[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 192 (Wednesday, December 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8577-S8578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            PAYROLL TAX CUT

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I rise to share a feeling that many in my 
home

[[Page S8578]]

State have expressed to me. I rise to share my frustration.
  It is not just the frustration you may feel, as I have felt presiding 
over this body, when for hours at a time it is empty, when there is 
such precious and important work that we can and should be doing to get 
the people of this great country back to work, to strengthen our 
national security, to lay the groundwork for a strong recovery, to deal 
with the hundreds of issues this body should be dealing with. I am 
expressing my frustration at our inability to work together and to make 
real progress.
  Today, I have had the blessing of being visited by a number of 
Delawareans for lunch, for business visits, for just some constituent 
catchup. As I do almost every day, I commuted down from Delaware this 
morning. As I have heard from folks on the train, as I have heard from 
folks in my office, as I have heard from folks who have written and 
called my offices in Delaware and in Washington, they are puzzled and 
they are frustrated. They don't understand why we can't move forward.
  To paraphrase the good Senator from Missouri who just spoke, there is 
a no-brainer right in front of us, and it is the extension of the 
payroll tax cut. It is something that at least apparently has the 
support of both parties in both Houses. It is something a number of 
economists have said is an important contributor to the modest but 
steady economic growth that is helping pull America out of this 
terrible great recession.
  So I ask: Why is it we sit here stalled, unclear on when we can 
proceed to a vote, to a consideration of a clean payroll tax cut? There 
have been a whole series of efforts to get us to the floor for a vote 
to an extension of the payroll tax cut. This is a simple enough matter.
  Working Americans all over this country--I believe 160 million of 
them--will be hit with an increase in their payroll tax rate at the end 
of this month, just a few days now away, unless we act. My good friend 
Senator Casey of Pennsylvania has suggested several versions of a 
payroll tax cut that would build upon and strengthen the payroll tax 
cut that the President proposed and this body passed last year. The 
Casey compromise that has most recently been considered and debated in 
this body would put up to $1,500 in the pockets of hard-working 
Americans all over this country and would contribute as much as 1.5 
percent to GDP growth in the coming year. But in the last 2 weeks, we 
have seen our colleagues on the other side of the aisle four times 
block our efforts through filibusters and dilatory tactics to attempt 
to get to a payroll tax cut extension. The first Republican version was 
opposed by 26 Senate Republicans; the second version opposed by 25.
  So on some level I have to ask, what are we doing? Since when do 
Republicans openly oppose tax cuts? I have been in this Senate just 
over 1 year. As you know, I was sworn in last November. In my freshman 
year, I have seen many moments when we have been unable to reach 
reasonable compromise, when we have been unable to move forward, and 
when we have flirted with having to shut down the whole Federal 
Government because we couldn't reach an appropriate compromise with our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Now we, once again, stand 
here this Wednesday, knowing that unless we can act in partnership, we 
will shut down this government on Friday without a continuing 
resolution.
  Last night, the House acted. They passed this payroll tax cut 
extension and sent it over to us, and I am puzzled as to why we are not 
moving to it on the floor today. I will tell you that when we get to 
move to it, I will vote against it, and I know many others here will as 
well. Why? Because H.R. 3630, which passed the House last night, is not 
just a clean extension of the payroll tax cut bill--in fact, far from 
it. It is loaded with a whole series of other policy riders, things 
that have nothing to do with the payroll tax cut extension which House 
leadership had to do in order to garner enough votes to move it.
  Today we should be considering this bill sent to us last night, the 
Speaker asking us to take it up, and it has a whole series of 
provisions which I suspect many here and at home don't know about. I 
will briefly consider a few of them.
  It undermines health care reform by punishing low- and middle-income 
families whose economic circumstances changed during the year. It cuts 
40 weeks of unemployment benefits from the 99 weeks we would like to 
extend to 54 weeks. It overrides the President's decisionmaking process 
on the Keystone XL Pipeline--in my view, simply to embarrass the 
President--and it amends the Clean Air Act to block EPA's proposed 
rules on toxic air pollution from industrial boilers.

  It would also freeze Federal pay through 2013 and impose a triple 
contribution, mandatory contribution to Federal retirement programs, 
effectively cutting Federal employee pay and taking more than $53 
billion out of the pockets of Federal workers.
  To me, in some ways most alarmingly, it allows States to impose drug-
testing requirements on employees who have lost their jobs and are 
seeking unemployment.
  In short, what came over to us from the House last night is the 
furthest thing possible from a clean extension of the payroll tax cut. 
It is a payroll tax cut with rider after rider sitting on the back of 
this horse that has weighed it down so greatly, it can clearly hardly 
move. It is a terrible bill, and in my view we should move to it, 
dispose of it, and get back to the business of the country.
  Last, I am puzzled as to why we are not proceeding to it. My 
recollection--and I don't have the joy of sitting here on the floor all 
the time, but my recollection from what I read and heard is that the 
Republican leader has twice called on us to move to this bill. I 
believe he did so twice earlier this week, saying we should put 
partisanship aside and promptly take up whatever is sent over to us 
from the House by way of a payroll tax cut extension. I think I quote 
when I say his comment was:

       I think the first thing we need to find out is whether 
     there are the votes in the Senate to pass what the House has 
     passed. And so I'd rather not speculate about what happens 
     later. I'm hoping we are spending our time and energy trying 
     to get this bill passed in the Senate, as well as in the 
     House.

  That is a perfectly reasonable attitude. We should proceed to this 
bill. We are here. We have the bill. We have been waiting almost 
literally the entire day without making any progress. We need to extend 
tax cuts for payrolls. We need to extend tax cuts that incentivize 
clean energy investments. We need to extend tax cuts that can help 
inspire innovation, research, and development.
  There is a whole list of tax cuts that will expire at the end of this 
year without action. We need to pass the National Defense Authorization 
Act. We need to pass a continuing resolution to fund this government 
and the rest of this year's appropriations bills. There are so many 
important bills to which we must turn.
  My sole question is, why, when we tried to proceed to this bill this 
morning, did the Republican leader object?
  I am just a freshman, but I represent a State that is deeply 
frustrated and puzzled. Since when do Republicans load up a tax cut 
extension with so many riders that they are afraid to even bring it to 
a vote on the floor of this Chamber? I am puzzled. I am frustrated.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). The Senator from Wyoming.

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