[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.

                          ____________________