem. I ask colleagues to help make it a fair tax bill for all
Americans.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
Every Member of this Congress knows that we ought to do more about the
alternative minimum tax than we do in this bill, or that is possible to
do at all. It is a major problem that needs to be addressed. We have
made good steps to address it by having the child credit be credited
permanently against the AMT and, secondly, by increasing the AMT
exemption to $2,000 for singles and $4,000 for joint returns.
These are good steps that will mean millions of Americans will not be
subject to the AMT. These efforts in the bill go far to address the
concerns raised in this amendment--specifically, that those making less
than $100,000 should not be subject to the AMT. I think we have
achieved a good balance in this bill on the AMT with other priorities,
and this amendment would upset this balance and this bipartisan bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired. The question is on
agreeing to the amendment. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The
clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 53, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 138 Leg.]
YEAS--46
Akaka
Bayh
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Byrd
Cantwell
Carnahan
Chafee
Cleland
Clinton
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
McCain
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Stabenow
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--53
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Campbell
Carper
Cochran
Collins
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kyl
Landrieu
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Voinovich
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The amendment (No. 721) was rejected.
[[Page S5410]]
Mr. GRASSLEY. I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. HATCH. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The next amendment is the Lieberman amendment
No. 693.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise to make a unanimous consent
request.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, this is for the information of all of my
colleagues. A number of Senators, obviously, will want to take a break
for a quick lunch. I ask unanimous consent that we continue to vote
another time or two until we approach 1 o'clock and then recess for 30
minutes until 1:30 p.m.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, also, as a matter of procedure, we are
getting down to five or six amendments. I hope the minority whip or
somebody on that side has a list of amendments that may be proposed but
have not been seen on this side. I ask if we can have that shared with
us so we can get a better idea of what we have left to do.
Quite frankly, for Senator Baucus and me, it is a little difficult to
manage all these amendments when we do not know what they are or when
they are coming up. I would also like to pursue an agreement to
finalize a list so we can get our work done.
I wonder if somebody on the other side of the aisle can help us with
that?
In that regard I know there are people who think this bill came up
too soon after it came out of committee, but the leader was asking me
Tuesday night to bring this up Wednesday, after we voted it out of
committee. I thought that was too soon. Senator Baucus said he did not
want to bring it up that early. I just took it upon myself to say I
would not file the papers until it came up on Thursday so we would have
an opportunity for people to have access to the language of the bill to
write amendments.
I hope we will have the courtesy, then, of seeing the amendments that
might come up and know how many there are. I see the distinguished
Democratic whip, and I wonder if he can respond to my request. My
request is, if there is a list of amendments, could we have that list
of amendments so we know what our work is going to be.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say to my friend from Iowa, who has worked
so hard on this legislation, that we have a general idea of amendments,
and we have been working this morning. I have a list of them in my
pocket. We have quite a few. With the time we are going to have between
1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., we will be able to have a more definitive list.
Maybe even at 1 o'clock we can come up with--it will not be a complete
list--a list so Senator Grassley can have an idea of who is offering
amendments and the subject matter of the amendments. We will work on
that.
Was that the question the Senator asked?
Mr. GRASSLEY. Yes. I appreciate very much what the Senator said. I
hope we can have such a list. We need to proceed in the bipartisan
spirit under which Senator Baucus and I have been working and try to
bring this bill to finality.
We have been able to defeat most amendments that have come before us.
We know what this bill is going to look like for final passage and that
we ought to get to final passage.
Amendment No. 693
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time on the Lieberman amendment?
The Chair recognizes the Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I call up amendment
No. 693 and ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is the pending amendment. The yeas and
nays have been ordered.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, this amendment aims
at dealing with the current uncertainty in our economy and, in fact,
obviously the intention of the Members of the Senate during debate on
the budget resolution last month where, on a bipartisan basis, we
adopted a stimulus package that was fair, fast, and fiscally
responsible.
Unfortunately, the so-called stimulus plan in this bill that came out
of the Finance Committee is not fair, fast, or fiscally responsible.
Simply put, the stimulus package in this plan will be hundreds of
days late and hundreds of millions of dollars short of what America's
families need, and that is a real economic stimulus now. The Federal
Reserve recognized that again a few days ago in lowering interest
rates.
That is why we have to do this in Congress. That is why this
amendment will replace the semistimulus that is in the tax bill. It
will offer cash, $300 to every American taxpayer, payroll and income
tax. I urge its adoption.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, common sense tells me we cannot have it
both ways, on the one hand telling the country we need an immediate tax
cut stimulus and on the other hand vote after vote delaying this bill.
To pay for these checks, the Joint Tax Committee estimates the
Secretary of Treasury will have to increase taxes on small business
owners by about $24 billion.
This amendment is also unconstitutional from the standpoint that
article I, section 7, gives Congress the taxing powers, not the
Secretary of Treasury.
If we can pass this bill today, I believe we could be on our way to
putting more cash in families' hands by July 1 with the changes in W-2s
that will result with the 10-percent rate going into effect January 1
this year.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired. The question is on
agreeing to amendment No. 693. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The
clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. DeWine). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 43, nays 56, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 139 Leg.]
YEAS--43
Akaka
Bayh
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Cantwell
Carnahan
Cleland
Clinton
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Stabenow
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--56
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Carper
Chafee
Cochran
Collins
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kyl
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Voinovich
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The amendment (No. 693) was rejected.
Mr. GRAMM. I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was
agreed to.
Mr. BAUCUS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 736, Withdrawn
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. GRAMM. My amendment is now pending, and in order to try to in
some small way expedite getting on with the business of the American
people, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Motion to Recommit
Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, this motion would recommit H.R. 1836 to
the Finance Committee and direct the committee to report back promptly
with an amendment that eliminates any income tax cut for those earning
[[Page S5411]]
more than $500,000 a year, and uses the savings--approximately $24
billion a year, once fully effective, to establish a tax credit to help
families afford the costs of long-term care.
Over 12 million senior and disabled Americans need long-term care
today. That number will double over the next 10 years.
I believe that no one should have to spend down to Medicaid to afford
long-term care, and no family should bear the burden alone.
A tax credit, as I propose, would provide much-needed relief to the
families who provide long-term care for their loved ones, and is surely
a better and fairer use of the surplus.
This is not about class warfare. This is about providing relief for
our elderly and for the overburdened families who care for them. I
thank Senators Grassley, Graham and Bayh for their leadership on this
issue, and I hope my colleagues will agree that we should not provide a
windfall for those earning more than half a million dollars a year,
while ignoring the needs of so many families and the loved-one they
struggle to care for.
I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I thank Senator Corzine for recognizing some of our
work regarding long-term health care financing challenges. However, in
addition to this amendment, we have had others that don't seem to
recognize the Senate Finance Committee's function. We have held
hearings on this very subject.
As I said, I am very committed to working at finding solutions to
long-term financing challenges. In fact, I have introduced such a bill
with Senator Graham of Florida. The impending retirement of baby boom
generations presents a great incentive to act soon.
What this motion doesn't recognize is that we do taxes one time and
we will do long-term health care another time. We can do both. This
bill is not the appropriate vehicle. This amendment will delay the tax
reduction for working families.
I hope we can defeat this motion. I see it as a continuing effort to
kill the bill.
I raise a point of germaneness. The amendment is not germane to the
provisions of the reconciliation measure. I therefore raise a point of
order against the amendment under section 305(b)(2) of the Budget Act.
Mr. CORZINE. I move to waive the Budget Act for consideration of the
motion. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 43, nays 56, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 140 Leg.]
YEAS--43
Akaka
Bayh
Boxer
Byrd
Cantwell
Carnahan
Cleland
Clinton
Conrad
Corzine
Daschle
Dayton
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Stabenow
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--56
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Campbell
Carper
Chafee
Cochran
Collins
Craig
Crapo
DeWine
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Voinovich
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Stevens
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 43, the nays are 56.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is
sustained. The amendment falls.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is my understanding, under the previous
order, we will now be in recess for a half hour. The next amendment we
have scheduled will be amendment No. 743, the Conrad amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Mr. REID. I thank the Chair.
____________________