[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 192 (Wednesday, December 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S8574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BENEFITS EXPIRATION

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to 
immediately extend the payroll tax cut and to fully continue jobless 
benefits for millions of Americans. In less than 3 weeks 160 million 
Americans face an automatic tax increase and millions of out-of-work 
Americans will begin to lose their jobless benefits. In order to keep 
our economy on track, we must continue the payroll tax cut and jobless 
benefits for millions of out-of-work Americans.
  My State of Rhode Island, in particular, has felt the economic 
downturn acutely. With four unemployed job seekers for every one job 
and middle-class families struggling to get by--the possibility that 
Congress would let the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits expire is 
unthinkable.
  I have joined my colleagues on this side of the aisle and voted time 
and again to cut taxes for middle-class families, and each time our 
Republican colleagues have opposed the measure because they value tax 
breaks for the top one-tenth of 1 percent of income earners more than 
they do tax cuts for middle-class Americans. Republicans have even 
rejected our effort to provide tax cuts to businesses and provide them 
incentives to hire. So in response, Democrats narrowed the focus of the 
tax cuts to employees. But, Republicans again refused to provide a tax 
cut for the middle class because it was paid for by asking the top one-
tenth of 1 percent of Americans to contribute.
  We have seen Republicans refuse to invest in our Nation's roads, 
bridges, schools, and in policies that will create jobs because 
Republicans cling to their belief that the wealthiest in our Nation 
should not have to share in the sacrifice every other American has made 
during these very difficult economic times. Republicans have voted in 
favor of millionaires and billionaires five times, costing middle-class 
Americans tax cuts and the continuation of jobless benefits and other 
policies that would help create and sustain jobs.
  Republicans are not putting forth serious proposals. The House 
Republican extenders plan that passed that body yesterday is the latest 
example of not only brinksmanship but their ideological rigidity. 
Instead of reaching a sensible compromise that works for all Americans, 
the House Republicans voted to slash the current unemployment insurance 
program nearly in half and eliminate targeted relief for the hardest 
hit States like Rhode Island even as our job market is still weak and 
14 million Americans are out of work. Republicans are in effect 
refusing to pass critical legislation, particularly with respect to 
continuing unemployment insurance. And instead of continuing 
unemployment insurance they are working to put an end to it by 
implementing aggressive waivers leading to block granting and creating 
artificial barriers to benefits--all with the long-term goal of 
dismantling the system. The Republicans would blunt one of the most 
effective countercyclical tools we have and ultimately throw it away.

  At the core of the Republican Party's effort to reduce jobless 
benefits is the terribly misguided belief that Americans don't want to 
work. I say to my Republican colleagues--Americans do want to work. But 
we have to create jobs or incentivize the private sector to create jobs 
so they can work.
  Instead of compromising and focusing on economic policies that will 
help create jobs and help the middle class, House Republicans focus on 
dead-on-arrival special interest pet projects such as the Keystone 
pipeline and further efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act.
  The Republican plan ignores the reality and the challenges that face 
American families--to maintain their home, to maintain their job, to 
provide for the future of their families and their children and their 
retirement.
  For those who have lost their jobs in one of the worst economic 
downturns we have ever faced, unemployment insurance is a lifeline. It 
is also important for Main Street businesses that rely on these 
dollars. Grocery stores and drugstores--they all depend on people 
having some cash to come in and take care of the necessities of life. 
Without the extension of jobless benefits, consumers will pull back 
spending, hurt local businesses, and decelerate the progress our 
economy has made.
  We have had 21 months of private sector job growth. This is not 
sufficient to satisfy the needs across the country, but the growth 
stands in stark contrast to the absolute collapse of employment in the 
last months of the Bush administration. This job growth has not been an 
accident. It has been the result of decisions that the President and 
Congress made, which include the Recovery Act and other programs that 
keep the economy moving--not fast enough--but keep it moving forward.
  The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that failing to extend UI 
benefits could result in a loss of $72 billion of economic activity in 
2012--$72 billion of lost demand, which would slow down the economy and 
slow down job creation.
  These are challenging times for millions of Americans. We cannot 
afford to let Congress be sidetracked by marginal issues. The core 
issues are very clear: extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans, 
continue unemployment benefits to those desperately searching for work. 
We are facing a tough job market; we have to pass these measures. We 
have to pass a clean tax cut for millions of working middle class 
families, and we have to continue jobless benefits in order to help 
millions of out-of-work Americans looking for a job.
  I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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