[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5283-S5284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 997. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
income tax relief for families, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise to highlight the greatest 
resource of Arkansas. It is our people. It is the working families and 
the small businesses in their valiant fight against the current 
economic crisis.
  It is more important than ever before to give working families and 
businesses the tools they need to succeed in this world, to be 
competitive in the global marketplace and, more importantly, to be able 
to be successful on their own land. Hard work and entrepreneurship have 
fueled the Arkansas small business economy for decades, and we must 
ensure it remains that way in the future.
  That is why I have designed a package of tax cuts and Tax Code 
simplification measures that I call the Arkansas Plan, to help move our 
State and hard-working families forward. Together, these tax measures 
will allow working families and small businesses to get ahead and 
emerge from this economic crisis stronger and more competitive than 
ever before. These measures will encourage innovation and 
entrepreneurship, create new jobs, and lessen our dependence on foreign 
oil; as well as reduce the burden on working families and small 
businesses by simplifying our ever-complicated Tax Code.
  This week, I am focused on measures that will allow working families 
and small businesses to emerge from the economic crisis stronger and 
more competitive. I have reintroduced the Small Business Health Options 
Program, which would make health insurance more affordable, 
predictable, and accessible for small businesses and self-employed 
individuals. Our SHOP bill offers tax incentives to encourage States to 
reform the poorly functioning small group insurance market and 
encourages the development of State purchasing pools backstopped by a 
voluntary nationwide pool.
  The majority of uninsured Americans are self-employed individuals and 
employees of small businesses. Small businesses are the No. 1 source 
for jobs in our great State of Arkansas. Yet only 29 percent of 
businesses with fewer than 50 employees offer health insurance coverage 
because it is simply too expensive. Of the total uninsured population 
of Arkansas--more than 56 percent--approximately 295,000 Arkansans are 
employed by a firm with 100 or fewer employees.
  Our SHOP bill is a pragmatic model for larger health reform 
legislation that allows us to begin to address the needs of the 
millions of working uninsured Americans whose top priority is access to 
quality and affordable health care for their families. What we are 
looking for is to be able to give small businesses, their employees, 
and self-employed individuals the access to the same kind of quality 
and affordable health insurance we enjoy as Members of Congress.
  I think it is very doable. I am looking forward to continuing my work 
with Senator Snowe and others on a plan we have worked on for years 
now. Whether it is done independently or in the context of a larger 
health care reform package, it is time to do something for small 
businesses, their employees, and the self employed because they are the 
largest component of the uninsured that we could really do something 
substantively for.
  Another piece of my Arkansas plan is legislation to help Arkansas 
taxpayers who have seen their investments disappear as a result of the 
deteriorating economic conditions. My proposal would allow taxpayers to 
deduct up to $10,000--up from the $3,000 cap they have now--as the 
amount an individual can deduct annually for capital losses suffered.
  More than 100,000 Arkansans count on such investments. Arkansas 
families have seen the value of investments plummet during the current 
economic crisis. The resulting losses from the dramatic downturn in the 
market have been felt by all investors, but probably the hardest hit 
are those taxpayers who are at or near retirement age, who are counting 
on such funds for their retirement security. This gives them a little 
bit of ease.
  I have also introduced the Savings for Working Families Act, which 
would encourage low- and middle-income families to establish savings 
accounts for the purchase of a first home, a college education, or to 
start a business. These individual development accounts have a proven 
track record of success in Arkansas.
  In addition, today I introduce the Family Tax Relief Act to help the 
families of more than 140,000 Arkansas children afford the cost of 
childcare. If you look around this Nation at the hard-working 
Americans--particularly in Arkansas--who are in need of childcare, 
good-quality childcare, to be able to pay for it, this is a substantial 
difference in these economic times that helps them achieve that goal.
  Also, today I introduce a bill to update rules for S corporations so 
that businesses can access capital and have the opportunity to expand 
and create the much needed jobs Arkansans need.
  Together, I believe these bills will equip the working families and 
small businesses in our great State of Arkansas with the resources 
needed to navigate the current crisis.
  Next week, my Arkansas Plan will focus on encouraging American 
innovation and entrepreneurship to create new jobs here at home and 
lessen our dependence on foreign oil. I will introduce a series of 
energy, research and development, and workforce training

[[Page S5284]]

tax initiatives to accomplish this objective.
  The following week, I will look forward to introducing reform 
measures to simplify the Tax Code and reduce the burden of Arkansas' 
working families and businesses by working to build a tax structure 
that is fair and equitable for all Americans.
  I encourage my colleagues to look at these commonsense measures to 
see how they will benefit their own constituents in States across this 
great land.
  Throughout my career in the Senate, I have made Arkansas' working 
families and small businesses my top priorities. From my seat on the 
Senate Finance Committee, I will continue to work to bring our families 
the relief they need and business owners the tools they require to 
invest and grow and become successful and continue to be competitive.
  We have a great country, and each of us feels very particular about 
our State. I come from a seventh-generation Arkansas farm family. My 
home is precious to me. I reiterate what I started with, and that is 
that our greatest assets and resources in Arkansas are our people. They 
are hard working, innovative, and stalwart in coming together to help 
one another and help this country. Whether they are small business 
individuals or whether they serve in the armed services or whether they 
are teachers or whether they care for parents and the elderly, they are 
wonderful people, and they deserve our utmost attention, as do those in 
other States.
  I am willing to bet my colleagues that the Arkansas Plan, which I put 
together to benefit Arkansas small businesses and working families, 
will also benefit the working families in each of their States. I 
challenge you all to take a look at this and help me to move these 
initiatives forward on behalf of our working families and small 
businesses across this country.
                                 ______