[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 183 (Thursday, December 1, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8139-S8140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TEMPORARY TAX HOLIDAY AND GOVERNMENT REDUCTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there is 2 minutes 
of debate equally divided on the motion to proceed to S. 1931.
  The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. HELLER. Mr. President, the Senate today has an opportunity to put 
aside some of the partisan differences and come together and do 
something that will benefit all Americans. The legislation I propose is 
a solution, and I support solutions which Republicans, Democrats, and 
Independents can all support.
  By supporting my legislation and imposing tax increases on employers, 
Congress can also preserve opportunity for job growth in the future. 
Increasing taxes on small businesses will not help my State overcome 
the highest unemployment rate in the Nation. By asking millionaires and 
billionaires to pay higher premiums for government health care, my 
proposal asks the richest Americans to do more, just like my colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle ask that they should.
  Lastly, this proposal is the only one that has a chance of passing 
the House of Representatives and be signed into law. I urge all of my 
colleagues to support this piece of legislation and this effort to help 
Americans already struggling to make ends meet.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, the problem with this proposal--and I hope 
we are reaching the point where we are actually coming together in a 
bipartisan way--is that it does not help small business. What we should 
be doing is cutting the payroll tax in half for employees and cutting 
it in half for employers so we can help small businesses.
  This bill does not do that. All it does is take the existing cut in 
the payroll tax and keep that in place.
  We like that part of it. We should expand the tax cut for workers and 
also have a separate cut in the payroll tax for employers, so 160 
million workers and lots of businesses can get the benefit of this 
payroll tax cut to put money in people's pockets, grow the economy, and 
move the economy forward. I urge a ``no'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  Mr. HELLER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  Under the previous order, 60 votes are required to adopt the motion 
to proceed.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Kerry) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 20, nays 78, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 220 Leg.]

                                YEAS--20

     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Brown (MA)
     Collins
     Crapo
     Enzi
     Grassley
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Hutchison
     Lugar
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Rubio
     Snowe
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--78

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown (OH)
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Conrad
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     DeMint
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Lee
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Manchin
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Kerry
     McCain
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coons). Under the previous order requiring 
60 votes for the adoption of this motion, the motion is rejected.

[[Page S8140]]



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