[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1338-S1340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TAX EXTENDERS ACT OF 2009
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 4213, which the clerk the
report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 4213), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to extend certain expiring provisions, and for other
purposes.
Pending:
Baucus amendment No. 3336, in the nature of a substitute.
Baucus (for Webb-Boxer) modified amendment No. 3342 to
(amendment No. 3336), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to impose an excise tax on excessive 2009 bonuses
received from certain major recipients of Federal emergency
economic assistance, to limit the deduction allowable for
such bonuses.
Feingold-Coburn amendment No. 3368 (to amendment No. 3336),
to provide for the rescission of unused transportation
earmarks and to establish a general reporting requirement for
any unused earmarks.
McCain-Graham amendment No. 3427 (to amendment No. 3336),
to prohibit the use of reconciliation to consider changes in
Medicare.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. I make a point of order, en bloc, that the pending
amendments Nos. 3342, 3368, and 3427 are not germane postcloture.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. REID. The point of order is well taken?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendments all propose new
subject matter. The amendments are nongermane and the point of order is
well taken.
Mr. REID. The amendments fall; is that right?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendments fall; that is
correct.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the Senate can take an important step today
in alleviating the incredible strains this continuing economic crisis
is having on thousands of families in my State, and millions of
families across America. In approving the American Workers, State, and
Business Relief Act of 2010, we can end what has been an agonizing
procession of will-we-or-won't-we votes on extending unemployment
benefits and COBRA insurance subsidies for those who have lost their
jobs. And we can ensure that, by extending enhanced Federal payments to
State Medicaid programs, crucial health coverage and other vital State
services are not cut.
Those who doubt the wisdom of extending unemployment and COBRA
benefits until the end of this year should hear the phone calls and
read the letters that have come into my office over the past few weeks.
As the Congress has debated, and delayed, on the question of whether to
pass another short-term extension, these Americans, left jobless by a
crisis not of their own making, wondered if the economic lifeline that
keeps food on their tables and shelter over their heads would be
severed. By approving this legislation, we will ensure that these
families are not left in limbo by delays in Congress. Giving them some
measure of certainty, at a time when the economic crisis has turned so
much upside-down, is the right thing to do. What's more, continuing
these benefits is one of the most important steps we can take to
nurture the fragile recovery of our economy. These payments benefit not
just families coping with unemployment, but provide an immediate
stimulus to local economies that have been devastated by the recession.
Likewise, the decision to extend enhanced Federal Medicaid assistance
percentages, or FMAP, funding to States, boosts the entire economy
while helping those in the greatest need. Michigan and other States
have made clear that without this extension, we would leave giant holes
in their budget. In the absence of enhanced funding, the steps the
States would have to take balance their budgets could mean devastating
cuts to vital programs that serve the victims of this crisis. Such cuts
would also dampen the recovery, removing a pillar that has kept
economic activity from collapsing during the crisis. Extending these
payments gives States, and the citizens they serve, much-needed
certainty.
This legislation also would continue tax provisions that can provide
additional support to economic recovery and job creation. In extending
the research and development tax credit and other measures, we give our
businesses another tool they can use as they seek to regain ground,
begin growing again and start putting people back to work. I urge my
colleagues to join me in voting for this important legislation.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, the Senate is passing the Satellite
Television Extension and Localism Act, STELA. This legislation
modernizes and extends important provisions of the Satellite Home
Viewer Act, which contains statutory copyright licenses and
Communications Act authorizations that allow for the retransmission of
broadcast television signals by satellite and cable providers.
Ensuring that Americans have access to broadcast television content
is important, and it is particularly relevant for consumers in rural
areas who might not otherwise be able to receive these signals over the
air. The legislation that the Senate is passing today will ensure that
nobody will be left in the dark for the foreseeable future.
The Satellite Home Viewer Act provides cable and satellite companies
with statutory licenses to allow them to retransmit the content of
broadcast television stations. It also contains important
authorizations in the Communications Act that facilitate these
retransmissions. Broadcast television plays a critical role in cities
and towns across the country, and remains the primary way in which
consumers are able to access local content such as news, weather, and
sports.
Cable and satellite providers help to expand the footprint of
broadcast stations by allowing them to reach viewers who are unable to
receive signals over the air. Vermont is an example of how cable and
satellite companies can provide service to consumers in rural areas who
might not otherwise receive these signals.
Vermonters will see improved service when this legislation is
enacted. As the act has been reauthorized over the years, I have worked
to improve the service that Vermonters receive from cable and satellite
companies. Residents in southern Vermont have seen improvements.
Windham and Bennington Counties are not considered part of the
Burlington television market that encompasses the rest of the State,
and for many years those residents were unable to receive Vermont
broadcast stations by satellite. Congress changed this in 2004, and
DirecTV has been providing these Vermonters with access to Vermont
stations ever since.
I am also pleased that under this legislation, DISH Network will be
able to provide their subscribers in southern Vermont with the same
service. As soon as the DISH Network uses this authority, virtually
everyone in the State will be able to access the news and information
that is truly important to Vermonters, whether it is the debate over
relicensing the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon or the UVM
basketball team's quest to make the NCAA Tournament.
One other important way that STELA will preserve and improve existing
service for consumers is by correcting a flaw in the statutory
copyright license for the cable industry. An unintended result of
current law is that the cable license requires the cable industry to
pay copyright holders for signals that many of their subscribers do not
actually receive. This is often referred to as the phantom signal
problem. The effect of this anomaly in the law is that Comcast is
required to pay copyright royalties based on their subscriber base
across the northeast for the Canadian television content
[[Page S1339]]
that is only provided to subscribers in Burlington, VT.
The bill that the Senate is passing today corrects this flaw by
giving the cable industry the flexibility to continue to provide
signals that are tailored to local interests--signals that might
otherwise have been pulled from cable lineups. This will benefit
industry and consumers. For instance, subscribers in Burlington will
still be able to receive programming such as ``Hockey Night in
Canada,'' which has been a tradition, without fear that Comcast will
have to remove the channel or raise prices because it is being charged
royalties based on subscribers in Boston.
In addition, the legislation will expand consumer access to their
States' public television programming and low-power, community-oriented
stations that will promote media diversity.
This bill is the product of many hours of hard work and compromise
among four committees in both Houses of Congress. No single Member or
committee chairman would have written it in this exact way, but the
final language represents a fair compromise on important issues. I
would have preferred that the language approved by the Senate Judiciary
Committee last year with respect to multicast signals be included in
this legislation. However, under the bill the Senate passed today,
multicast signals will be treated differently than primary broadcast
signals for a short period of time, even if they are broadcasting an
additional network. In Vermont, WFFF is the local Fox affiliate, but it
carries the CW Network on a multicast signal. This is programming that
is otherwise unavailable to Vermonters. There should be no distinction
in this case between a primary signal and a multicast signal. I
appreciate the difficult nature of the issue, however, and believe that
the compromise that was struck in STELA is a fair one.
The final bill language also provides a pathway to lift a court-
ordered injunction that currently prevents DISH Network from using the
distant signal license, in exchange for DISH launching service in all
210 television markets across the country. Providing service to all 210
markets is a goal that I have long believed ought to be achieved. I
believe the language included in the Senate Judiciary Committee-passed
bill provided better incentives for launching additional markets
without lifting a court-ordered injunction. As a matter of policy,
lifting a court-ordered injunction based on copyright infringement is
something I generally do not support, but others insisted upon it and
it is part of the compromise embodied in STELA.
This is a good bill that will preserve and improve the service that
consumers across the country are accustomed to receiving. I am pleased
that the Senate has adopted this legislation. I look forward to its
prompt consideration and adoption by the House and the President
signing it into law.
Mr. REID. What is the question before the Senate?
Amendment No. 3336, as Amended
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the Baucus
substitute, No. 3336, as amended.
The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
The substitute amendment (No. 3336), as amended, was agreed to.
Cloture Motion
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Pursuant to rule XXII,the Chair
lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will
state.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
hereby move to bring to a close debate on H.R. 4213, the Tax
Extenders Act of 2009.
Harry Reid, Max Baucus, Richard Durbin, Roland W. Burris,
Kent Conrad, Benjamin L. Cardin, Patrick J. Leahy, John
D. Rockefeller, IV, Robert Menendez, Daniel K. Inouye,
Robert P. Casey, Jr., Jon Tester, Bill Nelson, Charles
E. Schumer, Kay R. Hagan, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tom
Harkin.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. By unanimous consent, the mandatory
quorum call has been waived. The question is, Is it the sense of the
Senate that debate on H.R. 4213, an act to amend the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 to extend certain expiring provisions, and for other
purposes, shall be brought to a close.
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call
the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
is necessarily absent.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 66, nays 33, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 47 Leg.]
YEAS--66
Akaka
Baucus
Bayh
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Isakson
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--33
Alexander
Barrasso
Bennett
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Coburn
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Johanns
Kyl
LeMieux
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Nelson (NE)
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Vitter
Wicker
NOT VOTING--1
Byrd
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. On this vote, the yeas are 66, the
nays are 33. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having
voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, all time
is yielded back.
The question is on the engrossment of the amendment and third reading
of the bill.
The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill was read the third time.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The bill having been read the third
time, the question is, Shall the bill pass?
Mr. LEVIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
and the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. McCaskill) are necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 62, nays 36, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 48 Leg.]
YEAS--62
Akaka
Baucus
Bayh
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--36
Alexander
Barrasso
Bennett
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Chambliss
Coburn
Cochran
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Kyl
LeMieux
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Nelson (NE)
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Wicker
NOT VOTING--2
Byrd
McCaskill
The bill (H.R. 4213) was passed.
[[Page S1340]]
(The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move
to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
____________________