[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 84 (Thursday, June 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H4295-H4305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 681, AMERICAN JOBS CREATION ACT OF
2004
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 681 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 681
Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it
shall be in order without intervention of any point of order
to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 4520) to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove impediments in such
Code and make our manufacturing, service, and high-technology
businesses and workers more competitive and productive both
at home and abroad. The bill shall be considered as read for
amendment. The amendment in the nature of a substitute
recommended by the Committee on Ways and Means now printed in
the bill, modified by the amendment printed in the report of
the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be
considered as adopted. All points of order against the bill,
as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, to final
passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of
debate on the bill, as amended, equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Ways and Means; and (2) one motion to recommit
with or without instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds)
is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the
purpose of debate only.
(Mr. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 681 is a closed rule that
provides for consideration of H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act
of 2004. The rule provides one hour of debate in the House equally
divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of
the Committee on Ways and Means.
The rule further provides that an amendment in the nature of a
substitute recommended by the Committee on Ways and Means, as modified
by the amendment printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying
the resolution, shall be considered as adopted.
The rule waives all points of order against the bill, as amended, and
against its consideration.
Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without
instructions.
Mr. Speaker, America's economy has taken its share of hits over the
past several years. We had a triple shock of terrorist attacks,
corporate scandals, and recession. But each time this economy was
stricken, this administration and this Congress responded with action
to move forward, to create jobs, and to spur economic growth.
In fact, in just his first few months in office, after inheriting a
slowing economy, President Bush and this Congress enacted a series of
tax cuts that resulted in the shortest and shallowist recession in this
Nation's history. Our work towards recovery has continued throughout
its time and today real GDP growth has grown at its fastest rate in 20
years. More than 1.4 million jobs have been created. The unemployment
rate is below the average level in each of the past 3 decades.
Productivity has grown to the fastest 3-year rate in 40 years. Home
ownership is at an all-time high and we have the highest number of
total payroll employees in our history.
In the particularly hard hit manufacturing sector we have seen the
best 4-month period of job growth in 6 years and the manufacturing
employment index was at its highest level since 1973. Even in my region
of the country, which has traditionally lagged national recoveries, one
prominent economic survey reported ``signs of a long awaited rebound in
hiring demand were evident across most regions and industries,
suggesting that the economic growth may soon begin to shift into a new
higher gear.''
But our work is not done until every American looking for a job finds
one, and that is why, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here today on
behalf of the American Jobs Creation Act by supporting this rule and
underlying bill.
The most recent data shows that employment remained strong last
month, evidenced by the creation of 248,000 new jobs and continuing
three quarters of a strong economic growth. Now it is time to seize on
this momentum and continue to take steps to grow our economy, generate
jobs, boost domestic manufacturing, and protect small businesses and
farmers.
As my colleagues well know, recent European sanctions on American
exports are hurting our manufacturers and farmers to the tune of up to
$4 billion a year. Tariffs currently stand at 8 percent and will
increase a staggering 1 percent per month until FSC-ETI is repealed.
These sanctions are increasing the price of U.S. goods sold outside the
United States. They are reducing the exporting capability of multiple
industries, and they are threatening the ability of our domestic
country to create jobs here at home.
We have the power to stop them now, and without our action many small
businesses and other employers face financial ruin while their
employees face their own job losses. But by repealing FSC-ETI through
the underlying bill, this Congress will put an end to these sanctions
and help yet again to put Americans to work.
H.R. 4520 permanently reduces the corporate tax rates from 35 percent
to 32 percent for domestic manufacturers, producers, farmers, and small
corporations. This is yet another stimulant for job growth, encouraging
production and manufacturing here at home, giving employers incentives
to reinvest, expand and, most importantly, create new jobs in the
United States.
Mr. Speaker, the underlying bill also addresses a fundamental hurdle
in realizing even bigger job growth, the double taxation of U.S.-based
manufacturers. Our global counterparts currently share a significant
advantage over the United States simply due to the onerous U.S. Tax
Code. In reducing this double taxation faced by U.S.-based companies,
we will greatly enhance their competitiveness and ability to sell
American-made goods in the global market, all the while making it
easier for them to create more jobs here in the United States.
Last month the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index
[[Page H4296]]
showed the twelfth straight reading above 50 percent and the seventh
reading above 60 percent. Readings at this level indicate substantial
expansions in manufacturing activity, which is more good news for
manufacturing job creation.
Mr. Speaker, another important part of H.R. 4520 is its relief for
millions of small businesses and farmers from the Alternative Minimum
Tax. Over the years this tax has burdened more and more middle-income
Americans, a clearly unintended consequence. With the passage of the
underlying bill today, this House will deliver much needed relief for
millions of American farmers and small businesses. This relief will
help keep individuals from sending exorbitant amounts of their hard-
earned money to Uncle Sam and use it instead to create new jobs and new
opportunities.
Finally, H.R. 4520 makes it cheaper for existing businesses to
increase their investment and for entrepreneurs to also expense their
new ventures. The underlying bill includes provisions to promote
investment in new equipment. Increased investment such as this provides
significant stimulus to the economy and further aids in boosting job
growth.
Shipments of core capital goods, which is the category most directly
linked to business investment, has continued to rise recently, and we
can build on that progress.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Ways and Means has worked tirelessly on
behalf of the American people and I would like to commend the chairman
and committee members for their steadfast support of sound tax policy
and job creation.
We have the opportunity and responsibility to not only continue, but
to accelerate the last 9 months of economic growth and job creation. We
can do that today by passing the American Jobs Creation Act. I urge my
colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker I yield myself 8 minutes.
(Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Reynolds) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, all of us recognize the need to quickly fix the FSC-ETI
export tax issue. Thousands of U.S. exporters are needlessly paying 8
percent tariffs to European countries simply because the Republican-
controlled Congress has failed to pass legislation to avoid these
penalties. These tariffs will continue to climb 1 percentage point each
month as long as the issue remains unresolved.
These retaliatory tariffs are especially hard hitting as the United
States continues to experience difficult times in the manufacturing
sector, which has lost nearly 3 million jobs under the Bush
administration. In my congressional district in Massachusetts, jewelry,
textiles, and small manufacturers have especially been hit hard by
these sanctions.
Throughout the WTO process there has been bipartisan consensus that
the U.S. should repeal the extraterritorial income exemption, the ETI
and comply with the WTO decision. The disagreement has been over what
to replace it with. Last year the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel)
and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane) and the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Manzullo) and others introduced a bipartisan, revenue-
neutral fix to this problem, H.R. 1769.
{time} 1045
This bill currently has 172 bipartisan cosponsors. When our
colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hill), filed a discharge
petition in March to bring the bill immediately to the floor, 18
Members signed that petition.
The Crane-Rangel bill would take the $50 billion in tax incentives
that American companies operating overseas receive under the current
ETI and create new incentives for American companies to produce goods
in the United States. It lowers the corporate income tax rate for U.S.
companies and addresses the growing problem of U.S. companies moving
their plants overseas.
Simply put, H.R. 1769 is a clean, paid-for bill that remedies the
FSC/ETI problem without unduly burdening those companies that have
benefited from this exemption in the past, and without unduly burdening
our children and grandchildren by adding to our deficit.
So why did we not fix the problem months ago by passing the Crane-
Rangel bill? Why are we not debating H.R. 1769 this morning? Why is the
Republican leadership denying the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel)
the opportunity to offer his alternative on the floor today?
Because time after time the leadership of this House has demonstrated
that it would rather offer a goody-bag of corporate tax giveaways to
special interests than simply and quickly fixing the problem.
What is in this grab bag of a bill? The closer you look at it, the
uglier it gets.
This bill is chock full of sweetheart deals, special fixes, and big
giveaways to special interests. It looks like every lobbyist in town
will be celebrating tonight. The list of provisions that favor
particular companies or industries includes cruise-ship operators,
whale hunters, Chinese ceiling fans, foreign gamblers, NASCAR track
owners, timber companies, cattle ranchers, bourbon distillers, movies
theater owners, small plane manufacturers, bow and arrow sets, fishing
tackle boxes, and corporate jet owners.
This is no way to do tax policy.
The list of narrow special interest giveaways is very familiar
because we have seen them all before, when a similar set of giveaways
held up passage of the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act for 18 months,
until finally, finally, they were thrown out and this House decided to
do the right thing and support our uniformed men and women and their
families.
But like the evil poltergeists in the movie, they are back. And this
time they have brought along some friends. What else is in this bill?
How about paying a private company to make a profit collecting debts
owed to the IRS so that all our private tax information will now be
given to private bounty hunters. How about tax provisions that give
U.S. companies fresh incentives to locate operations anywhere other
than in the United States by giving them even more tax shelters for
their foreign income? At the very core of this bill are $35 billion in
tax incentives for U.S. firms to invest overseas.
If you are a small manufacturer or farm cooperative that creates jobs
and has production solely in the United States, too bad. You are simply
out of luck in this bill.
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the frosting on the cake. This bill as
it is written will add at least another $34 billion to the deficit. In
just 3 short years, the Bush administration and the Republican-
controlled Congress have taken our Nation from record surpluses to the
largest budget deficits in the history of the United States, in the
history of the United States, Mr. Speaker. And now the leadership of
this House wants to add at least $34 billion more to these deficits.
The legislation passed in the other body at least has the benefit of
being revenue-neutral. And the Crane-Rangel bill is fully paid for.
Why is it that everyone seems to be able to pay for their corporate
tax legislation except for the Republican House leadership? Why are
they the only ones that want to pass the burden of debt on to future
generations? And let us not forget that when all the phony accounting
gimmicks such as slow phase-ins and phase-outs and sunsets provisions
are factored in, the amount added to the deficit is more likely to be
closer to $45 billion.
This bill may mean more jobs, Mr. Speaker, but they will not be U.S.
jobs.
This bill rewards companies that move off shore, that shelter income
from production abroad, and that outsource even more jobs now and
forevermore.
Now, I seem to remember the Republicans saying over and over that our
Tax Code is simply too complex, too confusing and too costly; but this
bill, instead of simplifying and tightening the Tax Code and closing
loopholes, creates over 400 pages of new and expensive special interest
exceptions.
This bill makes our Tax Code more complex, not less; more unfair, not
less. It does too little for those businesses that prefer to produce
and hire
[[Page H4297]]
in the United States. It hurts farmers, stiffs small businesses, and
benefits large multinational companies first and foremost.
It increases the deficit and tacks on major unrelated initiatives.
Instead of simply fixing the $5 billion FSC/ETI problem, it creates a
$150 billion special interest giveaway.
Mr. Speaker, this Special Interests Christmas Tree Giveaway Act is
quite simply a scandal. Now, in light of such largesse for special
interests and large corporations, I was surprised when this morning the
Republican majority in the Committee on Rules did not make in order an
amendment proposed by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and
me. Our amendment would provide tax relief to every company and
business that makes up the difference in income to an employee
activated into the National Guard or Reserves and would have provided
support to those same companies to train temporary employees to fill
the jobs left vacant by active-duty employees.
At a time of national emergency, when members of the Reserves and
National Guard are serving extended deployments in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the Republican majority in the Committee on Rules decided
that this modest tax relief proposal was not important or relevant
enough to be considered during the debate on this bill.
This bill before us helps Halliburton and Bechtel, two corporations
that are ripping off the American taxpayer through fraud and abuse of
their defense contracts in Iraq; but the Republican leadership will not
help the hundreds of small businesses suffering from long-term
vacancies or the families whose loved ones have been activated for
service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the debate on this rule, I will offer a
motion to defeat the previous question. If the previous question is
defeated, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and I will offer
our amendment to H.R. 4250 to help the Reservists and small business.
We have the chance to do the right thing today. I urge my colleagues
to reject this rule and to oppose the underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I spent a good deal of time doing the presentation, the
fact that I think our economy is moving, that the American Jobs
Creation Act of 2004 is going to create more jobs across America; and I
just want to make sure that my view of that is again on the record.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr.
Hastings), a distinguished member of the Committee on Rules.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Reynolds) for yielding me time to speak on this rule and
about the underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, I want to celebrate an enormously important change in
the Federal income Tax Code that is a key part of the American Jobs
Creation Act, a return to fairness for the residents of States that
have no State income tax.
The Federal 1986 Tax Reform Act eliminated the State sales tax
deduction from the Federal income Tax Code, but maintained the State
income tax deduction from one's Federal income tax responsibilities.
Washington is a non-income tax State. Americans who live, work, and
raise their families in Washington, in my view, have been treated
unfairly since 1986. And Washington State is not alone. Alaska,
Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and
Wyoming all do not have statewide income taxes. Clearly these States
are a minority in this House and, indeed, in this Congress.
There are not just party majorities and minorities in Congress, there
are similar divisions on policies and issues, and this is one of them.
When it comes to trying to fix the Federal Tax Code's discrimination
against non-income tax States, the congressional delegations from the
affected States had and have been a distinct minority in this body.
Mr. Speaker, today my colleagues and I from the affected States will
have the first opportunity to correct this longstanding injustice by
voting to pass the American Jobs Creation Act. It has taken hard work
on both sides of the aisle to get this change made. The Washington
State delegation has worked on this issue for years. Republicans and
Democrats have pitched in where they are able and tried to get this job
done. But probably the best illustration of just how difficult a
challenge it has been to correct this injustice is to look back on who
served as the most powerful member of this body after the 1986 tax
reform.
That tax reform became law in October of 1986. In January of 1987 the
Democrat majority in the House at that time elected a Speaker of the
House from the State of Texas. When this Texas Speaker's tenure ended,
the Democratic majority elected a Speaker of the House from Washington
State. For four Congresses, this House was run by a Speaker from one of
the nine non-income tax States. Yet even with this powerful office, the
States' tax codes and fairness did not get corrected by a vote in this
House.
Mr. Speaker, this just demonstrates how long and hard a road these
congressional delegations from these sales tax States have been
traveling.
Today we can and will make a big change for the better for our
States. This bill is a tremendous victory in my view. Comments have
been made that the State sales tax portion of this bill is not perfect,
and it does not return the Federal Tax Codes to its pre-1986 reform
wording and that the State sales tax deduction will eventually sunset.
I will only say after working so long, after struggling such long odds
for nearly 20 years when our States have had no deduction, I say let us
grab the victory; seize the one bird in our hand as tight as we can,
especially when we have not seen two birds in a bush for nearly 2
decades.
This bill will provide billions of dollars of relief to tax payers in
Washington and the other States in this tax year and for the next year.
Let us get this enacted into law. It will be working to include a
change in the future that will make this permanent, obviously.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this rule and
especially urge all of my colleagues from non-income tax States to
support the American Jobs Creation Act.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify to the gentleman from Washington
(Mr. Hastings) that the sales tax deduction provision phases out in 2
years. It is not permanent. And this morning the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and other Republicans voted against making it
permanent.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Rangel), the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Ways and Means.
(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I do not really know what the Republicans
are so frightened of in this bill that they allegedly are so proud of
that they continuously deny the Democrats an opportunity to say, But we
got a better idea.
The Republican majority has been successful in winning the votes in
order to get legislation passed. I do not think they have been
successful in allowing the American people to believe that they have
been fair, that they have been fair to the minority, or that they have
been fair to the working people, or that they have been fair to the
manufacturers that work hard every day to try to create jobs. I do not
think that they think that they have been fair in terms of having some
sense of patriotism or some sense of pride in saying, Made in the USA.
Yes, they say this legislation creates jobs, but not jobs for
Americans. Jobs for people overseas. Why would they not let the Crane-
Rangel bill come out in substitute? It has been rumored because we did
not have a substitute, but I am so glad to see that my friend who is
the chairman of the Committee on Rules is on the floor, who is always
fighting hard to do the right thing, but somehow he is overwhelmed by
evil forces that deny him the opportunity to do it.
Early last night, the gentleman came to me on this floor to say he
wanted to help me to have a substitute. And while we were working with
the leadership to have this substitute, he came
[[Page H4298]]
with heavy heart to share with me that we would not have a substitute.
Why, I ask, are Republicans so afraid to allow Democrats to get a
chance to vote up or down on an alternative to the lousy bill that they
brought to the floor.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. RANGEL. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. Let me
respond by saying that the gentleman is absolutely correct, that one of
the things that we try to do is we try to ensure that the minority,
Democrats in this instance, have an opportunity to have their proposals
considered.
In 1994 we changed the rules to ensure that an opportunity for a
recommital motion would be guaranteed. We also try to add, when we can,
an opportunity for a substitute to be offered.
Now, yesterday, as the gentleman is correct, when I approached him, I
said, we want to work and see if we can put together a substitute
proposal. And I know from the discussions that I had that there was a
lot of disagreement on the minority side about exactly what kind of
shape it would take.
The proposal that was submitted by my friend was in fact not a
substitute. It was simply an amendment. And so we made very clear that
a substitute would be what we would consider. Yes, late last night I
said I was concerned and was not sure.
{time} 1100
I said I was not sure that the Committee on Rules----
Mr. RANGEL. The last thing you said to me was that we would not get a
substitute.
Mr. DREIER. No, I did not say that. I did not say that.
Mr. RANGEL. Well, we did not get it; that is the bottom line.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would further yield, what I
said was----
Mr. RANGEL. I take back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). Both gentlemen will
suspend.
Mr. DREIER. I thank my friend for yielding.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The distinguished Committee on Rules
Chairman will suspend. The time is controlled by the gentleman from New
York, and if the gentleman from New York chooses to yield to the
gentleman from California he may do so.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, we do not have a substitute, and that is the
bottom line. I would think that we should not have to beg and scrape
and ask them to give us a chance.
Are we asking for a chance to win? No. Do we believe that we have
enough sugar and incentives that we can buy votes? No. We do not have
that in our bill. We do not turn over the collection of taxes to
private sector people. We do not have the ornaments that the gentleman
from Washington (Mr. McDermott) will tell my colleagues about. All we
have got is a fair bill to create jobs in the United States of America.
That is all we have got. We do not buy votes. We just try to sell
without their profits.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield on that point?
Mr. RANGEL. Only if the gentleman promises to tell me through his
remarks in response why the Democrats cannot have a substitute to be
able to say that we got a better idea.
Mr. DREIER. If the gentleman would yield, I am happy to respond.
Mr. RANGEL. I thank the chairman.
Mr. DREIER. The gentleman did not come and testify before the
Committee on Rules this morning and was not there when we had the
markup.
The proposal that was offered by the gentleman in the Committee on
Rules was, in fact, an amendment, not a substitute, which is what we
stated was necessary for us to even consider it. Okay. That was not
offered, and so when there was no substitute offered, of course we did
not make a substitute in order because it was not even an option for
the Committee on Rules.
I thank my friend for yielding.
Mr. RANGEL. You are telling me that the gentleman from California did
not tell me close to midnight that we would not get a substitute, that
you had tried and you were unsuccessful? Is that what the gentleman is
saying?
Mr. DREIER. If gentleman will yield, what I said was I was concerned
about the possibility, and I will say that there were other members of
your leadership team who indicated to me at that point when we stood
right here that, in fact, there was not a substitute that had been put
together.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I am telling my colleagues that we were told
last night that we would not get a substitute. I am telling my
colleagues we did not get one. I am telling my colleagues they have
denied us the opportunity to express the fact that we have a bill that
would have brought jobs to the United States and not abroad.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would ask all Members, while
recognizing that there are strong views held on both sides of the
aisle, to be more orderly in yielding and reclaiming time. The
stenographer can only take down one conversation at a time; and the
Chair would appreciate the courtesy of the Members.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Thomas), the distinguished Committee on Ways and Means
chairman.
(Mr. THOMAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I want my colleagues and those paying
attention to what is going on to appreciate what has occurred on the
other side of the aisle. The gentleman who is managing the bill for the
rule for the minority took some time to discuss the Crane-Rangel bill.
Had that been offered, that would have been a substitute. That would
have been, under the rules, appropriate; but they did not offer the
Crane-Rangel substitute, notwithstanding the fact that what was offered
was an amendment; but I want my colleagues to understand this.
In the Committee on Ways and Means on Monday, the gentleman from New
York had every opportunity to offer the Crane-Rangel substitute. It was
his choice. He did not offer a substitute. He offered an amendment.
Last night, with the option of offering a substitute, he did not
offer a substitute. He offered an amendment. Under the rules, it has to
be a substitute.
Now why is the Crane-Rangel substitute not before us? Because it did
not offer a tax cut to small business, because it did not include the
appropriate and necessary elimination of the tobacco subsidy program;
because it did not include the assistance to small business, called
section 179, expensing; and it did not include the provisions for small
S corporations to continue to reform. Those are in the underlying bill,
and what the gentleman from New York and his staff did was simply cut
and paste various provisions of the underlying bill, and they wanted
that to be accepted.
A letter was submitted by the gentleman from New York in which it
says in part, ``I request that I be allowed to add to the amendment.''
Additionally, he says, ``the additional language . . . would include.''
At one time we were able to submit material like that without having
legislative language and it would be accepted. When we became the
majority, there was a thrust by the now-minority to require everything
to be in legislative language. That is the rules, and the gentleman
wanted not to follow the rules. He wanted the rules bent for him, the
very same rules they insisted that we follow.
I want to offer my colleagues three quotes: Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder; all politics is local; and patriotism is the last refuge
of scoundrels.
My colleagues heard the gentleman from Washington. I have here the
1985 markup document from the then-Democratically controlled Committee
on Ways and Means, Chairman Dan Rostenkowski. The position in the House
was to remove from the Tax Code the sales tax exemption, the income tax
exemption, and the property tax exemption. Fairness.
What happened in the final law was that if you were a renter in a
State that raised its revenue by sales tax, you got no relief; but if
you paid income tax in a State that used income tax and you were a
homeowner, you got relief. That is not equitable. That is not fair.
Twenty years ago that occurred. I say it is fairly reasonable to
[[Page H4299]]
give people 1 day out of 20 years. This is their day.
A provision in this bill will be ridiculed about eliminating the
excise tax on arrows for goodness sakes. We are going to hear a lot of
crocodile tears hitting the floor about us not helping small business.
The technology that is currently controlling the arrows market was
invented in the United States; but if you have a foreign arrow coming
in, it is on the shelf cheaper than the arrow made in the United
States. Why in the world would we let, longer than absolutely
necessary, discrimination against an American product? That is in this
bill. It is time to eliminate it. They should get a day.
Tackle boxes. If it is pink and it is called a cosmetic box, it does
not carry a tax. If it is olivedrab and called a fishing tackle box, it
is exactly the same, except for the color, it carries a tax. Whether it
is pink or olivedrab or red or black, the color of something should not
determine how it is treated. It should be fairly treated if it is the
same box.
We have sonar fishing equipment in here. Guess what? If you do not
use the latest technology LED screening, you do not get relief from the
3 percent excise tax. Why in the world would we stop technology? Why?
Because the law is written that way. They deserve a day.
When my colleagues argue that it is eliminating American democracy to
not let somebody not follow the rules, that is not American democracy;
that is un-American.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The distinguished chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means refused
to show me or the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) the same
courtesy that the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) showed the
chairman of the Committee on Rules, and he refused to answer the
question as to whether or not the Committee on Rules would have made in
order the Crane-Rangel alternative, in whatever form it would have been
in. The answer is clearly they would not have.
The gentleman mentioned American democracy. Twenty amendments were
denied in the Committee on Rules. That is not democracy.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Doggett).
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, one of those amendments denied debate was a
bipartisan effort by me and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake).
Someone in Washington needs to speak up today for conservative
principles because this House Republican leadership has lost any
pretense of fiscal responsibility.
Today, in this bill, Republicans are awarding $10 billion, this is
billion with a B, to tobacco growers. They call it a buyout, but it is
really a sellout to the tobacco industry. If this measure is approved,
tobacco will get cheaper; more of it can be grown, and all American
taxpayers will be the losers.
With the near go-it-alone occupation of Iraq continuously draining
funds out the Treasury spigot faster than American taxpayers can pour
their hard-earned funds into it, there is nothing conservative about
giving away $10 billion to the tobacco industry.
Ten billion dollars would give tens of thousands of young Americans
the college education they cannot afford. They could give tens of
thousands of American mothers the peace of mind that comes when they
know their children have health insurance. Ten billion dollars could
also buy a lot of homeland security; but instead, Congress is spending
that $10 billion to reward the producers of a lethal product that each
year ruins the lives of families with death and disease.
This is not a job-creation bill. It is a disease-creation bill.
Eighty percent of registered voters this week across America expressed
their opposition to this tobacco bailout by the Congress.
Unfortunately, the well-heeled lobbyists of Big Tobacco not the people,
are the ones dictating this. Little wonder that this outrageous
giveaway never had a public hearing, was never debated in Committee,
and is being considered today in a way that denies any amendment to
strike it.
If this measure is approved, the tobacco industry will once again
make a killing out of this Congress, a Congress that is addicted to
nicotine campaign contributions.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Lewis).
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I would like to reply to the
gentleman that just spoke. I think he referred to this as Big Tobacco.
Well, I am from Kentucky, and I can tell my colleagues that we are
talking about small tobacco farms and family farms where men and women
and their children get out in the fields every summer and try to eke
out a living in the tobacco fields by the sweat of their brow.
They have had to purchase a government program, they have had to buy
a quota in order to grow tobacco or they could not grow it. They
contributed through an assessment fee to pay for a price support
program on their own. It was not from taxpayers; and since 1997 that
quota program has been cut over half, and now it is pretty difficult
for them to maintain that living on that family farm.
It is the last thing that has allowed them to make a profit on their
farm, if they made a profit. It was a program that allowed them to put
their kids through college or to buy Christmas presents or to buy
clothing for their kids. This is about small family farms in about
seven to 10 States in this country. It is about an asset that they had
to pay for that now is being taken away from them by the government;
and we are eliminating something that, it is amazing to me, that for
years I have heard we have got to get rid of this program, we have got
to get rid of this program. Well, we are getting rid of it in this
bill, and we are doing it by being fair with the tobacco farmers and
the tobacco States and their families, not Big Tobacco, but that small
farmer down in Kentucky and Tennessee and Virginia and Florida and
Georgia and North Carolina and all those States that produce tobacco.
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, is it not true that one of the reasons that
the quota has gone down in recent years is because of the imported
tobacco that has come in and the quota is based on domestic amount?
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Absolutely.
Mr. COLLINS. Is that not what is hurting? It is time to end this
program. These are small farmers who need help, who are in debt; and
the purpose of this program is to buy a quota from the government.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. The gentleman is absolutely right.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on
each side.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
McGovern) has 14 minutes remaining and the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Reynolds) has 11 minutes remaining.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. McDermott), a member of the Committee on Ways and
Means.
(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks, and include extraneous material.)
{time} 1115
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a lot of confusion out
here. I declare that the rubber stamp session is now in order. We are
back here today doing what the Republicans love to do: That is, come
out here and rubber stamp this 900-page perfect piece of legislation.
The Democrats have no opportunity to offer a substitute or an
amendment. They were denied. They asked for amendments, they were
denied. This is a perfect piece of legislation. The fact is we have a
rubber-stamp Congress. And why are we doing that? Because Christmas has
come on the 17th of June.
Now my Latino friends call this ``feliz Navidad,'' but I call it the
fleecing of America. This is a Christmas tree bill that has everything
in sight on it. If there is an amendment in this bill, there are 5
votes behind it or 10 votes or 20 votes. They would not accept an
amendment unless they voted for the bill. That is how it was put
together.
The fact is that the chairman of the committee in November of 2003
lost this piece of legislation on the floor. It got stuck. He could not
move it. He went over to a meeting with EU in November and told them he
was sorry
[[Page H4300]]
they had not put sanctions on this country because then he lost his
leverage to move this bill. He had to make the American people
uncomfortable. In my district, the sanctions went on Weyerhaeuser, on
paper products and on construction materials. I do not know what the
sanctions did in central California; but when the Committee on Ways and
Means is going to the WTO people and saying could you please put some
sanctions on the United States so I can get a bill through Congress,
there is something really wrong.
This Christmas tree bill is put out here in order to give $150
billion of Christmas presents in June. We are all going home in a week,
and we will have a fund-raiser, so Members, bring your rubber stamps.
[From Dow Jones Newswires, June 17, 2004]
Sanctions Alter Dynamic on House Tax Bill
(By Rob Wells)
Washington.--The reality of European Union trade sanctions
against U.S. exporters is a key dynamic propelling a
corporate tax bill through the U.S. House this week.
The House Ways and Means Committee late Monday approved a
bill, sponsored by committee chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif.,
to end a controversial U.S. export tax break ruled illegal by
the World Trade Organization in 2002.
That tax break is called ``foreign sales corporation'' or
the ``extraterritorial income exclusion act.'' The WTO
allowed the European Union to impose up to $4 billion a year
in trade sanctions until the U.S. repealed the export tax
break, which benefits Boeing Co. (BA), General Electric Corp.
(GE), Intel Corp. (INTC) and others.
A version of Thomas' bill passed the committee in October.
It stalled in the House amid opposition from a bloc of
Republicans who said the bill doesn't do enough to benefit
U.S. manufacturers.
A frustrated Thomas disagreed, saying his bill helps
manufacturers. International tax law changes in his plan
would benefit a broad range of companies, including U.S.
multinationals, he said.
In November 2003, Thomas' bill was stuck in the House and
he lost another piece of leverage. The E.U. postponed the
date it would begin sanctions on U.S. companies from Jan. 1
to March 1.
Thomas, in a November 2003 meeting with European Union
Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, expressed disappointment the
E.U. didn't impose sanctions on U.S. companies sooner--on
Jan. 1 instead of March 1, according to three people familiar
with the conversation.
Thomas said earlier sanctions would have increased leverage
needed to push his corporate tax bill through Congress, these
people said. One person attended the Thomas-Lamy meeting
while the others were briefed by Lamy or other participants.
A House Republican aide said Thomas ``made the observation
reflecting what members had told to him and concerns they had
raised.'' Thomas had ``made similar observations in other
meetings,'' the House aide said.
Thomas' comments were interpreted differently by others.
``It puts you in a position where you want draconian
sanctions placed on U..S. companies early,'' said another
House aide who spoke to Lamy after the Thomas meeting.
The account circulated widely for months among lobbyists
and lawyers who handle trade and international tax issues;
several offered an unflattering view of Thomas' remarks. One
U.S. lobbyist recalled that during a visit with Lamy's staff
in Brussels, ``I heard the same story'' that Thomas ``has
been cheering on retaliation.''
A U.S.-based tax professional said his client relayed a
similar account after meeting with E.U. trade officials. A
Lamy spokeswoman declined to comment on private conns between
Lamy and members of Congress.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I sit here and I listen to some of my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle try to rewrite history. It was only 4 hours ago that we were
in the Committee on Rules. We took testimony. Some of the Members who
are the loudest critics on the floor today were not there.
When I came to this Congress, I had served almost all of my entire
career in the minority. I know what it is like to have to cough up a
substitute and not be able to do it because of the diversity of the
minority party in coming up with it. I did not see a substitute. It was
awfully clear there was no substitute for the committee's
consideration.
Now there are a number of line-by-line amendments that were brought
before the committee by the minority in rollcall votes. They are well
recorded. There will be no document that says there was a substitute
before the Committee on Rules.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. REYNOLDS. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. How
many of those amendments were made in order?
Mr. REYNOLDS. None.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
Mr. REYNOLDS. The amendments were brought before the committee.
Again, there was no substitute.
I did see a Rangel amendment that excluded all parts of the tax cuts
and left the tobacco bill.
Today this body, after this rule is passed, is going to have the
opportunity to make a decision: Tax cuts and a competitive agenda, or
the same old business as usual, drag it out, mess it up.
Today, with H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, my
colleagues are going to be able to end sanctions by repealing the FSC-
ETI, compensating for lost benefits by permanently cutting corporate
tax rates for domestic manufacturers and producers and farmers and
small corporations.
It is going to provide a pro-growth tax incentive for manufacturers,
small businesses and farmers to help create more American jobs, and it
is going to enhance the competitiveness of U.S.-based companies
engaging in exporting and/or manufacturing by greatly reducing double
taxation. These companies receive more than 90 percent of the FSC-ETI
benefits under the current law.
Mr. Speaker, we talked about it a long time. Today we are going to
have a vote up or down. America deserves this legislation because it is
going to give everyone who wants a job an opportunity to get a job.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
announcement by the speaker pro tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). The Chair would remind
Members on both sides of the aisle that the rules governing debate
indicate that a Member controlling time may yield time to another
Member if he or she chooses. It is not appropriate under the rules of
the House to blurt out questions and statements without having been
recognized or yielded to.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me also say that the Republican leadership made it
clear last night that no substitute in any form would have been made in
order.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos).
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
Mr. Speaker, the bizarre priorities of my colleagues on the other
side of the aisle this morning are shocking. Faced with a choice
between taking care of our Nation's citizen soldiers or giving
employers incentives to ship jobs overseas, the leadership on the other
side of the aisle has chosen outsourcing.
As we all know, the continuing activation of military reservists to
serve in Iraq and Afghanistan has imposed a tremendous burden on many
of our country's businesses. In fact, the United States Chamber of
Commerce estimates that 70 percent of reservists who are sent to active
duty work in small and medium-sized companies. When their employees are
asked to leave their jobs and serve our Nation, many of these
businesses are unable to continue operating successfully and face
severe financial difficulties, even bankruptcy. These employers are
sacrificing much so that America can be safe.
To address this matter, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
McGovern) and I offered an amendment that would have given all American
businesses a tax credit to help them continue to pay their employees
who are called to active duty, as well as help small businesses
temporarily replace reservists who have been called to duty.
Mr. Speaker, this common-sense amendment would have encouraged all
employers, but especially small businesses to rebridge the gap between
what their employees earn in civilian life and what the military pays
when they are on active duty. Those who do so would be eligible to
receive a tax credit of up to $15,000 of the wages they
[[Page H4301]]
pay to members of the Guard and Reserves for as long as they are on
active duty status.
Many small employers are having a difficult time hiring temporary
workers to replace their employees who have been called up to active
duty in the National Guard or the Reserves. The Lantos-McGovern
amendment will provide a tax credit of up to $6,000 to help small
employers defray the costs of hiring a new worker to replace a
guardsman or reservist who has been called up to active duty. Small
manufacturers would be eligible for a tax credit of up to $10,000 to
assist in hiring temporary workers.
The cost of this amendment was offset by striking a provision,
section 311, that we let companies invest their profits anywhere in the
world except in the United States. By allowing companies to get the
benefits of low tax rates for investments located in high-tax
countries, the bill is creating a strong incentive to invest overseas,
which will result in the United States losing both capital and jobs.
Instead of providing incentives to send jobs abroad, Congress should
take action to help businesses cope with the loss of an employee to
active duty and we should protect employees and their families from
suffering a pay cut while serving our Nation. We cannot let the cost of
that service force businesses into financial ruin and leave reservists
and their families to suffer substantial losses in pay.
What kind of values do our actions reflect if we are prepared to send
people overseas to fight for our security, leaving their families and
employers vulnerable to financial hardship, while giving U.S.
businesses ever more rewards for shipping jobs out of the country. This
is a topsy-turvy set of priorities which we must reject.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) outlined a
couple of things, and the debate on this rule also should bring us back
to perspective on this.
I thought I understood from the gentleman that his plan encourages
American companies to outsource overseas. The U.S. companies only
benefit if they manufacture in the United States. This plan temporarily
reduces the tax rate on repatriated income but only if that income is
currently reinvested in the United States.
The plan provides for $13 billion in transitional tax relief to
manufacturing and production in the United States. It eliminates double
taxation on foreign sales corporations and will not allow these
businesses to expand their operations hiring Americans.
Finally, any sanctions imposed by the EU and other tariffs imposed on
the American products will encourage business expansion, creating jobs
right here at home in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge).
(Mr. ETHERIDGE asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
this time.
On behalf of my North Carolina farm families, I rise today to support
H.R. 4520. Since 1997, tobacco quota has been cut by more than 50
percent in tobacco-growing regions. Consequently, farm families have
seen their income cut by more than half. Widows and widowers, who use
quota rents as their 401(k)s, have likewise seen their income fall.
I ask Members, could they survive if their salary had been
permanently cut by 50 percent or more? I think we know the answer to
that: It would be very difficult.
The time for action is running out. We need to jump-start the process
of reforming the current program, and we need to do it now. H.R. 4520
accomplishes this by including provisions for a tobacco buyout, and
this is not a buyout for the companies, it is for the small farmers and
the allotment holders across the tobacco-growing regions.
They have finally decided it is time for a change. They have had a
hard time getting there, but the consequences they see is if they do
not this year, they could face as much as a 30 percent cut this fall
because of foreign tobacco flooding into America. This really is about
helping people who work every day in the fields of this country making
a living.
On the underlying bill, I would have preferred the approach of the
Crane-Rangel bill, which I cosponsored, but beggars cannot be choosers.
I thank the distinguished gentleman from California, chairman of the
Committee on Ways and Means, for including the buyout provision in his
bill. But I caution the gentleman, when it goes to conference with the
Senate, remember the advice of the ancient Spartan women who gave this
advice to their sons before battle, ``Come back with your shield, or
come back on it.''
Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman from California, come back
with this buyout or do not come back.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
{time} 1130
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I listened a moment ago as my friend
from New York talked about: ``dragging it out and messing it up.'' I
can think of no better terminology to describe the bill before us
today, because it has been ``drug out and messed up.''
I heard my friend, the chair of the Committee on Ways and Means,
somehow assailing our side of the aisle for wanting to ``bend the
rules'' when the rule that we are debating here today allows all points
of order against the bill to be waived. So, they bend the rules for
things that they want to protect; but if we are seeking an opportunity
to have meaningful amendments, a meaningful alternative, somehow that
is trying to ``bend the rules.''
Certified smart people of good faith could have found a way to have
allowed a meaningful debate on this floor. We have a serious bipartisan
alternative offered up by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane), the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Manzullo), people who have a proposal that is paid for, that would not
increase the deficit, that would not be all ``messed up and drug out.''
But we are not going to permit that today. We are limiting debate on
this proposal to 30 minutes, despite being something that has tied this
Congress in knots for months and is a problem that is weighing against
small manufacturers across this country.
There are legitimate policy differences. There is a great deal of
emotion. There is a great deal of significant policy underlying it. We
are not going to have an opportunity to deal with that. There is no
good reason to have permitted only 30 minutes of debate on the other
side of the aisle.
Maybe they think that is better, because this proposal is moving
through this Chamber in a fog of over 700 pages of technical Tax Code
and report language that the vast majority of this Chamber has had no
access to and certainly has not had a chance to study it even if they
had the time. I would suggest that this is a testimony to how far the
rhetoric of the majority obscures their action and suggests contempt
for people in both parties who disagree with them.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I know that my colleagues in the Chamber know there is a debate on. I
believe those who are watching throughout the offices know there is a
debate on. I hope America knows. We are having that debate first on
this rule, and we are seeing viewpoints expressed. And then we will
have full debate on the Ways and Means chair and ranking member
managing the underlying legislation. Let it be clear that there will be
2 full hours of debate that this honorable body will have on this
issue. I am sure there will be many different viewpoints that are
expressed. At the end, I hope we are successful in passing this
legislation so that we can continue to grow jobs in America.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm).
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Stenholm).
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in deep sadness about the way this
House is being run. A rule which denies the ranking member of the
Committee
[[Page H4302]]
on Ways and Means an opportunity to offer a serious, responsible
amendment on an issue as important as this is should embarrass all of
us who care about this House.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. STENHOLM. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that there was no substitute
submitted to the Committee on Rules. I think it is important for us to
note that we would have had an opportunity to consider that if we had
had a substitute put together. We had a cut-and-bite amendment, a
perfecting amendment provided from the ranking minority member. I thank
my friend for yielding.
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I must respectfully differ with the
chairman of the Committee on Rules. The majority has justified the
decision of the Committee on Rules to not allow the minority to offer
an amendment because it is not a complete substitute. That explanation
would be laughable if it were not so sad. The gentleman from New York
(Mr. Rangel) submitted a comprehensive substitute to all of the
provisions within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means.
He did not get into the Committee on Agriculture, which is what we
should do around here. I would be perfectly willing as the ranking
member of the Committee on Agriculture to work with the Committee on
Ways and Means and the Committee on Rules. But for the gentleman from
California to stand on the floor and say that he followed the rules of
the House is not correct.
I am troubled, also, that this rule waives budget points of order and
allows us to pass legislation adding another $34 billion-plus to the
deficit. The other body passed a bill that would not add to the
deficit. Some of us are making the argument that we ought to go with
pay-as-you-go. I believe that. I heard speech after speech after speech
last night arguing about a million here and a million there, and today
it is billions, and wink and smile and then come to the floor and say,
well, we are following the rules.
Anytime this body begins to deny the minority party the opportunity
to have a say and to honestly have it applied by the rules of this
House, we are in danger of big trouble. This rule should be defeated.
The Committee on Rules should go back and draft a fair rule, and I am
talking about the rule. The merits of the bill, there are a lot of
things in it I want to work with them on. This rule should be defeated
by anyone that cares about fiscal responsibility.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, this is a fair and customary rule. I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan).
Mr. MEEHAN. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, a bipartisan group of legislators has been
fighting to get tobacco regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA regulates products from Tylenol to bottled water to macaroni
and cheese; yet it does not have the authority to regulate tobacco, the
only product that will kill you if used specifically as directed.
This year we stand on the verge of a historic compromise to get
tobacco regulated by the FDA, but the shameless $10 billion tobacco
buyout in this bill threatens the progress that we have made. This
sweetheart deal gives billions to Big Tobacco from the pockets of
taxpayers with no strings attached. It requires nothing to improve
public health in return. This buyout kills our hope for FDA regulation
by taking it off the negotiating table.
I urge my colleagues to vote against this rule and against this bill.
It is inexcusable and indefensible that this product, macaroni and
cheese, is regulated by the FDA; but this product, one of the only
products that will kill you if used specifically as directed, we cannot
get FDA regulation.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the continuing activation of military Reservists to
serve in Iraq and the war on terror has imposed a tremendous burden on
many of our country's businesses. For too many of these small
businesses, the temporary loss of these employees makes it difficult to
continue operating successfully, and many are faced with severe
financial difficulties, even bankruptcy. Why not help alleviate some of
this burden for these employers who are doing the right thing for their
employees and their families?
It is ironic that the party that never met a tax cut they did not
like and that claims to support small business would deny small
businesses a tax credit to help pay their employees who are serving
their country in a time of war. I cannot imagine why the Republican
leadership denied the full House an opportunity to vote on this
amendment. Certainly this is a more important issue than tax relief for
Chinese ceiling fan makers.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and let
this House vote on tax fairness for small businesses whose employees
are bravely serving their country in the Armed Forces.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the amendment
be printed in the Record immediately before the vote on the previous
question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Massachusetts.
There was no objection.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the distinguished chairman of
the Committee on Rules.
(Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me at the outset talk briefly about this
issue of minority rights. I feel very strongly about the rights of the
minority, doing everything that we possibly can to ensure that in the
Madisonian spirit of minority rights, their ideas are considered. That
is why when we went from minority to majority status exactly 10 years
ago, we guaranteed something that was often denied to us, and I served
for 14 years in the minority, it was often denied to us as members of
the minority, and that was an opportunity to offer a motion to recommit
the bill, a bite at the apple. It was often denied to us, and we have
guaranteed that. I will say that we try whenever we possibly can to
make in order a substitute, a substitute measure when it is brought to
us in the Committee on Rules.
Mr. Speaker, I have to say that working back and forth with Members
of the minority, I tried to last night see if we could, in fact, have a
substitute and make it in order. I will admit I said to them that I was
not sure that we would be able to, but the opportunity was still there
for Members of the minority to give us a chance to consider a
substitute measure in the Committee on Rules, and it did not happen.
Having said that, Mr. Speaker, let me say that I believe that we
should be here celebrating, celebrating the fact that we are on the
verge of passing very important legislation that is going to build on
the fact that the measures that we have passed in a bipartisan way
dealing with our Tax Code under the leadership of the gentleman from
California (Mr. Thomas), the proposal that initially was submitted to
us by the President of the United States, has created in excess of 1
million jobs over the past 3 months.
We are going to be able to have a chance today with this legislation
to build on that. That is why I want to say something that has not been
raised here at all. I want to thank the European Union and the World
Trade Organization for getting us to this point. In 1947 when the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was established, the goal was a
very clear and simple one. It was to eliminate tariff barriers so that
we could have the free flow of goods and services and capital.
What is it that has happened? We have seen the WTO build on that and
one of the goals, of course, is the elimination of subsidization. The
WTO was right. The FSC/ETI provisions have been subsidies; and what we
are doing is we are, in fact, phasing those out. We are phasing those
out because they have chosen to, at a rate of 1 percent a month,
increase the burden on U.S. products trying to get into their markets.
So what is happening? Rather than simply pointing outside, we are
looking
[[Page H4303]]
at ourselves, realizing that one of the challenges that we face as we
try to compete globally is the tax and regulatory burden that exists in
the United States of America, impinging on our workers, our
manufacturers, our producers the chance to get into new markets
worldwide. That is why what we are doing with this policy in bringing
about a reduction in that tax burden, it is the right thing to do. It
is going to create more jobs right here at home.
How the other side of the aisle can constantly complain that this is
going to do nothing but create jobs overseas is beyond me. What we are
doing here is we are reducing the burden that exists on job creators,
meaning that there will be a greater chance to create even more jobs
here in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a long time in coming. The gentleman from
California (Mr. Thomas) and members of the Committee on Ways and Means
and many of the rest of us have been involved working for 2 years on
this measure. It has been discussed, it has been debated, there have
been hearings; and we now have had an hour of debate on this, and we
will now have another hour of debate and an up-or-down vote. It is not
perfect legislation. We all know that there is no such thing as
perfection emerging from this place; but as we deal with this
challenge, it does create a wonderful new opportunity for the workers
of the United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule and support
the underlying measure which we are going to be voting on.
The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows:
Previous Question for H. Res. 581
H.R. 4520--American Jobs Creation Act of 2004
In the resolution strike ``and (2)'' and insert the
following:
``(2) the amendment printed in Sec. 2 of this resolution if
offered by Representative Lantos of California or
Representative McGovern of Massachusetts or a designee, which
shall be in order without intervention of any point of order,
shall be considered as read, shall not be subject to a demand
for a division of the question, and shall be separately
debatable for 60 minutes equally divided and controlled by
the proponent and an opponent; and (3)''
Sec. 2.
Amendment to H.R. 4520, as Reported
Offered By: Mr. Lantos of California
At the end of subtitle H of title II of the bill, add the
following new section (and conform the table of contents
accordingly):
SEC. 297. READY RESERVE-NATIONAL GUARD EMPLOYEE CREDIT AND
READY RESERVE-NATIONAL GUARD REPLACEMENT
EMPLOYEE CREDIT.
(a) Ready Reserve-National Guard Credit.--
(1) In general.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of
chapter 1 (relating to business-related credits) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 45G. READY RESERVE-NATIONAL GUARD EMPLOYEE CREDIT.
``(a) General Rule.--For purposes of section 38, the Ready
Reserve-National Guard employee credit determined under this
section for any taxable year with respect to each Ready
Reserve-National Guard employee of an employer is an amount
equal to 50 percent of the lesser of--
``(1) the actual compensation amount with respect to such
employee for such taxable year, or
``(2) $30,000.
``(b) Definition of Actual Compensation Amount.--For
purposes of this section, the term `actual compensation
amount' means the amount of compensation paid or incurred by
an employer with respect to a Ready Reserve-National Guard
employee on any day when the employee was absent from
employment for the purpose of performing qualified active
duty.
``(c) Limitations.--No credit shall be allowed with respect
to any day that a Ready Reserve-National Guard employee who
performs qualified active duty was not scheduled to work (for
reason other than to participate in qualified active duty).
``(d) Definitions and Special Rules.--For purposes of this
section--
``(1) Qualified active duty.--The term `qualified active
duty' means--
``(A) active duty, other than the training duty specified
in section 10147 of title 10, United States Code (relating to
training requirements for the Ready Reserve), or section
502(a) of title 32, United States Code (relating to required
drills and field exercises for the National Guard), in
connection with which an employee is entitled to reemployment
rights and other benefits or to a leave of absence from
employment under chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code,
and
``(B) hospitalization incident to such duty.
``(2) Compensation.--The term `compensation' means any
remuneration for employment, whether in cash or in kind,
which is paid or incurred by a taxpayer and which is
deductible from the taxpayer's gross income under section
162(a)(1).
``(3) Ready reserve-national guard employee.--The term
`Ready Reserve-National Guard employee' means an employee who
is a member of the Ready Reserve of a reserve component of an
Armed Force of the United States as described in sections
10142 and 10101 of title 10, United States Code.
``(4) Certain rules to apply.--Rules similar to the rules
of section 52 shall apply.
``(e) Portion of Credit Refundable.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of an employer of a
qualified first responder, the aggregate credits allowed to a
taxpayer under subpart C shall be increased by the lesser
of--
``(A) the credit which would be allowed under this section
without regard to this subsection and the limitation under
section 38(c), or
``(B) the amount by which the aggregate amount of credits
allowed by this subpart (determined without regard to this
subsection) would increase if the limitation imposed by
section 38(c) for any taxable year were increased by the
amount of employer payroll taxes imposed on the taxpayer
during the calendar year in which the taxable year begins.
The amount of the credit allowed under this subsection shall
not be treated as a credit allowed under this subpart and
shall reduce the amount of the credit otherwise allowable
under subsection (a) without regard to section 38(c).
``(2) Employer payroll taxes.--For purposes of this
subsection--
``(A) In general.--The term `employer payroll taxes' means
the taxes imposed by--
``(i) section 3111(b), and
``(ii) sections 3211(a) and 3221(a) (determined at a rate
equal to the rate under section 3111(b)).
``(B) Special rule.--A rule similar to the rule of section
24(d)(2)(C) shall apply for purposes of subparagraph (A).
``(3) Qualified first responder.--For purposes of this
subsection, the term `qualified first responder' means any
person who is--
``(A) employed as a law enforcement official, a
firefighter, or a paramedic, and
``(B) a Ready Reserve-National Guard employee.''.
(2) Credit to be part of general business credit.--
Subsection (b) of section 38 (relating to general business
credit) is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of
paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (15) and inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the
end the following:
``(16) the Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit
determined under section 45G(a).''.
(3) Denial of double benefit.--Section 280C(a) (relating to
rule for employment credits) is amended by inserting
``45G(a),'' after ``45A(a),''.
(4) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for
subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is amended
by inserting after the item relating to section 45F the
following:
``Sec. 45G. Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit.''.
(5) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after September 30,
2004, in taxable years ending after such date.
(b) Ready Reserve-National Guard Replacement Employee
Credit.--
(1) In general.--Subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of
chapter 1 (relating to foreign tax credit, etc.) is amended
by adding after section 30A the following new section:
``SEC. 30B. READY RESERVE-NATIONAL GUARD REPLACEMENT EMPLOYEE
CREDIT.
``(a) Allowance of Credit.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of an eligible taxpayer,
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by
this chapter for the taxable year the sum of the employment
credits for each qualified replacement employee under this
section.
``(2) Employment credit.--The employment credit with
respect to a qualified replacement employee of the taxpayer
for any taxable year is equal to 50 percent of the lesser
of--
``(A) the individual's qualified compensation attributable
to service rendered as a qualified replacement employee, or
``(B) $12,000.
``(b) Qualified Compensation.--The term `qualified
compensation' means--
``(1) compensation which is normally contingent on the
qualified replacement employee's presence for work and which
is deductible from the taxpayer's gross income under section
162(a)(1),
``(2) compensation which is not characterized by the
taxpayer as vacation or holiday pay, or as sick leave or pay,
or as any other form of pay for a nonspecific leave of
absence, and
``(3) group health plan costs (if any) with respect to the
qualified replacement employee.
``(c) Qualified Replacement Employee.--For purposes of this
section--
``(1) In general.--The term `qualified replacement
employee' means an individual who is hired to replace a Ready
Reserve-National Guard employee or a Ready Reserve-National
Guard self-employed taxpayer, but only with respect to the
period during which such Ready Reserve-National Guard
employee or Ready Reserve-National Guard self-employed
taxpayer participates in qualified active duty, including
time spent in travel status.
[[Page H4304]]
``(2) Ready reserve-national guard employee.--The term
`Ready Reserve-National Guard employee' has the meaning given
such term by section 45G(d)(3).
``(3) Ready reserve-national guard self-employed
taxpayer.--The term `Ready Reserve-National Guard self-
employed taxpayer' means a taxpayer who--
``(A) has net earnings from self-employment (as defined in
section 1402(a)) for the taxable year, and
``(B) is a member of the Ready Reserve of a reserve
component of an Armed Force of the United States as described
in section 10142 and 10101 of title 10, United States Code.
``(d) Coordination With Other Credits.--The amount of
credit otherwise allowable under sections 51(a) and 1396(a)
with respect to any employee shall be reduced by the credit
allowed by this section with respect to such employee.
``(e) Limitations.--
``(1) Application with other credits.--The credit allowed
under subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed
the excess (if any) of--
``(A) the regular tax for the taxable year reduced by the
sum of the credits allowable under subpart A and sections 27,
29, and 30, over
``(B) the tentative minimum tax for the taxable year.
``(2) Disallowance for failure to comply with employment or
reemployment rights of members of the reserve components of
the armed forces of the united states.--No credit shall be
allowed under subsection (a) to a taxpayer for--
``(A) any taxable year, beginning after the date of the
enactment of this section, in which the taxpayer is under a
final order, judgment, or other process issued or required by
a district court of the United States under section 4323 of
title 38 of the United States Code with respect to a
violation of chapter 43 of such title, and
``(B) the 2 succeeding taxable years.
``(f) General Definitions and Special Rules.--For purposes
of this section--
``(1) Eligible taxpayer.--The term `eligible taxpayer'
means a small business employer or a Ready Reserve-National
Guard self-employed taxpayer.
``(2) Small business employer.--
``(A) In general.--The term `small business employer'
means, with respect to any taxable year, any employer who
employed an average of 50 or fewer employees on business days
during such taxable year.
``(B) Controlled groups.--For purposes of subparagraph (A),
all persons treated as a single employer under subsection
(b), (c), (m), or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a
single employer.
``(3) Qualified active duty.--The term `qualified active
duty' has the meaning given such term by section 45G(d)(1).
``(4) Special rules for certain manufacturers.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of any qualified
manufacturer--
``(i) subsection (a)(2)(B) shall be applied by substituting
`$20,000' for `$12,000', and
``(ii) paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection shall be applied
by substituting `100' for `50'.
``(B) Qualified manufacturer.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the term `qualified manufacturer' means any person
if--
``(i) the primary business of such person is classified in
sector 31, 32, or 33 of the North American Industrial
Classification System, and
``(ii) all of such person's facilities which are used for
production in such business are located in the United States.
``(5) Carryback and carryforward allowed.--
``(A) In general.--If the credit allowable under subsection
(a) for a taxable year exceeds the amount of the limitation
under subsection (e)(1) for such taxable year (in this
paragraph referred to as the `unused credit year'), such
excess shall be a credit carryback to each of the 3 taxable
years preceding the unused credit year and a credit
carryforward to each of the 20 taxable years following the
unused credit year.
``(B) Rules.--Rules similar to the rules of section 39
shall apply with respect to the credit carryback and credit
carryforward under subparagraph (A).
``(6) Certain rules to apply.--Rules similar to the rules
of subsections (c), (d), and (e) of section 52 shall
apply.''.
(2) No deduction for compensation taken into account for
credit.--Section 280C(a) (relating to rule for employment
credits) is amended--
(A) by inserting ``or compensation'' after ``salaries'',
and
(B) by inserting ``30B,'' before ``45A(a),''.
(3) Conforming amendment.--Section 55(c)(2) is amended by
inserting ``30B(e)(1),'' after ``30(b)(3),''.
(4) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for subpart
B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is amended by
adding after the item relating to section 30A the following
new item:
``Sec. 30B. Ready Reserve-National Guard replacement employee
credit.''.
(5) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after September 30,
2004, in taxable years ending after such date.
(c) Application of Annual Exclusion Limit Under Section 911
to Housing Costs.--
(1) In general.--Section 911(c) (relating to housing cost
amount) is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(4) Limit on exclusion for employer provided housing
costs.--The housing cost amount for any individual for any
taxable year attributable to employer provided amounts shall
not exceed the excess (if any) of--
``(A) the product of--
``(i) the exclusion amount determined under subsection
(b)(2)(D) for the taxable year, and
``(ii) a fraction equal to the number of days of the
taxable year within the applicable period described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (d)(1) divided by the
number of days in the taxable year, over
``(B) the foreign earned income of the individual excluded
under subsection (a)(1) for the taxable year.''
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 911(c)(1) is amended by
striking ``The'' and inserting ``Except as provided in
paragraph (4), the''.
(3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Strike section 311 of the bill (relating to look-thru
treatment of payments between related controlled foreign
corporations under foreign personal holding company income
rules), redesignate sections 312 through 316 of the bill as
sections 311 through 315, respectively, and conform the table
of contents accordingly.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I
move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair will reduce to 5 minutes
the minimum time for electronic voting, if ordered, on the question of
adoption of the resolution.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 233,
nays 193, not voting 7, as follows:
[Roll No. 256]
YEAS--233
Aderholt
Akin
Bachus
Baker
Ballenger
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Bass
Beauprez
Bereuter
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonner
Bono
Boozman
Bradley (NH)
Brady (TX)
Brown (SC)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Burgess
Burns
Burr
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Carter
Castle
Chabot
Chandler
Chocola
Coble
Cole
Collins
Cox
Crane
Crenshaw
Cubin
Culberson
Cunningham
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
DeLay
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Ehlers
Emerson
English
Etheridge
Everett
Feeney
Ferguson
Flake
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gingrey
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Granger
Graves
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Gutknecht
Hall
Harris
Hart
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Hensarling
Herger
Hobson
Hoekstra
Hostettler
Houghton
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Isakson
Issa
Istook
Jenkins
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kline
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
Marshall
McCotter
McCrery
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Moran (KS)
Murphy
Musgrave
Myrick
Nethercutt
Neugebauer
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nunes
Nussle
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Oxley
Paul
Pearce
Pence
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Radanovich
Ramstad
Regula
Rehberg
Renzi
Reynolds
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Saxton
Schrock
Scott (GA)
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Souder
Stearns
Sullivan
Sweeney
Tancredo
[[Page H4305]]
Tauzin
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Toomey
Turner (OH)
Upton
Vitter
Walden (OR)
Walsh
Wamp
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NAYS--193
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Alexander
Allen
Andrews
Baca
Baird
Baldwin
Becerra
Bell
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brown (OH)
Brown, Corrine
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Cardoza
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Case
Clay
Clyburn
Cooper
Costello
Cramer
Crowley
Cummings
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley (CA)
Doyle
Edwards
Emanuel
Engel
Eshoo
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Ford
Frank (MA)
Frost
Gonzalez
Green (TX)
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Harman
Herseth
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hoeffel
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley (OR)
Hoyer
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kind
Kleczka
Kucinich
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lowey
Lynch
Majette
Maloney
Markey
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Michaud
Millender-McDonald
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (VA)
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Rahall
Rangel
Reyes
Rodriguez
Ross
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sabo
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanders
Sandlin
Schakowsky
Schiff
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Sherman
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Spratt
Stark
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Towns
Turner (TX)
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Wexler
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
NOT VOTING--7
Conyers
DeMint
Gephardt
Hastings (FL)
Kilpatrick
Quinn
Ruppersberger
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette) (during the vote). Members
are advised that there are 2 minutes remaining in this vote.
{time} 1209
Mr. MARSHALL changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 230,
noes 195, not voting 8, as follows:
[Roll No. 257]
AYES--230
Aderholt
Akin
Bachus
Baker
Ballenger
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Bass
Beauprez
Bereuter
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonner
Bono
Boozman
Boucher
Bradley (NH)
Brady (TX)
Brown (SC)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Burgess
Burns
Burr
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Carter
Chabot
Chandler
Chocola
Coble
Cole
Collins
Cox
Crane
Crenshaw
Cubin
Culberson
Cunningham
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
DeLay
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Ehlers
Emerson
English
Etheridge
Everett
Feeney
Ferguson
Flake
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gingrey
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Granger
Graves
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Gutknecht
Hall
Harris
Hart
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Hensarling
Herger
Hobson
Hoekstra
Hostettler
Houghton
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Isakson
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kline
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Latham
LaTourette
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
Marshall
Matheson
McCotter
McCrery
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Moore
Moran (KS)
Murphy
Musgrave
Myrick
Nethercutt
Neugebauer
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nunes
Nussle
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Oxley
Paul
Pearce
Pence
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Pombo
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Radanovich
Ramstad
Regula
Rehberg
Renzi
Reynolds
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Saxton
Schrock
Scott (GA)
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Souder
Stearns
Sullivan
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tauzin
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Toomey
Turner (OH)
Upton
Vitter
Walden (OR)
Walsh
Wamp
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOES--195
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Alexander
Allen
Andrews
Baca
Baird
Baldwin
Becerra
Bell
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Boswell
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brown (OH)
Brown, Corrine
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Cardoza
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Case
Castle
Clay
Clyburn
Cooper
Costello
Cramer
Crowley
Cummings
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley (CA)
Doyle
Edwards
Emanuel
Engel
Eshoo
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Ford
Frank (MA)
Frost
Gonzalez
Green (TX)
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Harman
Herseth
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hoeffel
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley (OR)
Hoyer
Inslee
Israel
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kind
Kleczka
Kucinich
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lowey
Lynch
Majette
Maloney
Markey
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Michaud
Millender-McDonald
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moran (VA)
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Platts
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Rahall
Rangel
Reyes
Rodriguez
Ross
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sabo
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanders
Sandlin
Schakowsky
Schiff
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Shays
Sherman
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Spratt
Stark
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Towns
Turner (TX)
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watson
Watt
Weiner
Wexler
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
NOT VOTING--8
Conyers
DeMint
Gephardt
Hastings (FL)
Kilpatrick
Quinn
Ruppersberger
Waxman
{time} 1218
So the resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________