[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 163 (Thursday, October 27, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H7149-H7151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               3% WITHHOLDING REPEAL AND JOB CREATION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further 
consideration of the bill (H.R. 674) to amend the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 to repeal the imposition of 3 percent withholding on certain 
payments made to vendors by government entities, will now resume.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
  Mr. ANDREWS. Yes, I am, in its present form.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. A point of order is reserved.
  The Clerk will report the motion to recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Andrews moves to recommit the bill H.R. 674 to the 
     Committee on Ways and Means with instructions to report the 
     same back to the House forthwith with the following 
     amendment:
       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. DENIAL OF RELIEF TO COMPANIES FOUND DELINQUENT IN 
                   PAYING THEIR FEDERAL TAXES.

       (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 3402(t) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``any 
     person providing'' and inserting ``any Federal tax delinquent 
     which provides''.
       (b) Federal Tax Delinquent.--Subsection (t) of section 3402 
     of such Code is amended by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
     paragraph (4) and by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Federal tax delinquent.--The term `Federal tax 
     delinquent' means any person who owes a delinquent tax debt 
     (as defined in section 6103(l)(22)(C)).''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (t) of section 3402 
     of such Code is amended by inserting ``to Federal Tax 
     Delinquents'' after ``Payments Made by Government Entities'' 
     in the heading thereof.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to payments made after December 31, 2011.

  Mr. CAMP (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that further reading of the motion be dispensed with.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey is recognized for 5 minutes in support of his motion.
  (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, this ends yet another week for the House of 
Representatives without consideration of a meaningful jobs bill. More 
meaningfully, though, this concludes another week where a nightmare is 
about to come true for our constituents. This is another week without a 
paycheck for a lot of Americans. It might be the week that their 
unemployment benefits expire. This might be the day that someone shuts 
down their small business and closes the doors for the last time. This 
might be the week that the foreclosure notice is executed and someone 
loses their home. This has been a bad week for a lot of Americans. It's 
been a bad time for a lot of Americans. But what they have lost is not 
simply their job, not simply their business, not simply their health 
insurance or their pension. Many of our neighbors have lost their basic 
faith that America is fair.
  Mr. Speaker, 50 percent--50 percent--of the American people recently 
surveyed said the American Dream was either dead or on life support. 
They see in the halls of big institutions, they see on Wall Street and 
they see in the Halls of Congress a basic sense that America is not 
fair anymore, that the basic deal that if you work as hard as you can, 
give as much as you can and do as much as you can that you can go as 
far as your abilities will take you, too many of our constituents no 
longer believe that.
  My motion makes what I believe is an improvement to a good bill. I'm 
going to support this bill that says that no small business person 
should have to make an interest-free loan to the Federal Government to 
do business with the government. I think that's exactly right. But 
here's the improvement it makes. It recognizes that some who would take 
advantage of that provision are taking advantage of our tax system and 
not paying their fair share.
  When I say ``not paying their fair share,'' I'm not talking about 
policy or arguing about tax rates. I'm talking about someone who is 
delinquent on their taxes and cheating the rest of us. So when someone 
looks at their pay envelope this afternoon and sees what's taken out in 
FICA and Federal withholding tax, they're paying their fair share. Some 
like it, many do not, but they're paying their fair share. Why should 
it be that someone who is not paying their fair share to support this 
country should take advantage of this very good bill? I say they 
shouldn't.
  So my improvement to this bill is very simple. If you run a barber 
shop or a software company or a delicatessen or a manufacturing plant, 
you no longer have to make an interest-free loan to the government to 
do business with the government. I agree with that, and I salute the 
authors of the bill. But if you are delinquent on your taxes, if you 
haven't paid your fair share, if you are cheating the rest of the 
community, then you may not take advantage of this opportunity.
  This amendment is not just about improving the revenue flow to the 
Federal Government. It's about making the country a little more fair 
again. It's about saying that those who follow the rules, our small 
businesses, our middle class citizens, those who follow the rules can 
take advantage of the law, but those who do not follow the rules may 
not take advantage of the law. I think the American people want to see 
that in big hospitals and insurance companies; I think they want to see 
that on Wall Street; and I think they want to see it right here on the 
floor of this Chamber.
  So let's cast a vote today not just for an improvement to this bill, 
but let's make America a little more fair. Let's

[[Page H7150]]

make the American Dream a little more alive. Let's stand for the 
proposition that those who play by the rules benefit from the rules, 
but those who break the rules do not.
  The question raised, colleagues, by this amendment is this: Where do 
you stand? Do you stand with small businesses and middle class people 
who follow the rules, or do you follow with those who would violate the 
rules and pillage the American system?
  The American people have had enough of this. We need to do far more 
than this to restore fairness to our country, but this is a good start. 
I would urge a ``yes'' vote on this motion.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my point of order and seek time in 
opposition to the motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Denham). The gentleman's reservation is 
withdrawn.
  The gentleman from Michigan is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, the underlying bill that we're talking about 
here today which repeals the 3 percent across-the-board rule is 
cosponsored by two-thirds of this House. This bill has been endorsed by 
the President of the United States as is. And when the current minority 
was in the majority, in the stimulus bill they offered this exact 
legislation, full repeal, without any complications. And then when the 
final version came over, it was full repeal for 1 year without any 
changes or complications. I obviously am in strong opposition to this 
motion to recommit.
  Then we get the analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation which 
says, in typical understatement from the joint committee: Your proposal 
poses some administrative difficulties. Some?
  The burden is going to be on State and local governments to figure 
out which contractors are or are not delinquent. And either there's a 
violation of taxpayer privacy, which I don't think anybody in this 
House would support, a violation of rule 6103, or very complex 
procedures are going to have to be put in place for government to 
figure out which contractors are in compliance and which aren't.
  As the Joint Committee on Taxation goes on to say: The IRS would need 
to build the infrastructure to handle the volume of requests from State 
and local government entities. Implementation difficulties limit 
somewhat the revenue gain from withholding on State and local 
governments.

                              {time}  1110

  This is more complication in the Tax Code. It goes against what a 
majority of this House wants to do. It goes against what the President 
of the United States wants to do. Vote ``no'' on this motion to 
recommit.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the motion to recommit.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.


                             Recorded Vote

  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair 
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on 
the question of passage.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 183, 
noes 235, not voting 15, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 814]

                               AYES--183

     Altmire
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bass (CA)
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boswell
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown (FL)
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Chu
     Clarke (MI)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Critz
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Deutch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Garamendi
     Gonzalez
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hanabusa
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hochul
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kildee
     Kind
     Kissell
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Murphy (CT)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Olver
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Richmond
     Ross (AR)
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Stark
     Sutton
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Walz (MN)
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Welch
     Woolsey
     Yarmuth

                               NOES--235

     Adams
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Amash
     Amodei
     Austria
     Bachus
     Barletta
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Bass (NH)
     Benishek
     Berg
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brooks
     Broun (GA)
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Buerkle
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canseco
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Cravaack
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Denham
     Dent
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dold
     Dreier
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers
     Emerson
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Flake
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Gardner
     Garrett
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hall
     Hanna
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Heck
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herrera Beutler
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Kelly
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Labrador
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Landry
     Lankford
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lewis (CA)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     Marino
     Matheson
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     Meehan
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Quayle
     Reed
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rigell
     Rivera
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney
     Roskam
     Ross (FL)
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schilling
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schweikert
     Scott (SC)
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuler
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Southerland
     Stearns
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Turner (OH)
     Upton
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walsh (IL)
     Webster
     West
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                             NOT VOTING--15

     Ackerman
     Bachmann
     Cicilline
     Giffords
     Grimm
     Hinchey
     Miller, Gary
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Polis
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Turner (NY)
     Visclosky
     Wilson (FL)
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1128

  So the motion to recommit was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated against:
  Mr. GRIMM. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 814, I had district work that 
required my presence. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.

[[Page H7151]]

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 405, 
nays 16, not voting 12, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 815]

                               YEAS--405

     Adams
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Altmire
     Amash
     Amodei
     Andrews
     Austria
     Baca
     Bachus
     Baldwin
     Barletta
     Barrow
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Bass (CA)
     Bass (NH)
     Becerra
     Benishek
     Berg
     Berkley
     Berman
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blumenauer
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boustany
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Braley (IA)
     Brooks
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (FL)
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Buerkle
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Butterfield
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canseco
     Cantor
     Capito
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castor (FL)
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Chandler
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clarke (MI)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cohen
     Cole
     Conaway
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Cravaack
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Critz
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Culberson
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (KY)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Denham
     Dent
     DesJarlais
     Deutch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Dold
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellison
     Ellmers
     Emerson
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Farenthold
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Flake
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garamendi
     Gardner
     Garrett
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Gonzalez
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Grijalva
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hahn
     Hall
     Hanabusa
     Hanna
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Heck
     Heinrich
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herrera Beutler
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hochul
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Inslee
     Israel
     Issa
     Jackson (IL)
     Jenkins
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly
     Kildee
     Kind
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kissell
     Kline
     Labrador
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Landry
     Langevin
     Lankford
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Long
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lujan
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Lynch
     Mack
     Maloney
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     Marino
     Markey
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCollum
     McCotter
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHenry
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McNerney
     Meehan
     Meeks
     Mica
     Michaud
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy (PA)
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neugebauer
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Olson
     Owens
     Palazzo
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Pelosi
     Pence
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Petri
     Pingree (ME)
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Price (NC)
     Quayle
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reed
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Reyes
     Ribble
     Richardson
     Rigell
     Rivera
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross (AR)
     Ross (FL)
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Ryan (WI)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Scalise
     Schiff
     Schilling
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Schweikert
     Scott (SC)
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, Austin
     Scott, David
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Shimkus
     Shuler
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Southerland
     Speier
     Stearns
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Sullivan
     Sutton
     Terry
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tierney
     Tipton
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Turner (NY)
     Turner (OH)
     Upton
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walsh (IL)
     Walz (MN)
     Wasserman Schultz
     Watt
     Waxman
     Webster
     Welch
     West
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Womack
     Yarmuth
     Yoder
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                                NAYS--16

     Clarke (NY)
     Edwards
     Fudge
     Gutierrez
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Kucinich
     Lee (CA)
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Olver
     Payne
     Richmond
     Schakowsky
     Stark
     Thompson (MS)
     Waters
     Woolsey

                             NOT VOTING--12

     Ackerman
     Bachmann
     Giffords
     Grimm
     Hinchey
     Johnson (IL)
     Miller, Gary
     Polis
     Visclosky
     Wilson (FL)
     Woodall
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1145

  Ms. BASS of California and Mr. RUSH changed their vote from ``nay'' 
to ``yea.''
  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. GRIMM. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 815, I had district work that 
required my presence. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday October 27, 2011 I 
inadvertently missed the vote on final passage of H.R. 674. I would 
have cast a ``yea'' vote.

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