[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 6 (Monday, February 4, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S274-S276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOPE FOR CHILDREN ACT--Continued
Mr. REID. Madam President, I have the greatest respect for my friend
from Iowa. He is a person who has always been very deliberate and never
hides his positions. I have no doubt if he were the one calling the
shots and, as he said--and I am using his words--if it was in his pay
grade, I am confident this legislation, the economic recovery bill,
would have moved much further along.
I have to say in response to my friend from Iowa that he is really
looking at this matter, as he set out on the record, with a pair of
glasses that do not magnify properly. They want to do what they want
rather than go through the regular process and have legislation that we
can amend, the so-called centrist package. The problem in all this--and
the majority leader laid this out very well earlier this afternoon--in
the Senate, whether we like it or not, it takes 60 votes to pass
legislation. If someone opposes what you are trying to do, then you
have to have 60 votes to break a filibuster and, in some cases, to
overcome a point of order.
The fact is, the items the Senator from Iowa mentioned, about which
he feels so strongly, do not have 60 votes. The two leaders know that.
Senator Daschle, after literally months of wrangling on this, said:
OK, all this out here we do not agree on, but there are four things on
which we can agree; why don't we pass something that has those four
measures in it?
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That is what we have been debating since we came back into session on
January 23. It does not matter what we try to do, it is not quite right
with the other side. Even though these four matters in Senator
Daschle's bill are matters everyone is saying publicly they agree on,
they will not allow us to move forward on this legislation.
They are even offering their amendments to the underlying measure so
that at some time they can raise a point of order again on Senator
Daschle's measure that is before the Senate.
To show how sincere the majority has been on this issue, they raised
a point of order to knock down our economic stimulus package, and
because it did not have 60 votes, it worked.
We could have, if we did not want to do an economic recovery package,
raised a point of order on their legislation, but we chose not to do
that because we wanted to keep this before the Senate. We wanted to do
something with the stimulus package. Had we not wanted to, we could
have raised a point of order on their legislation, and it would have
fallen just like ours.
I understand the majority leader's frustration.
It does not matter what he comes up with, it is not quite good
enough. I suggest when the political scientists, the historians, go
over what has happened on the economic stimulus package late last year
and this year, the record will be clear to the effect that Senator
Daschle has been unable to move not because of anything he has done or
not done but simply because the minority has not wanted to move
forward.
In the Senate, if there are 49 people, 45 people, 41 people who do
not want to move legislation, legislation cannot be moved. That is the
problem we have had.
So I hope when we vote on cloture on Wednesday, my friends on the
minority side will join with us to bring debate to a close on this so
we can move forward with the legislative package that will stimulate
the economy.
It may not satisfy everything that everyone wants. For example, today
I offered an amendment, which I think is tremendously important to this
country, dealing with stimulating tourism, not in the year 2009 like
their death and estate tax proposal but today and tomorrow, something
that would stimulate the economies all over America because it would
give people an economic incentive to fly. It would give people an
economic incentive to buy dinners, to go places, have vacations,
activities that would stimulate the economy.
I indicated earlier today almost a half million people have been laid
off in the travel and tourism business since September 11. These are
people who have no jobs. A lot of these people are people who are on
the Welfare-to-Work Program. They were trained because they could no
longer be on welfare. I support the Welfare-to-Work Program. They were
trained to be a housekeeper, a maid, maybe a cook, an assistant to a
cook in a restaurant. Many of these people had never worked before in
their life. They had a job, but they lost those jobs and now they have
fallen through the cracks. They did not qualify for unemployment
insurance, and they are really out on the street.
All we are trying to do is move forward on legislation to stimulate
this economy. We have so many more important things to do. We have to
finish the farm bill. We have to do something about election reform. We
have a bipartisan bill to do that. We also have energy legislation that
must go forward in the immediate future. So I hope when the vote is
called on cloture on Wednesday that my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle will vote in favor of cloture and bring debate to a close on
this economic stimulus package so we can move forward with the
legislation.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Carper). The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending
amendment be set aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 2728
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Wyoming [Mr. Thomas] proposes an amendment
numbered 2728 to the language proposed to be stricken by
amendment No. 2698.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading
of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the
qualified small issue bond provisions)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ____. MODIFICATIONS TO SMALL ISSUE BOND PROVISIONS.
(a) Increase in Amount of Qualified Small Issue Bonds
Permitted for Facilities To Be Used by Related Principal
Users.--
(1) In general.--Clause (i) of section 144(a)(4)(A)
(relating to $10,000,000 limit in certain cases) is amended
by striking ``$10,000,000'' and inserting ``$20,000,000''.
(2) Cost-of-living adjustment.--Section 144(a)(4) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(G) Cost-of-living adjustment.--In the case of a taxable
year beginning in a calendar year after 2002, the $20,000,000
amount under subparagraph (A) shall be increased by an amount
equal to--
``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment under section 1(f)(3)
for the calendar year in which the taxable year begins,
determined by substituting `calendar year 2001' for `calendar
year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.''.
(3) Clerical amendment.--The heading of paragraph (4) of
section 144(a) is amended by striking ``$10,000,000'' and
inserting ``$20,000,000''.
(4) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to--
(A) obligations issued after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and
(B) capital expenditures made after such date with respect
to obligations issued on or before such date.
(b) Definition of Manufacturing Facility.--
(1) In general.--Section 144(a)(12)(C) (relating to
definition of manufacturing facility) is amended to read as
follows:
``(C) Manufacturing facility.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the term `manufacturing facility' means any
facility which is used in--
``(i) the manufacturing or production of tangible personal
property (including the processing resulting in a change in
the condition of such property),
``(ii) the manufacturing, development, or production of
specifically developed software products or processes if--
``(I) it takes more than 6 months to develop or produce
such products,
``(II) the development or production could not with due
diligence be reasonably expected to occur in less than 6
months, and
``(III) the software product or process comprises programs,
routines, and attendant documentation developed and
maintained for use in computer and telecommunications
technology, or
``(iii) the manufacturing, development, or production of
specially developed biobased or bioenergy products or
processes if--
``(I) it takes more than 6 months to develop or produce,
``(II) the development or production could not with due
diligence be reasonably expected to occur in less than 6
months, and
``(III) the biobased or bioenergy product or process
comprises products, processes, programs, routines, and
attendant documentation developed and maintained for the
utilization of biological materials in commercial or
industrial products, for the utilization of renewable
domestic agricultural or forestry materials in commercial or
industrial products, or for the utilization of biomass
materials.
``(D) Related facilities.--For purposes of subparagraph
(C), the term `manufacturing facility' includes a facility
which is directly and functionally related to a manufacturing
facility (determined without regard to subparagraph (C)) if--
``(i) such facility, including an office facility and a
research and development facility, is located on the same
site as the manufacturing facility, and
``(ii) not more than 40 percent of the net proceeds of the
issue are used to provide such facility,
but shall not include a facility used solely for research and
development activities.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by this subsection
shall apply to obligations issued after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, one of the things we are seeking to do, of
course, in an economic stimulus package is to cause some jobs to be
created. The amendment which I have offered increases the expenditure
limitation on small issue bonds for manufacturing facilities. This is
an amendment which
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would go back and readjust the limits that are in law which allow for
issuing of bonds for manufacturing facilities. The amount of the bonds
that can be issued in any one particular time were set in 1977 and 1978
so, obviously, things have changed since that time --in fact, many
times over--as the equivalent has been changed.
This amendment would make adjustments to industrial revenue bonds,
the rules and regulations for manufacturing facilities. The amendment
would not increase the amount of bonding capacity available to
individual States. In other words, it would not be an increase of
expenditures but, rather, would give more flexibility to those who are
making grants to make them for a larger amount.
Actually, the industrial revenue bonding capacity available to an
individual State is the greater of an amount equal to $75 per State
resident or $225 million. The formula is not affected by this
amendment. Therefore, the amount of bonding available would not be
affected.
The maximum bond capital expenditure limitation on small issue bonds
for manufacturing facilities has been $10 million. This amendment moves
it to $20 million. It does not change the amount of money available. It
simply makes more flexible the amount that could be offered for a
particular facility. It provides for an inflation adjustment. This was
established in 1978. The purchasing power of $10 million today is much
higher, of course. This amendment provides that inflation adjuster we
discussed.
We have had some experience with this in our State where people seek
to develop new facilities, new manufacturing facilities, which create
new jobs. This allows the builder to issue bonds which are then
guaranteed, which gives them a much lower rate, and encourages the
development of new businesses and new bonds. It is designed primarily
for software biotech manufacturing and production. It is something we
ought to consider. It is not an expense but, rather, an adjustment to
an existing program that makes it more consistent with today's change
in the value of dollars.
It addresses the financial problems caused by inflation. It amends
the definition of manufacturing facilities to include a new economy,
biotech and software. It allows companies to use industrial revenue
bonds for research and development facilities which is a critical
component.
I think this can be accepted by both sides. It does not affect the
cost of this bill. It does make what is available now much more
flexible.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The deputy whip.
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