[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 7 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S338-S339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STATUS OF ECONOMIC STIMULUS

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I think sometime tomorrow we are going 
to have some cloture votes. Who knows what happens after you are 
involved with cloture votes? I suppose it depends on how the cloture 
vote turns out. But it also depends somewhat on what the majority 
leader decides to do. I did not hear him this morning or this 
afternoon. It was suggested that if we don't get cloture, then we may 
go on to other legislation.
  I want to speak procedurally, not so much on the substance of the 
underlying bill as I have done a couple of times this afternoon but 
about where we are and some of the irony of our being here; 
particularly, some of the irony about how some things are said and 
other things are done by the leaders who decide the agenda for the 
Senate. I will take a few minutes to talk about where we are on the 
economic stimulus bill before tomorrow's cloture vote.
  The good news is that there is bipartisan recognition of the need to 
help unemployed workers with an extension of unemployment compensation. 
There is bipartisan agreement that recognizes the need to provide 
taxpayers with a payroll tax rebate so we are able to help stimulate 
consumer spending and create jobs. There is bipartisan recognition of 
the need to provide bonus depreciation. I suppose there are some others 
as well.
  Kind of summing up in regard to that, there is kind of bipartisan 
agreement on the part of the Republicans for

[[Page S339]]

what Democrats want in this area, but in areas where Republicans want 
to add some things there is not bipartisan agreement on the other side 
for those things.
  That brings us to the bad news as a result of that situation. We are, 
in fact, stuck in a procedural quagmire. Yesterday the distinguished 
majority leader claimed that Republicans were slowing down the stimulus 
bill through filing of many amendments. I think it is a bit ironic 
today that we have amendments pending on which the majority leader 
seemingly does not want to vote. If he wanted to move this process to 
conclusion with a bill that the President has said he would sign, that 
could be done very easily. We could have a vote on that. There is 
bipartisan support for it. That bill would be down to the White House I 
believe faster than you could say Jack Robinson. Instead, the only 
votes that it seems we are going to be able to get are votes on dueling 
cloture motions. One vote will be on the majority leader's amendment. 
That vote is a take-it-or-leave-it vote, I believe.
  I call upon all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to pay 
close attention. A vote for cloture tomorrow means all amendments 
offered or filed that have not received a vote will not get a vote. 
That is a very important point. A vote for cloture on the underlying 
amendment filed by the majority leader means all of the following 
amendments will not receive a vote. I will go through those.
  Senator Bunning, a foster care amendment; Senator Baucus, emergency 
agriculture funding; a second-degree amendment to that amendment by 
Senator Kyl for permanent repeal of estate tax; Senator Hatch's 
amendment for a longer net operating loss carryback provision; Senator 
Reid's amendment on travel and tourism; a second-degree amendment to 
that by Senator Dorgan on travel industry stabilization; and Senator 
Domenici on a payroll tax holiday, which is probably the most 
stimulative idea that has been presented to the Senate. We will not 
have an opportunity to vote on that. Senator Durbin has an unemployment 
insurance amendment; Senator Allard, a research and development 
amendment, what we call permanent R&D Senator Lincoln, Medicaid Upper 
Payment Limit payments to hospitals; Senator Smith of New Hampshire, an 
active duty waiver of IRA withdrawal penalty; Senator Smith again, ban 
on interstate commuter taxes; Senator Smith again, income tax waiver on 
tip income; Senator Smith again, above-the-line deduction for real 
property taxes; Senator Sessions, tax incentives in regard to 
unemployment compensation; Senator McCain, sale of principal residence 
for uniformed services, something our military people would benefit 
from very much; Senator Kyl again, a repeat of his second-degree 
amendment which would be a permanent repeal of the estate tax; Senator 
Thomas, small issue bond provisions; and an amendment I have offered 
which will also have a cloture vote for the bipartisan White House-
centrist package, the bill that I said has bipartisan support in the 
Senate. If we could get it up for a vote, we would have a bill down to 
the President and signed. It would be an enacted economic stimulus 
package faster than you can say Jack Robinson.

  All of those amendments will not come to a vote if the cloture vote 
tomorrow on the Senate majority leader's motion carries.
  We are in the mode of a lot of Senators trying to put together a bill 
that can get a majority vote in the Senate and go to conference. Some 
of these amendments have to be agreed to to get that kind of bipartisan 
support. If you do not get a chance to vote on them, how do you ever 
get to a bipartisan bill? It takes that sort of bipartisanship to get 
anything done in the Senate.
  Let me make very clear that Members who vote for the cloture on that 
cloture motion, if they want to vote on these amendments, they will be 
foreclosed.
  I said there is going to be another cloture vote tomorrow. It arose 
out of necessity--not a necessity that I like. But the majority leader 
forced a vote on the White House-centrist bipartisan amendment that I 
offered because of his own cloture motion.
  The other cloture vote--in relation to the cloture motion I filed--
will be on the White House-centrist agreement on stimulus. If cloture 
is invoked and that amendment passes, the President says that bill will 
be signed. The bill has already passed the House of Representatives.
  That means, bottom line, the following things will happen when the 
President signs the bill--and there is little disagreement that these 
things ought to happen--workers will get unemployment checks. Low-
income people, qualifying for rebates, will get rebates to spend money. 
Spending that money will create jobs. Middle-income taxpayers will get 
more income tax relief. Those who are unemployed for the first time 
will get help with their health care insurance. And business will get 
accelerated depreciation. By doing that--investing more, increasing 
productivity--it will increase the number of jobs.
  That is what a stimulus package is all about--two things--one, 
responding to the needs and the anxiety of the unemployed workers 
through improved unemployment benefits and for the first time, health 
care benefits. Currently there are 800,000 of more workers who are 
unemployed because of September 11; and there is probably more 
unemployment to come. We are all encouraged that during January 
unemployment was flat, there was no an increase in the rate--and 
helping those dislocated workers with additional unemployment benefits 
and with health insurance is greatly needed. The second thing objective 
of the economic stimulus bill, in various ways, is to stimulate the 
economy to create jobs.
  For those who say, ``Maybe the economy is turning around; we don't 
need it,'' we at least have an insurance policy against the usual 
downtick that comes after you have been a few quarters into a recovery.
  But if we want a strong economy, and a certainty of that strong 
economy, we are going to have to get a stimulus bill passed. So I hope 
tomorrow we have an opportunity not to have cloture on the underlying 
Daschle amendment and that we are able to then move towards a vote on 
the White House-centrist bipartisan package that has passed the House, 
has bipartisan support in the Senate, and the President has said he 
will sign.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________