[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 25 (Friday, March 8, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1689-S1692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             JOB CREATION AND WORKER ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2002

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will now resume consideration of the House message on H.R. 3090. 
The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3090) to provide tax incentives for economic 
     recovery.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I move to concur in the House amendment 
and ask unanimous consent that the time until 9:30 this morning be for 
debate with respect to the motion to concur, with the time equally 
divided and controlled between the two leaders; that the Democratic 
time be equally divided between the distinguished Senator from West 
Virginia, Mr. Rockefeller, and the Senator from North Dakota, Mr. 
Conrad; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed 
to a vote on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate 
amendment to the House bill without further intervening action or 
debate.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I thank my colleagues.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Who yields time?
  The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I was on the conference committee on 
the stimulus package prior to Christmas, which failed. That was 
predicated on unemployment insurance, health benefits, and money to 
help States with Medicaid. Two of the three are left out in this 
stimulus package. I urge my colleagues to vote against this stimulus 
package, which I consider to be hurtful to the States but will no doubt 
get virtually everybody's vote for the wrong reasons.
  I have been fighting for the stimulus package for a long time, 
obviously since September 11. I cannot, in any sense of conscience, 
support this bill. This has about $9 million to expand unemployment 
insurance. That is good. That is fine. That is one of the three.

[[Page S1690]]

Two of the three we had to have we did not do; one, we did do. It also 
has $86 billion in corporate tax breaks and eliminates the tax cuts for 
those lower income Americans who missed out on last summer's rebates. 
In other words, the people who did not get a rebate will continue not 
to get a rebate.

  It provides no help for States at this critical time and, in fact, 
hurts them. On every Senator's desk Members will find the 46 of 50 
States that are hurt. Members will see how much each State is hurt.
  I am outraged this $100 billion-plus bill was pushed to a vote, 
frankly, in the way that it was with, at best, totally inadequate 
notice to Senators, with no debate and discussion about the need for 
stimulus on a day after Alan Greenspan said that everything is going 
just fine.
  Why are we ignoring the clear consensus among economists and our 
Federal Reserve chief? I cannot answer that. Maybe I can. We all say we 
want to defend the Nation, and we do. We want to fund a prescription 
drug benefit, and we do. We want to support better education for our 
children, and we do. But now, we are in deficit. Our surplus is gone. 
Critical needs remain. Are we addressing them? No. Can we afford nearly 
$100 billion more in corporate tax breaks right now? No. Are we even 
going to discuss it? No, we are not.
  This bill causes 46 States to lose $14 billion in tax revenues at a 
time when they are already facing between $40 and $50 billion of debt. 
I spoke to my Governor last night. It will cost him $86 million. He 
will have to cut Medicaid. He does not know where he will get the 
money. It is another nail in the coffin of the State which is not famed 
for being rich.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I acknowledge this stimulus package is a 
dramatic improvement over what the other body sent previously. That 
misses the larger point.
  This morning's New York Times headline is interesting: ``The Federal 
Reserve Chief Sees the Decline Over, House passes recovery bill.''
  It is the irony of ironies that, once again, Congress, in trying to 
provide fiscal stimulus, has acted too late. That is the history of 
Congress trying to use fiscal policy for stimulus. In fact, when the 
Budget Committee did an analysis, we found every single time we tried 
to act, we moved too late.
  In the Washington Post this morning: ``Greenspan Declares An 
Expansion,'' it reports that economists are now largely agreed that in 
this quarter the economy will be growing at 4 percent. Congress comes 
with its recovery package too late.
  I have supported a recovery package. I did when we attempted to do 
one last year when it would have been timely. Unfortunately, that did 
not occur. I would still support one if it were properly crafted. But I 
don't believe this legislation meets the test. CBO has stated over the 
next 10 years we are in deficit each and every year for the entire 
decade, and by big amounts. They have just told us we can expect $2.3 
trillion of non-trust-fund deficits over the next decade. Every dime 
will be coming out of the Social Security trust fund. That means every 
dime of this stimulus package is coming out of the Social Security 
trust fund. We are headed for this future: The trust fund turns cash 
negative in 2016. That changes everything.
  When we examine the details of this package, its centerpiece is 3 
years of bonus depreciation. I strongly supported bonus depreciation 
for a 1-year period because every economist said if we stretch it out, 
we are encouraging companies to wait--not to act now, but to wait. In 
fact, that is exactly what one sees in the economics of this package--
$39 billion of stimulus this year, but $82 billion in the future.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I yield myself such time as I might consume.
  Mr. President, I rise today to address the House bill that we will be 
passing on economic stimulus and aid to dislocated workers.
  On a preliminary note, in normal circumstances, I would note that we 
should not make a practice of passing House bills as is. These are not, 
however, normal times and this is not a normal process.
  The House bill is really the latest bipartisan product on economic 
stimulus and aid to dislocated workers. It is a thinner version of last 
December's agreement between the White House and the Senate centrists. 
The bottom line is this bill now enjoys Senate Democratic leadership 
support because it has been thinned down.
  There is some good news and some bad news. Let's turn first to the 
good news. This bill is a bipartisan, bicameral product, that the 
President will sign. That's the good news. Help is on the way for 
unemployed workers and recovering businesses.
  Mr. President, the unemployed and struggling businesses have had to 
wait too long for the good news we deliver today. It has been over five 
months of long meetings, committee action, floor debates. Finally, we, 
the United States Senate, will do our duty and act on economic 
stimulus.
  Now, with the President's signature a certainty, several good things 
will finally happen. First off, the unemployed will get extended 
benefits. Businesses, large and small, will get a kick start with 30 
percent bonus depreciation. That kick start will mean more jobs, so 
those unemployed workers will be able to go back to work. Businesses 
that have hit hard times will be able to carry back net operating 
losses for an additional three years. New York City will receive much 
needed tax relief for the purpose of rebuilding Lower Manhattan. In 
addition, tax provisions that expired this year will be extended for 
two years. Finally, our States will receive some relief in the form of 
an extension and reauthorization of portions of the TANF program. These 
measures are all good news for folks across America.
  I said there is some bad news too. That news is derived from all of 
the proposals dropped from the White House-centrist agreement. As I 
said above, this bipartisan agreement was before us in December, but we 
were blocked from considering it by the Democratic leadership. Let's 
take a lock at the things that were dropped.
  First off, there was a proposal to accelerate tax relief from last 
year's bipartisan tax cut legislation. I'm talking about dropping the 
27 percent tax rate to 25 percent.
  I do not also discount the ideologically based opposition to 
accelerating the reduction in the 27 percent bracket. It is amazing to 
me that many on the other side see taxpayers in the 27 percent bracket 
as rich folks. A 2-percent rate cut for single folks earning between 
$27,051 and $65,550 is seen as a tax cut for the wealthy by the 
Democratic leadership. Likewise, a married couple with incomes between 
$45,201 and $109,250 is considered rich. But I recognize that this tax 
cut proposal was difficult for the Democratic leadership to accept.
  In this skinnier version, the other element of individual tax relief, 
this one for payroll taxpayers, was dropped. I am talking about the 
rebate checks for payroll taxpayers. The rebate checks are gone. Some 
on my side will view this omission positively.
  So, in terms of tax relief for individuals, forget about it. We were 
not able to strike the balance of the White House-centrist agreement.
  There is little in the nature of corporate AMT relief in the thin 
package. In some ways this is a good result. As I said at the time, the 
original House bill was too heavy on corporate AMT relief. On the other 
hand, there were noncontroversial reforms in the corporate AMT that we 
could have included.
  The most disappointing omission related to health care subsidies. We 
had before us revolutionary social policy in the White House-centrist 
agreement. For the first time, the Congress had sign able legislation 
that guaranteed health care benefits for laid off workers. The form of 
the benefit, a refundable tax credit, ran into ideological opposition 
by some on the other side. Because two-thirds of the Senate Democratic 
Caucus did not agree with the form of the benefit, unemployed workers 
will not receive the benefit. That's too bad. We had a chance to move 
the ball forward on an important bipartisan objective, improving access 
and affordability of health care. Instead of moving the ball, because 
of ideology, we had to punt.
  All of these were good provisions which enjoy broad bipartisan 
support. They were the foundation of the White

[[Page S1691]]

House-centrist agreement. Yet because of an ideological fixation, all 
of these good things went by the wayside. I believe today, as I did 
almost 3 months ago, that, if we had been accorded a straight up or 
down vote on the White House-centrist agreement, we would have 
prevailed. If we had prevailed, the people would be better served.
  Mr. President unfortunately, it was not to be. So, here we are with a 
mixed bag. There is good news in terms of extended unemployment 
benefits, bonus depreciation, and other measures. But there is bad news 
in terms of missed opportunities.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Record be held open 
until 5 p.m. today for a statement by Senators, and that they be 
included at this point in the Record.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I will vote for the economic stimulus 
package in the interest of providing temporary assistance for 
unemployed Americans and their families. We cannot ignore the plight of 
millions of Americans, who were laid off and want to get back to work. 
My vote for this legislation should not be interpreted as a total 
endorsement of all of its provisions. Indeed, I have some serious 
reservations about extending tax benefits given to the oil and gas 
industry and the industry in the business of converting poultry waste 
into electricity. Again, my concern is that the special interests 
continue to benefit at the expense of hard-working Americans 
everywhere. However, overall, this bill will give unemployment relief 
for those families who need it the most and will help stimulate our 
economy to help America get moving again.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the 
bipartisan Job Creation and Workers Assistance Act of 2002, H.R. 3090. 
This economic stimulus bill has been long in coming.
  I am happy this day has finally arrived, but I know those unemployed 
workers and their families, who became unemployed after the events of 
September 11, and who will soon see their 26 weeks of unemployment 
benefits expire, will be even more pleased that we have not forgotten 
them. We will provide those whose benefits will soon expire an 
additional 13 weeks of assistance, and I truly believe that within this 
additional time period, they will return to full employment.
  There are clear signs that the economy is recovering, but for those 
nearly 1.4 million long-term unemployed workers, there is no solace to 
be found until they are working again and earning incomes in the 
private sector.
  I believe the provisions of this bill that will also provide 
assistance to small and large businesses in the form of 30 percent 
special depreciation allowances, combined with conforming AMT 
depreciation rules and a 5-year carryback of net operation loss 
provisions will help to increase those employment opportunities for the 
unemployed so they do not have to depend on further extensions of 
unemployment insurance.
  I am also pleased that this bill follows through--as the 
Administration promised it would--to help fulfill the promise of 
providing over $21 billion in assistance to New York City. The 
expansion of Worker Opportunity Tax Credits to certain employees in New 
York City, and special credits to property placed in the Liberty Zone 
along with other provisions of this bill will continue to assist that 
city on the road to recovery.
  I am pleased that the bill also extends $12 billion in various tax 
provisions that expired or will soon expire including the Worker 
Opportunity Tax Credits, Welfare to Work Credits, a 100 percent 
limitation on percentage depletion for oil and gas from marginal wells, 
and a provision I have championed that would penalize in the form of a 
tax those groups health plans that fail to comply with mental health 
parity requirements.
  There are other provisions in this bill that will allow teachers to 
deduct classroom expenditures and exclusions for foster care payments 
to qualified placement agencies. The reauthorization of the Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families supplemental grants and contingency funds 
for states such as mine that have seen an increase in population is 
needed help to some hard pressed state budgets.
  This bill will become law. President Bush who has pressed for 
congressional action will sign this needed legislation. It is not 
everything he wanted, and I remain convinced that the proposal I 
advanced last winter to provide for a payroll tax holiday would have 
provided additional needed stimulus. But nonetheless this bill will 
still inject over $50 billion into the economy immediately and over $40 
billion next year.
  I congratulate the chairman and ranking member of the Finance 
Committee, the majority and minority leader in bringing this issue 
finally to a conclusion. It is the right thing to do, it is the right 
thing for those displaced and out of work today.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I have worked closely with Senator Collins 
for sometime now on legislation to provide much needed tax relief for 
our educators. Today, I am pleased to report that the Senate should 
soon pass H.R. 3090, the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 
2002, as previously passed by the House of Representatives. With 
passage of this legislation, Senator Collins and I will have finally 
achieved our shared goal of providing much needed tax relief for our 
Nation's teachers.
  The Collins-Warner provisions that are in this legislation, were 
crafted by Senator Collins and myself after months of consultations 
with Senator Grassley, Senator Baucus, Senator Allen and House Ways and 
Means Chairman Thomas. Congressman Scott from Virginia was also a very 
good working partner on this legislation, having introduced similar 
legislation on the House side.
  The National Education Association played a key role and its many 
members should look with pride and satisfaction on their constructive 
advice to the Congress. The president of the Virginia Education 
Association, Jean Bankos, also helped lead this superb effort.
  Simply put, the Collins-Warner provisions provide a $250 above the 
line deduction for educators who incur out of pocket expenses for 
supplies they bring into the classroom to better the education of their 
students. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this provision 
will provide almost half a billion dollars worth of tax relief to 
teachers all across America over the next 2 years.
  Our teachers in this country are overworked, underpaid, and all too 
often, under-appreciated.
  In addition to these factors, our teachers expend significant money 
out of their own pocket to better the education of our children. Most 
typically, our teachers are spending significant amounts of money out 
of their own pocket on classroom expenses, such as books, supplies, 
pens, paper, and computer equipment.
  These out of pocket costs place lasting financial burdens on our 
teachers. This is one reason our teachers are leaving the profession. 
Little wonder that our country is in the midst of a teacher shortage.
  Estimates are that 2.4 million new teachers will be needed by 2009 
because of teacher attrition, teacher retirement and increased student 
enrollment.
  While the primary responsibility rests with the States, I believe the 
Federal Government can and should play a role in helping to alleviate 
the Nation's teaching shortage.
  On a Federal level, we can encourage individuals to enter the 
teaching profession and remain in the profession by providing tax 
relief to teachers for the costs that they incur as part of the 
profession.
  Our teachers have made a personal commitment to educate the next 
generation and to strengthen America. While many people spend their 
lives building careers, our teachers spend their careers building 
lives.
  The Teacher Tax Relief provisions in this bill go a long way toward 
providing our teachers with the recognition they deserve by providing 
teachers with important and much needed tax relief.
  I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with Senator Collins, 
Senator Allen, and so many others to make this goal a reality.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, on behalf of Leader Daschle, I yield Senator 
Baucus 5 minutes of leader time, and following that, 2 minutes of 
leader time to Senator Conrad.

[[Page S1692]]

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, this bill that has come over from the 
House has come over quite quickly and Senators have not had a lot of 
time to examine it and to work through the provisions of the bill. 
Personally, I think it is a bit rushed.
  Having said that, I will support it at this point because--the phrase 
I often find myself using these days--we cannot let perfection be the 
enemy of good.
  There are some good provisions in this bill. We did not have the 
opportunity to amend it. But the fact is, if we do try to amend it, we 
will probably get wrapped around the axle, and nothing will be passed.
  And there are several provisions that should definitely pass. One is 
the extension of unemployment insurance. To my mind, the provisions in 
the House bill relating to unemployment insurance do not do enough. 
Given the state of the economy in the last year and the number of 
people who are out of jobs and need help, it is unfortunate that we 
cannot do more. But a 13 week extension will help many people and 
provide an economic stimulus.
  In addition, the bill includes the extension of several important tax 
provisions, some of which expired last year. It is an outrage, frankly, 
that this Senate and the House of Representatives let those provisions 
lapse and we did not pass them at the end of last year.
  I tell my colleagues right now that I regret I did not push strongly 
enough last year when we passed the tax bill to make sure the extenders 
were included. I had an assurance that they would come up soon. But 
that is no way to run a railroad. It is no way for the country to run 
its business, to say it is OK to have an on-again/off-again policy with 
respect to tax law.
  I tell my colleagues the next time this comes up, we are going to 
pass extenders so that the provisions remain continuous. It will be a 
seamless web. There will never be another time when extenders are not 
passed, if I have anything to do with it.
  Unfortunately, there are not any health provisions in this bill. 
There should be. A lot of people lost their health insurance benefits 
as a consequence of lost jobs and as a consequence of the declining 
economy.
  As you well know, more and more people are without health insurance. 
It is because companies are not providing health insurance, and people 
are laid off and can't keep their health insurance. It is a huge cost 
individually to the people involved, and it is a huge cost to the 
country. It is regrettable that this provision we are passing today 
does not include health insurance benefits for those people who lost 
their health insurance on account of lost jobs. That is too bad. I wish 
it were in the bill, but it is not.
  The bonus depreciation provision is good. It is going to help create 
jobs, and it will help stimulate the economy a bit.
  I note, as we all note, that Chairman Greenspan said we are turning 
the corner. I think he is probably right. But the bonus depreciation 
provision is going to help. It also is insurance, and that is going to 
help as well.
  The long and short of it is we have a choice. It is either vote for 
this, or try to amend it. If we try to amend it, we will be back where 
we have been for the last 5 months; that is, doing a lot of talk and 
not much action. I regret that.

  But that is the situation with which we are faced. In light of this 
situation, I urge my colleagues to pass this. It is going to help--
particularly the provisions that I mentioned--and we will get on with 
health insurance and get on with the other provisions that need to be 
taken up later on this year.
  When they come up, I urge my colleagues to work with us to be sure 
that they are enacted because there are a lot of people hurting and who 
need a lot of help.
  I thank my good friend from Nevada.
  I yield the remainder of my time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, Senator Baucus is absolutely right. There 
are some good provisions in this bill. They are necessary provisions. 
That is what makes this vote so difficult.
  I have struggled with the question of how to vote. But, again, the 
press reports this morning said the Chairman of the Federal Reserve 
said an economic expansion is now underway. It goes on to report that 
many economists have concluded that the economy this quarter is growing 
at an annual rate of 4 percent. Now the House passes a recovery 
package. They are too late.
  This is the history of recovery packages. Every time in our history 
that we have tried to use fiscal stimulus, we have been too late.
  The centerpiece of this package is 3 years of bonus depreciation. 
Look, I am a strong supporter of bonus depreciation, but not for 3 
years. That encourages people to wait. That makes no sense. This is 
digging the hole deeper because every penny of it is coming out of the 
Social Security trust fund--every penny. We are already in a deep hole 
for the entire next decade.
  I yield whatever time remains to Senator Carper.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Stabenow). The Senator from Delaware. 
There are 45 seconds remaining.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I thank the Senator from North Dakota 
for yielding.
  Imagine that we are in a car driving down the road. We have an 
accelerator, and we have a brake.
  The Federal Reserve, having launched the most aggressive monetary 
policy in our lives to help us get out of the recession--which will 
probably occur later this year--is beginning to tap down on the breaks 
to slow down inflationary expectations. Meanwhile, we are preparing to 
put our foot on the accelerator.
  This plan made a whole of lot sense in October, November, and even in 
December. But in March, on March 8, with GDP having grown 1.4 percent 
in the last quarter, and is probably going to grow by 4 percent this 
month, this plan makes a whole lot less sense.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the pending 
matter before the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion, and the clerk will call 
the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Breaux), 
the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye), the Senator from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Kennedy), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), and the 
Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi) is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 85, nays 9, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 44 Leg.]

                                YEAS--85

     Akaka
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carnahan
     Cleland
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                                NAYS--9

     Byrd
     Carper
     Chafee
     Conrad
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Feingold
     Levin
     Rockefeller

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Breaux
     Enzi
     Inouye
     Kennedy
     Mikulski
     Miller
  The motion was agreed to.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mrs. BOXER. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.




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