[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1135-S1139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TAX RELIEF EXTENSION RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2005

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of the House message to accompany H.R. 
4297, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Resolved that the House disagree to the amendment of the 
     Senate to the bill (H.R. 4297) entitled ``An Act to provide 
     for reconciliation pursuant to section 201(b) of the 
     concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2006.''

  Pending:

       Kennedy motion to instruct conferees to reject the 
     extension of the capital gains and dividends rate reduction 
     contained in section 203 of the bill as passed by the House 
     of Representatives.
       Reed motion to instruct conferees to insist that the final 
     conference report include funding to strengthen America's 
     military

[[Page S1136]]

     contained in title VI of the Senate amendment instead of any 
     extension of the tax cuts for capital gains and dividends, 
     which does not expire until 2009, contained in section 203 of 
     the bill as passed by the House of Representatives.
       Wyden motion to instruct conferees to insist that the final 
     conference report include a provision that repeals 
     accelerated depreciation for geologic and geophysical costs 
     for oil and gas exploration by the five major oil companies.
       Obama motion to instruct conferees to insist that the final 
     conference report include tax relief for the most vulnerable 
     members of our society, including the low-income victims of 
     Hurricane Katrina and children in families that are too poor 
     to benefit fully from the refundable child tax credit.
       Hatch motion to instruct conferees to insist that the final 
     conference report include a permanent extension of the credit 
     for increasing research activities (based on section 108 of 
     the amendment passed by the Senate), in order to improve 
     American competitiveness.
       DeWine motion to instruct conferees to insist that the 
     final conference report accept the veterans' mortgage bonds 
     expansion provisions contained in section 303 of the bill as 
     passed by the House of Representatives with such revisions as 
     are necessary to provide veterans in all 50 States with 
     access to lower-rate mortgages.
       Reid (for Menendez) motion to instruct conferees to insist 
     that the final conference report include the Senate passed 
     ``hold-harmless'' relief from the individual alternative 
     minimum tax (AMT) in 2006, and does not include the extension 
     of lower tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
       Stabenow motion to instruct conferees to insist that the 
     final conference report include a permanent extension of the 
     credit for increasing research activities, and to reject any 
     extension of the tax rate for capital gains and dividends 
     which does not expire until 2009.
       Grassley motion to instruct conferees to insist that the 
     final conference report include the ``hold-harmless'' relief 
     from the individual alternative minimum tax in 2006 (sections 
     106 and 107 of the amendment passed by the Senate) to protect 
     middle class families and includes an extension of lower tax 
     rates on capital gains and dividends (based on section 203 of 
     the bill passed by the House of Representatives) to protect 
     tax cuts for middle class families.
       Grassley (for Lott) motion to instruct conferees to insist 
     that the final conference report include the repeal of the 
     individual alternative minimum tax (based on sections 106 and 
     107 of the amendment passed by the Senate).
       Grassley (for Hutchison) motion to instruct conferees to 
     insist that the final conference report include a permanent 
     extension of the election to deduct State and local general 
     sales taxes (based on section 105 of the amendment passed by 
     the Senate).
       Grassley (for Santorum) motion to instruct conferees to 
     insist that the final conference report include a permanent 
     extension of the above-the-line deduction for tuition and 
     fees (based on section 103 of the amendment passed by the 
     Senate).
       Grassley motion to instruct conferees to insist that the 
     final conference report ensure that in 2009 and 2010, the 
     international competitiveness of the United States in 
     attracting capital investment, and therefore job creation, is 
     not weakened further by a higher combined corporate and 
     individual income tax rate on corporate and capital income as 
     a result of a higher dividend tax rate.
       Grassley (for Talent/Snowe/Lincoln) motion to instruct 
     conferees to insist that the final conference report include 
     a permanent extension of the modifications to the child tax 
     credit made by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief 
     Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief 
     Reconciliation Act of 2003.
       Lautenberg motion to instruct conferees to insist that the 
     final conference report does not increase the national debt 
     of the United States.
       Schumer motion to instruct conferees to insist that the 
     final conference report include the Senate-passed provision 
     to extend the above-the-line deduction for tuition and fees 
     through December 31, 2009 (section 103), before it includes 
     the House-passed extension of lower tax rates on capital 
     gains and dividends (section 203), given budget constraints, 
     noting that a conference report which maintains the tuition 
     deduction will provide needed tax relief to more than 
     4,000,000 American families each year that are struggling to 
     keep pace with rising tuition costs.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts is 
recognized.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I understand that in the order that has 
been printed, the first instruction is by the Senator from Iowa, Mr. 
Grassley, which includes both the alternative minimum tax relief and 
the tax cuts for dividends and capital gains. I understand that he has 
2 minutes to speak in favor of that and there are 2 minutes in 
opposition to it. I, at this time, will use part of the 2 minutes in 
opposition.
  I see the ranking member and I would suggest a brief quorum call so 
he may speak in opposition to the Grassley motion. I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant journal clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I would like to give a list of pending 
motions, and I ask unanimous consent that the time not be charged 
against the 2 minutes allocated to explaining the motion.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, the list of motions to instruct that we 
have thus far are in this order: No. 1 is the Grassley motion regarding 
AMT asking for both AMT relief and tax cuts. No. 2 is the Kennedy 
capital gains motion, which is in opposition to the former. No. 3 is 
the Lott motion on AMT. No. 4 is Senator Menendez's AMT capital gains. 
No. 5 is Senator Santorum with respect to tuition deduction. No. 6 is 
Senator Schumer with respect to tuition deduction. No. 7 is Senator 
Hatch's motion with respect to R&D. No. 8 is Senator Stabenow's motion 
with respect to R&D and capital gains. That is where we are at this 
point. That is eight. There are a total of 16 on my list, and it is my 
hope that by the time we get through the eight maybe Senators will be a 
little less inclined to insist on recorded votes. But those are the 
first 8, with a total of 16 motions to instruct, which I understand 
will all be in order this morning.
  I yield the floor.


                     Motions to Instruct Conferees

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa is 
recognized.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, would it be in order to call up my 
motion on the AMT and the capital gains dividend?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's motion is now 
pending.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I have 1 minute?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Two minutes.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, 16 million additional American families 
could find themselves subject to the alternative minimum tax if we do 
not act quickly. Failure to pass a minimum level of alternative minimum 
tax relief, as was provided in the Senate-passed reconciliation bill, 
is not an option. In fact, I support full AMT repeal. Some of my 
colleagues are creating a false choice when they suggest that in order 
to provide AMT relief we need to remove incentives that encourage 
economic growth. We can design a tax package which will include 
dividends, capital gains, AMT, and a 1-year extension for all expiring 
tax relief, all within that $70 billion limit. I encourage my 
colleagues to vote for this motion which provides relief for 
alternative minimum tax and capital gains and dividends as well.
  I yield.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to oppose this 
motion. Why is that? Essentially, we must choose between extending 
protection from the AMT tax increase this year for 17 million working 
families or extending $50 billion in investor tax breaks which do not 
expire until 3 years from now, after the next Presidential election. 
That is the choice.
  This motion says you can have it all. This motion says there is no 
deficit problem. This motion says: Don't worry, be happy. Our Senate 
bill, supported by 66 Senators, chose to protect millions of working 
families from the 2006 AMT hit rather than extending 2009 tax breaks 
for investors. The truth is, we cannot have it all. There is a deficit 
problem. Something will have to give, and I wish we could realistically 
hope the House will be willing to agree to a significant amount of 
offsets, crackdowns on tax shelters, so we could do more on this tax 
bill, but I am not optimistic. I have deep experience with the House, 
and they will not do so, and that is forcing us to choose. That is why 
we must choose. Is it the R&D credit? Is it incentives for businesses 
to hire the hard-to-employ? Is it a true AMT hold-harmless?

[[Page S1137]]

  Those are our choices. The House made their choice. They chose not to 
protect 17 million families threatened by the AMT. Some items can wait 
until 2007, 2008, or even 2009. Capital gains can wait. AMT cannot 
wait. Protection from that tax increase--that is, the AMT--which 
expires now, must be extended this year, not capital gains. That AMT 
protection expired in December, and 17 million working families are 
waiting to hear our choice.
  I urge my colleagues not to embark on this dangerous course. I urge 
them to reject this motion. We have to choose. We cannot have it all. I 
urge my colleagues to be responsible.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, if I have 10 seconds----
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa has 1 minute 
remaining.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I am only going to use 10 seconds. I hope my friend 
from Montana will agree with me on this, that we do have differences on 
this one part, the capital gains part of this bill, but I think we 
agree on everything else in the bill. I hope people listening to 
Senator Baucus and I maybe differing on this one point will remember 
that on most everything that goes on in our committee, we agree. I do 
not want them to get a distorted view of our friendship and our working 
together on this legislation.
  I yield back my time, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second? There 
is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the Grassley motion to instruct 
conferees. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant journal clerk called the roll.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 47, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 16 Leg.]

                                YEAS--53

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter

                                NAYS--47

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden
  The motion was agreed to.
  THE ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as I understand, the pending instruction 
is mine.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct. There is 4 
minutes evenly divided.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, this Senate is not going to have a 
clearer opportunity in terms of the Nation's priorities than on this 
next vote. Under the current proposal before the Senate, it provides 
the dividends and capital gains of $50 billion. The President's 
proposal which was submitted is $50 billion in Medicare and Medicaid 
budget cuts.
  We have the choice of $50 billion for the further tax reductions for 
the wealthiest individuals or we are going to stand up on Medicare and 
Medicaid. If we care about the culture of life, we will vote for this 
amendment since one-third of all the children born are born under 
Medicaid and receive well-baby treatment and mothers are treated.
  If Members care about our seniors and disabled and those mentally 
challenged and disabled, they will vote for this motion because it 
protects Medicare.
  If Members are talking about children, nursing homes, and the frail 
and elderly, Members will vote for this motion because it will preserve 
Medicaid.
  If Members care about research and NIH and believe this is the life 
science century, Members will not tolerate the extraordinary cuts in 
the NIH budget in cancer and Alzheimer's research, the whole range of 
research, and will vote for this motion.
  If Members care about fairness for America's families, vote for this 
motion over giveaways to the very wealthy.
  It is as plain and simple as that. I hope our colleagues will support 
it.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa is 
recognized.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, this vote has nothing to do with 
Medicare or Medicaid. This motion by Senator Kennedy calls for a tax 
increase in 2008 on millions of Americans. Critics of lower rates 
always want to persecute millionaires and at the same time punish 
everyone else trying to save money. The lower rates on capital gains 
have benefited low- and middle-income families in a very meaningful way 
and reduced the tax burden on citizens. They have contributed to our 
economic recovery and continue to help our economy grow. They have made 
capital investment in America more competitive so we can be competitive 
with global competition. They have helped impose transparency and 
discipline on corporate managers which is critical to protecting 
investors and workers. Business investors need certainty.
  We need to act now. For these reasons, I encourage my colleagues to 
vote against this motion.
  I point out something that directly involves the State of 
Massachusetts. We have heard the same old charge, that capital gains 
and dividends are only for rich folks. These charts behind me assert 
the opposite. According to Internal Revenue Service statistics on 
income for the State of Massachusetts, there are 589,000 individuals 
and families who benefit from the reduced tax on dividends, and 212,000 
individuals and families benefit from the reduced tax on capital gains. 
There are not that many millionaires in that State regardless of how 
rich that State is. Not all of these folks are superrich. They are 
people like the average American benefiting from this. I don't know why 
anyone wants to persecute a few millionaires and punish everyone else.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time has expired.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the Kennedy motion to instruct 
conferees.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 47, nays 53, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 17 Leg.]

                                YEAS--47

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--53

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
  The motion was rejected.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The minority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have spoken to the majority leader. In 
fact, he and I spoke last night and again today.

[[Page S1138]]

I am going to, in a minute or so, suggest the absence of a quorum.
  I would ask Democratic Senators to stay around the floor. We are 
going to see, if working with our manager and Senator Conrad and 
others, we can maybe jointly agree on not having as many votes as are 
scheduled now.
  So I would note the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant journal clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that we proceed 
to immediate votes on the DeWine motion, the Wyden motion, and the 
Talent-Snowe-Lincoln motion--I would state for the record that these 
motions will be voice votes--provided further that following those 
votes, the Senate proceed to votes in relation to the Reed motion, the 
Hutchison motion, and the Lautenberg motion--and, again, we expect 
rollcall votes on these three; finally, I ask unanimous consent that 
following those votes the remaining motions be withdrawn and the Chair 
be authorized to appoint conferees.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, what we have just done is greatly simplify 
the course of the votes over the course of the morning. We will have 
three rollcall votes following the voice votes. I appreciate both sides 
of the aisle working together, condensing 14 motions down to 3 rollcall 
votes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the 
motion of the Senator from Ohio, Mr. DeWine. Those in favor say aye. 
Those opposed say no.
  The motion was agreed to.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is now on agreeing to 
the motion of the Senator from Oregon, Mr. Wyden. Those in favor say 
aye. Those opposed say no.
  The motion was agreed to.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is now on agreeing to 
the motion of the Senator from Missouri, Mr. Talent. Those in favor say 
aye. Those opposed say no.
  The motion was agreed to.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is now on agreeing to 
the motion of the Senator from Rhode Island, Mr. Reed. There are 2 
minutes, evenly divided, of debate on this motion.
  The Senator from Rhode Island is recognized.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, my motion to instruct conferees is simple. 
Our Army and Marine Corps have been engaged in combat operations for 
several years now. Their equipment is in a very difficult situation. It 
is estimated this year alone that the Army will need about $13.7 
billion simply to repair the equipment, not to buy new equipment, that 
has been used in combat. The Marine Corps will need approximately $7.5 
billion.
  My instruction would simply say allocate $50 billion and pay for it 
by taking the capital gains and dividend preferences being awarded in 
this tax reconciliation bill. I think it makes a great deal more sense 
to give our troops the best equipment we can have rather than to give 
upper income Americans another tax break.
  It is very simple: Are we going to give our troops a dividend in good 
functioning equipment or are we going to give the dividend to the 
wealthiest Americans?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired. The 
Senator from Iowa is recognized.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Reed's attention to 
the issue of funding for our military. Proper funding for those serving 
our country should not be controversial. The method of providing this 
funding should not be made into a controversial issue, and that is 
where the controversy is.
  My colleague suggests that in order to provide funding for our 
military, we need to eliminate a tax benefit that doesn't even arise 
until 2009. Look at how ridiculous this motion is. How can you provide 
funds that are so badly needed today to ensure that we meet the 
operational needs of our courageous military service personnel when it 
won't be funded until 2009? I remind you that last night all of us 
voted for my amendment to support the operational needs of our military 
that provides the same benefits but doesn't raise taxes.
  I urge my colleagues to vote against the Reed motion. In addition, I 
remind my friend from Rhode Island that there are 79,000 families in 
his State that benefit from not having the tax on dividends at 15 
percent.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the 
motion of the Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant journal clerk called the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Isakson). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 45, nays 55, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 18 Leg.]

                                YEAS--45

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Wyden

                                NAYS--55

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
  The motion was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are now 2 minutes equally divided on the 
Hutchison motion to instruct conferees.
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise to speak in favor of the 
motion. I certainly hope our colleagues will vote to instruct conferees 
on a basic issue of fairness.
  Today, there are eight States that have sales taxes but not a State 
income tax. Until 2 years ago, they were disadvantaged by not being 
able to deduct their sales taxes from their Federal income taxes, 
whereas an income-tax State would allow their payers to do that.
  It is very important in this country that we have tax equity. In 
fact, the motion to instruct would give equity to all. It creates jobs 
because there is more economic activity when we treat all people in our 
States the same and allow them to deduct the State taxes they pay. It 
is a matter of fairness.
  The States of Washington, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, 
Alaska, Florida, and Tennessee all have this situation in which their 
taxpayers will be disadvantaged if we do not instruct the conferees.
  I urge my colleagues to support this motion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I yield the 1 minute on our side to the 
Senator from New Jersey.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized for 
1 minute.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, the motion clearly says that taxpayers 
would have to choose between deducting their sales tax costs or their 
income tax costs. If a taxpayer lives in a State that chooses to have 
both a sales tax and an income tax, why should they be penalized? This 
motion is not fair for the people in my State or many States such as 
mine that have both sales and income taxes.

[[Page S1139]]

  The Federal Government should not be micromanaging State tax systems. 
If we have the expense, we ought to allow the deduction. If we are 
going to allow the deduction of State sales taxes, we should allow it 
no matter where the taxpayers live.
  I hope we will oppose this management from the Federal Government of 
how a State ought to conduct its tax system.
  I yield the floor and urge opposition to the motion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Hutchison 
motion to instruct conferees.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 75, nays 25, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 19 Leg.]

                                YEAS--75

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Dayton
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reid
     Roberts
     Salazar
     Santorum
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner

                                NAYS--25

     Baucus
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Byrd
     Carper
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Feingold
     Gregg
     Harkin
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Reed
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Stabenow
     Sununu
     Wyden
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, the motion is simple. It says the 
conferees need to come back with a final bill that does not increase 
the national debt. So if you vote against this, you are saying it is OK 
to increase the national debt. Lord knows what we have by way of debt. 
It is drowning us and will be paid for by our children and our 
grandchildren. It is reckless to charge $50 billion on our Nation's 
credit card when we have another option. We can pay for these tax cuts 
by closing the egregious tax loopholes such as the $6 billion for oil 
companies with record earnings--on the front page of the paper this 
morning.
  Whether you voted for or against the bill, we should all agree that 
we should not stick future generations with the bill.
  That is what my motion says. It is very simple.
  On Valentines Day, vote against increasing the national debt.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to inform the Senator from 
New Jersey that his motion would increase taxes on people in New Jersey 
through dividends of $838,000 and capital gains of $270,000.
  If we don't do something about AMT, 600,000 people from New Jersey 
suffer; if we don't have the college tuition tax deduction, 121,000; 
and teacher deduction, 127,000.
  I don't know how anybody would want to increase taxes on people in 
their States by that amount of money. If you take the approach of the 
Senator from New Jersey and have to offset all of these things, there 
are not enough offsets to go around to take care of the 100 ideas we 
have of where taxes ought to be reduced.
  We now have taxes of 18 percent coming into the country into the 
Gross National Product for a 60-year high.
  How high do taxes have to be to satisfy the Senator from New Jersey 
that taxes are high enough?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion to instruct.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 20 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Akaka
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Conrad
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Voinovich
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Warner
  The motion was rejected.

                          ____________________