[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.

                          ____________________