[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 197 (Tuesday, December 20, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H9987-H9995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENSE OF HOUSE REGARDING ANY FINAL MEASURE TO EXTEND CERTAIN EXPIRING 
                               PROVISIONS

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 502, 
I call up the resolution (H. Res. 501) expressing the sense of the 
House of Representatives regarding any final measure to extend the 
payroll tax holiday, extend Federally funded unemployment insurance 
benefits, or prevent decreases in reimbursement for physicians who 
provide care to Medicare beneficiaries, and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 502, the bill 
is considered read.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 501

       Whereas a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut 
     instead of a full-year extension would cause additional 
     uncertainty and complexity for private-sector job creators 
     already struggling in the current economy;
       Whereas, on December 17, 2011, President Barack Obama said, 
     ``It would be inexcusable for Congress not to further extend 
     this middle-class tax cut for the rest of the year.'';
       Whereas, on December 17, 2011, House Minority Leader Nancy 
     Pelosi said, ``House Democrats will return to Washington to 
     take up this legislation without delay, and we will keep up 
     the fight to extend these provisions for a full year.'';
       Whereas, on December 17, 2011, House Minority Whip Steny 
     Hoyer (D-MD): ``I'm disappointed that Senate Republicans 
     would not agree to a longer-term extension of critical 
     policies.'';
       Whereas in 2011 working Americans received a temporary 
     payroll tax rate reduction which allowed the average family 
     to keep $1,000 more of their annual wages;
       Whereas, on December 31, 2011, without action by the 
     Congress, the temporary payroll tax rate reduction will 
     expire, leaving nearly 170 million American workers with less 
     disposable income as the economy continues to struggle;
       Whereas the imminent expiration of the temporary payroll 
     tax rate reduction is creating further uncertainty for 
     families as well as employers who must adjust withholding 
     amounts from their employees' paychecks;
       Whereas the Social Security Trust Fund is now running a 
     cash deficit, and over the next 75 years will require an 
     additional $6.5 trillion to pay scheduled benefits;
       Whereas, on January 1, 2012, without Congressional action, 
     Medicare physician payments will be cut by 27.4 percent;
       Whereas in order to preserve access to health care for the 
     nation's seniors, two years of stable Medicare payment rates 
     would provide the most certainty physicians have had since 
     2004;
       Whereas a two-year period of stability would provide 
     Congress time to develop a long-term replacement to the 
     Sustainable Growth Rate formula;
       Whereas 13 million Americans remain unemployed and the 
     unemployment rate has been above eight percent for 34 
     consecutive months, the Congress should enact needed reforms 
     to ensure a fiscally responsible unemployment insurance 
     program;
       Whereas H.R. 3630 as passed by the House provided a fully 
     offset extension of unemployment insurance benefits in line 
     with previous periods of economic duress and integrated 
     common-sense reforms into the program, including a 
     requirement that benefit recipients search for work and 
     participate in reemployment services to help them get back to 
     work;
       Whereas construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from 
     Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska, and to the 
     United States Gulf Coast through Cushing, Oklahoma, is a $7 
     billion energy project that will enhance the energy security 
     and economy of the United States;
       Whereas the Keystone XL pipeline will create 20,000 direct 
     jobs and 118,000 indirect jobs;
       Whereas the Keystone XL pipeline has been subjected to 
     three years of intensive environmental review, and was deemed 
     environmentally sound by the U.S. Department of State in its 
     August 26, 2011, Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS);
       Whereas Keystone XL pipeline legislation passed by the 
     House and Senate would allow the state of Nebraska to 
     continue its environmental review of a new pipeline route to 
     avoid the Sand Hills region and the Ogallala Aquifer;
       Whereas H.R. 3630 as passed by the House will reduce the 
     cost for employers to purchase and place in service new 
     equipment next year, and continued expensing will serve as an 
     incentive to make investments and foster greater business 
     investment and job creation;
       Whereas EPA's new proposed rules for boilers would cost 
     manufacturers, colleges and universities, municipalities, and 
     small businesses $15 billion and put up to 240,000 jobs at 
     risk;
       Whereas significant concerns with EPA's new proposed rules 
     cannot be adequately addressed or remedied unless Congress 
     passes legislation; and
       Whereas the House of Representatives passed on October 13, 
     2011, by a vote of 275 to 142, with the support of 41 
     Democrats, legislation that would overturn EPA's Boiler MACT 
     rules and require the agency to re-propose new rules in 15 
     months after date of enactment, with achievable standards, 
     and an extension of the compliance period from three years to 
     five years: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the Sense of the House of 
     Representatives that any final measure to extend the payroll 
     tax holiday, extend Federally funded unemployment insurance 
     benefits, or prevent decreases in reimbursement for 
     physicians who provide care to Medicare beneficiaries--
       (1) extend the payroll tax holiday through December 31, 
     2012;
       (2) extend and reform Federally funded unemployment 
     insurance benefits;
       (3) eliminate for two years the dramatic cut in 
     reimbursement for physicians who provide care to Medicare 
     beneficiaries;
       (4) reduce spending from areas throughout the Federal 
     Government, including a freeze on congressional salaries, in 
     order to protect the Social Security Trust Fund, whose 
     solvency would otherwise be diminished as result of the 
     payroll tax holiday; and
       (5) provide immediate job creation through--
       (A) final approval of the Keystone XL pipeline;
       (B) expensing for capital assets placed in service in 2012; 
     and
       (C) drafting new regulations for boilers that are 
     achievable and cost-effective.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) and a 
Member to be recognized later each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Clearly, the economy and jobs is the number one issue for the 
American people all across this land; and if you were to ask the folks 
who create jobs what is the greatest impediment to job creation, they 
would say it's uncertainty.
  Businesses don't know what taxes are going to be. Job creators don't 
know what the rules and regulations are going to be. Employees and 
workers don't know if their jobs will be lost. Doctors don't know 
whether or not they're going to be able to see Medicare patients. 
Patients don't know whether or not they're going to be able to see 
their doctors.
  Therefore, the House believes what the American people already know: 
that more certainty, greater certainty, is imperative if we're going to 
get this economy rolling again. Consequently, we, the House, passed a 
bill that provides that certainty.
  Our bill provides for a 1-year extension of the payroll contribution 
to Social Security, offset so that Social Security resources are not 
depleted;
  Our bill provides for a 13-month extension of Federal unemployment 
benefits with real reform, including job training and helping folks get 
GEDs and allowing drug screening by States for those receiving benefits 
should they so desire;
  Our bill provides a 2-year extension of payments to doctors caring 
for seniors--for Medicare patients--so that our parents and our 
grandparents can continue to see their doctors.
  So the House passed a 1-year extension of the payroll tax reduction 
and paid for it with reduced spending elsewhere. Yet the Senate, Mr. 
Speaker, wants 60 days and more uncertainty. The House passed a 13-
month extension of Federal unemployment benefits. The Senate wants 60 
days and more uncertainty. The House passed a 2-year continuation of 
funding for doctors to see Medicare patients. The Senate--that's right, 
Mr. Speaker--wants 60 days and more uncertainty.
  Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate agree that 
we ought to extend these items. There

[[Page H9988]]

is no debate about that. The differences lie in whether or not we get 
our job done now or whether we punt the fulfilling of our 
responsibilities for another 2 months. The Senate's action is 
unworkable and unacceptable. Various organizations representing job 
creators have already said that a 2-month punt is unworkable and 
costly--therefore harming more job creation.
  Now we're ready to sit down with our colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle and on the other side of the Capitol to get a 1-year 
extension put in place before the end of this year. That's what you do 
when there are differences in the House and the Senate. Both sides have 
passed legislation, but we have disagreements. So now we ought to sit 
down, like Congresses have done for over 200 years, and work out those 
differences. We ought to do that today, not 2 months from now.
  This resolution makes it clear that the House supports taking care of 
middle class families, seniors, and job creators. It makes it clear 
that the House stands ready and willing to work with the Senate to get 
this done. If our colleagues on the other side of the aisle support 
providing relief and certainty for middle class families and for 
seniors and for job creators, then they ought to support this 
resolution. There is bipartisan support for the proposals within this 
resolution, and there is bipartisan support for a 1-year extension.
  I call on my colleagues to support this resolution and support the 
efforts under way to work out our differences with the Democrat-led 
Senate and to put in place a set of solutions that will create 
certainty for families, job creators, and seniors.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) will control 30 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to claim time in opposition as the 
designee of the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), and I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Unemployment rates, according to a recent report this morning, fell 
in 43 States during the month of November--the most States to decline 
since 2003. The media are reporting that the economy has generated 
100,000 or more jobs 5 months in a row--the first time that has 
happened since 2006, which was before the Great Recession.
  Mr. Speaker, 89 Senators--50 Democrats and 39 Republicans--have 
passed a bipartisan agreement to extend the current payroll tax, 
unemployment insurance benefits, and Medicare doctors' payments for 
another 60 days so that we can continue to seek common ground for a 
full 12-month extension and keep these great numbers in front of us.
  Let there be no mistake. The only way for the Members of this body to 
prevent a tax increase on 160 million working Americans is to pass the 
Senate's bipartisan agreement. The only way to prevent cutting off 
unemployment insurance for 2.2 million Americans who are currently 
unemployed and looking for work is to pass the Senate's bipartisan 
agreement. Let me be crystal clear. The only way to prevent cutting 
funds to pay doctors who care for Medicare patients is to pass the 
Senate's bipartisan agreement.
  The Senate Democratic leader and the Senate Republican leader 
demonstrated to the American people that Democrats and Republicans can 
work together. They passed a bipartisan compromise to get this done.
  Mr. Speaker, my constituents continue to ask time and time again: Why 
can't you guys work together to get something done for the American 
people? It is a good question. It is a fair question. And the Senate 
has answered that we can.
  It is my fervent hope that we in this body join them today and do the 
right thing for the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1420

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully suggest to my 
friend from South Carolina that the best way to provide certainty for 
families and job creators and for seniors is to have a House-Senate 
conference committee work together before the end of the year.
  I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my friend and colleague from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe).
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, last week the House passed the Middle Class Tax Relief 
and Job Creation Act with the support of both sides of the aisle. The 
economy is struggling--perhaps getting better, but struggling.
  The President asked for a 1-year extension of the payroll tax 
holiday. We agree with that, a 1-year extension. Extend and reform the 
unemployment insurance plan benefits; we agree with that. A 2-year 
extension of the so-called doc fix. I'm a physician. I have been here 
now for 3 years. In the 3 years I have been here, Mr. Speaker, we've 
had six temporary extensions. This will be number seven. For access to 
care for patients, we must get a permanent fix for SGR or no patients 
are going to have access. And I have spoken to numerous colleagues who 
totally disagree with this 60-day extension. The true shovel-ready 
project, which is the Keystone pipeline, will give us access to energy 
in this continent with one of our best neighbors, Canada.
  All of these issues that we've talked about are paid for with 
spending cuts, not tax increases and not deficit spending. The Senate, 
however, passed only a 60-day extension; the House, 1 year. Sixty days 
versus 1 year.
  The distinguished Senator from Tennessee, Senator Bob Corker, just 
said, ``Senator Reid should stop this political gamesmanship, call the 
Senate back into session, and follow the `regular order,' '' which 
means both sides of the aisle, the House and the Senate, produce a 
conference bill ``to produce better legislation that reflects the will 
of the House and Senate.''
  Like most Americans, we should be at work this week to finish the 
business they elected us to do. Please support this amendment.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from 
New York (Mrs. Maloney).
  Mrs. MALONEY. I thank the gentleman for his leadership and for 
yielding.
  The Senate has gone home for Christmas. And just 5 minutes before I 
came to this floor, the President made an announcement from the White 
House that he supported the bipartisan Senate compromise bill that 
passed the Senate 89-10. And we need to pass it and wrap up this 
Christmas present for the middle class.
  Instead of the pattern of obstruction that is constantly coming from 
the other side of the aisle, we should introduce the Senate bill here 
in the House and pass it for the American people. The House leadership 
should allow an up-or-down vote and extend the payroll tax cut, the 
unemployment benefits, and the doc fix for the middle class.
  Without this 2-month extension, 160 million Americans will face a tax 
hike starting January 1. The idea that it is somehow acceptable to let 
this happen is to be blind to the economic struggles that American 
middle class families are now facing and to be totally, totally deaf to 
the cries for help from the many people--the 2.2 million Americans--who 
will see their unemployment benefits expire if we do not pass the 
Senate bill. This is an exercise in rigid partisan ideology that will 
also result in an additional 48 million seniors being denied access to 
their doctors.
  No bill will make everybody happy. But to stop this Senate bill now, 
one that is so important to so many Americans, just to please the rigid 
ideology of the very few, it is the tail wagging the elephant, and it 
is obstructionist to the American people. And it is just in time for 
Christmas, and it is indefensible.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ 
minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton).
  (Mr. BARTON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I thank the distinguished policy chairman, and I 
thank the gentleman from Idaho for his evenhanded leadership in the 
debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I voted to send the Senate bill to conference, and I 
hope that both parties in both Chambers appoint serious conferees and 
really try to come up with a solution to the problem.
  I do want to point out a few facts that have been avoided on both 
sides of

[[Page H9989]]

the aisle. It's really not a payroll tax. It is a Social Security 
dedicated trust fund tax.
  Since Franklin Roosevelt and the Congress created Social Security in 
the 1930s, payroll Social Security taxes go into the system by workers, 
employers, and self-employed individuals, and then benefits come out.
  Last year, for the first time, we reduced the amount of Social 
Security taxes going into the system and gave an IOU from the Treasury 
into the Social Security trust fund. The extension, whether it's for 2 
months or 1 year, of that same policy this year is taking $120 billion 
to $150 billion out of the system that's real money and putting into it 
an IOU that we will pay at a date future. This would be like if I went 
to the doctor and the doctor tells me that I have got lung cancer, and 
I say, ``Well, what should I do, Doctor?'' and he says, ``Smoke more 
cigarettes.''
  I mean, we paid more out in Social Security benefits this current 
year than we paid in, and this exacerbates the problem. I would ask 
that we come up with a permanent solution, Mr. Speaker, and not keep 
avoiding the problem.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, this has been a terrible year in Congress. 
The intransigence of the Republican leadership and the Tea Party 
Republicans has brought us to the brink of crisis again and again. And 
now we're playing another game of chicken with the lives and well-being 
of millions of American families at stake.
  Did the Republican leadership in the House just learn today that at 
the end of this month, in 10 or 11 days, these tax breaks, the 
unemployment insurance, and the physician reimbursements were going to 
expire? No, they learned about it earlier. So they packaged a bill. And 
the only way they could figure to pay for it was to take it out of the 
Federal employees, ask the elderly to pay more for their Medicare, to 
cut back on spending, never to raise taxes on people who make $1 
million a year.
  The Senate had the same issue before them, and the Democrats there 
wanted to have a tax increase. They couldn't get that through. So the 
Senators negotiated a short-term extension for 2 months because they 
couldn't agree to 1 year, and that passed overwhelmingly. That is what 
we should be voting on today.
  Instead, starting January 1, the House Republicans are bringing a tax 
increase to 160 million Americans, forcing 2 million Americans to the 
edge of despair as their unemployment benefits run out, and scaring 48 
million seniors who worry about their doctors opting out of providing 
services under Medicare.
  And to add insult to injury, this resolution seeks to impose the 
Republicans' extreme antienvironment agenda onto legislation essential 
to the economic security of the American people. This has been the most 
antienvironment House of Representatives in the history of Congress, 
and this resolution is a fitting capstone to this dismal record.

                              {time}  1430

  House Republicans are holding payroll tax cuts, unemployment 
insurance, and payment to physicians under Medicare hostage to the 
rapacious demands of the oil and gas industry.
  The House Republicans want to force the President to approve the 
Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. They forget that the future of our 
economy lies in clean energy, not increasing our reliance on the 
dirtiest source of gasoline imaginable. They would like to hold the 
pipeline as one of the prices for their blackmail, but they also want 
to give some other special interest favors; a lump of coal for American 
families, but at the same time they want EPA's public health standards, 
which would prevent up to 8,100 premature deaths and 5,100 heart 
attacks every year, they want to eliminate those public health benefits 
that come with clean air. And instead, they want provisions in this 
bill, which has nothing to do with this issue, they want these 
provisions to allow more mercury, lead, and arsenic pollution in the 
air we breathe.
  We've seen this over and over again. They cannot agree on a 
compromise to pay for anything. They cannot agree on letting something 
happen without putting in the anti-environmental riders. Once again the 
Republican leadership has shown the lengths to which they will go to 
impose their radical, extreme agenda, sacrificing the public health and 
welfare of the American people.
  The Senate at least came up with a bipartisan compromise for 2 
months. This House Republican leadership will put us in a situation 
where all of these expiring provisions will in fact expire, and the 
American people will be done a great disservice by this action.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to 
a productive and excellent member of our conference, the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. I thank the chairman for yielding. I 
want to thank him for his leadership of the Republican Policy Committee 
and his work on this legislation.
  Last week the House passed a 1-year payroll extension which included 
a provision to override the administration's decision against the 
Keystone pipeline, a real shovel-ready project. The President's 
decision will delay the Keystone project until 2013, after the 
election, which clearly reveals this is a political not scientific 
decision. On August 26, the Department of State deemed the project to 
be environmentally sound after 3 years of analysis.
  In late October, I was fortunate to visit Alberta, Canada, which is 
America's largest trading partner, and witnessed firsthand the Canadian 
oil sands development and the extraordinary environmental safeguards to 
produce oil in North America. The construction of this environmentally 
advanced project will create 120,000 new jobs in America. With record 
unemployment, Americans need jobs now. And I know firsthand that the 
workers in the Michelin Tire Corporation of Lexington, South Carolina, 
are ready to produce huge earth mover tires, and MTU will produce 
engines.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I want to remind my good friend from South 
Carolina that the Keystone pipeline is in the Senate bill.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlelady from California, Mrs. Susan Davis.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, we are here today because the 
Senate did a terrible thing in the eyes of the House majority: they had 
the audacity to work together and come up with a compromise.
  At the request of the Speaker of the House, the Senate majority 
leader and the Senate minority leader reached a compromise on a payroll 
tax cut extension. There were even high fives among Senate Republicans 
after that Saturday vote. Eighty-nine Senators voted for, including 82 
percent of Senate Republicans. The Speaker called it a ``good deal.'' 
But then came the revolt from House Republicans.
  People are asking, Mr. Speaker, and I think it's a fair question to 
ask: Do House Republicans really want Congress to function? By denying 
a vote on this bipartisan compromise, it allows them to continue to 
push their theme that Washington is dysfunctional and does not work.
  Had the House majority brought up a clean tax bill last week, we 
would not even be here today. But instead, they offered a bill loaded 
with special interest riders that was designed to fail and, in fact, it 
did fail. The majority claims that it wants certainty with a long-term 
extension of the middle class tax cut. Yes, and many here, including 
myself, we do want a long-term extension, and those negotiations will 
continue.
  If the House majority was talking about tax cuts for the wealthiest 
Americans, they would roll out the red carpet. But when it comes to 
help and support for the middle class, they pull the rug out from under 
them.
  It is clear, Mr. Speaker, that they are willing to support a $120 
billion tax increase on Americans fighting to restore the American 
Dream rather than accepting this bipartisan compromise that is before 
us today.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains for each 
side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia has 22\1/2\ 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from South Carolina has 19 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
McClintock).

[[Page H9990]]

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, in all of this debate, I think that both parties have 
overlooked a critical problem. Both versions of this bill impose a 
permanent new tax on every mortgage backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie 
Mac. To pay for an additional 2 months of tax relief under the Senate 
version or 12 months under the House version, more than $3,000 in new 
taxes will be imposed on every $150,000 mortgage backed by Fannie or 
Freddie. A family taking out a $250,000 mortgage will pay $5,000 more 
in taxes directly and solely because of this bill hidden in their 
future mortgage payments.
  This is atrocious public policy. It shifts the burden for this bill 
to future home buyers, kicks the housing market when it's already down, 
makes it that much more expensive for home buyers to re-enter the 
market, and adds to the pressures that have chronically depressed 
everyone's home values. That's the reason that both the Senate and the 
House versions need to go back for major revision.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).
  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I find it thoroughly unconscionable that House 
Republicans are preventing Congress from working its will by stifling a 
vote to support a bipartisan Senate compromise to extend unemployment 
benefits and the middle class tax cut for 2 months. While I strongly 
believe the middle class tax cuts and other provisions within this bill 
deserve a full-year extension, the utter intransigence of Tea Party 
Republicans has made compromise without a self-imposed crisis 
practically impossible.
  We could have spent the better part of a year working on this bill, 
and others like it, to buoy our economy and help Americans get back to 
work. Instead, the Republican majority spent most of the entire session 
considering multiple bills to repeal health reform, rescind 
environmental protections, and further deregulate the financial 
industry, none of which helps create jobs for my constituents back in 
Rhode Island.
  Now my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made a last-
minute decision to derail a compromise on the one bill that economists 
agree would actually stimulate the economy. As a result, when families 
across Rhode Island come together to celebrate the holidays, they are 
going to face the possibility of paying higher taxes or seeing their 
unemployment benefits expire in the new year. This is unacceptable and 
it is unnecessary.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans are weary of the political games and the 
broken promises that have brought us to this point. They want a 
Congress that can come together and legislate in their best interests. 
Instead, House Republicans are holding the middle class tax cuts 
hostage to further their political agenda, despite calls from members 
of their own party asking them to accept a bipartisan compromise which 
overwhelmingly passed the Senate 89-10.
  I urge my Republican colleagues to stop risking the welfare of the 
American people for their political leverage. Give us the opportunity 
to pass a 2-month extension so that our constituents have some 
reassurance that they won't be worse off come New Year's Day. The 
interests of the American families deserve to be put before the 
interests of political partisanship. During this holiday season, I pray 
that this Congress can honor that.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ 
minutes to a dear friend and a wonderful member of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his excellent 
work on House Resolution 501, which expresses what we as Republicans 
stand for as we fight to provide accountability for hardworking 
American taxpayers.

                              {time}  1440

  We are for certainty for these taxpayers. We are for unemployment 
insurance reforms. We are for freezing Federal salaries. We are for 
certainty for our seniors. We are for fairness for our doctors and 
hospitals. We are for jobs for the American people in the form of the 
Keystone XL pipeline, in the form of Boiler MACT, and the other bills 
that will help put thousands of Americans back to work. We all know 
that Washington takes too much and Washington wastes a lot of the money 
that it takes, and the American people want to see more of that money 
left in their pocket.
  Indeed, Mr. Speaker, part of the debate that is taking place today is 
about a transition that we are going through, and House Republicans are 
grateful for the opportunity to lead this transition from a government 
that is addicted to the taxpayers' money--yes, indeed, it never gets 
enough--to a government that is going to be accountable to the 
hardworking American taxpayer.
  Now, for some of my colleagues, they may want to call that 
``radical.'' They may want to call it ``extreme.'' They may want to say 
that it is holding ideas hostage. It is about freedom. We stand with 
hardworking taxpayers.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentlelady from Tennessee that 
that is exactly what this bill is designed to do, put into the pockets 
of 160 million Americans an extended tax cut.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).
  Mr. ELLISON. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, we're here because for the last year the majority could 
have come down here and we could have had this debate all this time. 
But at the 11th hour after they signaled to the Senate, work it out, 
get a deal together because we have not done it, the Senate did work 
that deal out. And now that it has come back, our friends in the House 
majority have said ``not good enough,'' conveniently after the Senate 
has gone home.
  It feels like a setup. I don't question motives, but it feels that 
way. And it goes to the heart of the matter: Is the government here of 
the people, by the people, for the people and for the benefit of the 
people? Or do people basically have hostility to government and want to 
make government look dysfunctional at every turn?
  The fact is, Mr. Speaker, there was an agreement in the Senate. It 
was coming over here, and it looked like government was going to 
prevail and that we had gotten our act together and worked it out. But 
before that ever happened, the people who stand in opposition to good 
government broke that deal apart. The people who believe that 
government should be shrunk to the size where it can be drowned in a 
bathtub could not possibly let a deal for the American people go 
through, and they've smashed that deal.
  And right now, this year, the clock is running out. The Senate has 
gone home, and our friends on the other side of the aisle are playing a 
dangerous game with the lives of 160 million Americans.
  It's a shame and a disgrace. We ought to pass this bill the Senate 
sent over here and stop messing around with the livelihood of 
Americans.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to yield 3 minutes to 
our Republican chair of our conference, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Hensarling).
  Mr. HENSARLING. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, if my friends on the other side of the aisle are 
confused about why we're here, let me enlighten them. It's because the 
President's policies have failed. In the Obama economy, employment has 
been at, near or above 9 percent ever since the gentleman was elected. 
One in seven are on food stamps, and small business start-ups are at a 
17-year low. So, Mr. Speaker, that's why we're here today. I think 
almost everyone in this Chamber agrees, yes, we want to extend the 
Social Security payroll tax holiday.
  But what is so curious to me, Mr. Speaker, is I hear my friends on 
the other side of the aisle say, we need to do it for a year, but we're 
only willing to vote for 60 days. I don't understand that, Mr. Speaker. 
And I hear my friends on the other side of the aisle saying, middle-
income families deserve this $1,000 tax cut; yet they're only willing 
to vote for $160. And then they say, we have to pass it today, we can't 
let New Year's Day come without passing this; and yet they won't 
appoint

[[Page H9991]]

anybody to a conference committee, and everyone is getting ready to run 
to the airport. I don't understand it, Mr. Speaker.
  So the question is, are my friends on the other side of the aisle 
interested in making a law that will help American families and 
hardworking taxpayers, or are they interested in making a campaign 
issue that they can recycle every 60 days? Only they can answer the 
question.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, it is inconvenient in tough economic times that our 
constituents have to work over the holidays. Maybe it should be 
inconvenient to us as well. We stand ready. We just can't do our job if 
the Senate Democratic leader refuses to appoint anybody and if the 
House Democratic leader refuses to appoint anybody to sit down and 
negotiate in good faith. I'm sorry it's inconvenient for my friends on 
the other side of the aisle to work during the holidays.
  Then last but not least, I hear my friends on the other side of the 
aisle saying we need something that works for the American people. 
Well, guess what? Once again, they didn't consult with the American 
people. All of the employers that we hear about are saying this is 
unworkable. The Associated Builders and Contractors, I quote, talking 
about their 60-day plan: ``This sort of temporary fix underscores 
Congress' uneven ad hoc approach toward the economy and causes more 
harm than good for America's job creators.'' I hear from job creators 
from my own district in Kaufman County, Texas: ``The 2-month extension 
is more hassle than a help. It's impossible to budget and plan for an 
unknown.''
  Mr. Speaker, if you want a year of tax relief, vote for a year of tax 
relief. If you want $1,000 in tax relief, vote for it and be willing to 
work over the holidays.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I remind my friend from Texas that 
according to all reports, last month 43 States registered a decrease in 
unemployment, the first time that's happened since the year 2003.
  With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Towns).
  Mr. TOWNS. I thank my colleague and friend for yielding.
  I rise because I believe we have lost sight of why we are here. I 
want to remind my colleagues that we are here to represent the American 
people. We are here to ensure that as many as possible have the 
resources they need to pay their bills, feed their families, and 
maintain a suitable place to live. Today, there are millions of 
Americans who are struggling and do not have a suitable place to live.
  Many people are suffering because of an economy that is beyond their 
control. The bottom line is they need us to do something about it. They 
need us to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance for at 
least the next 2 months until we can agree on how to do it for the 
entire year.
  The last thing working Americans need to see is a reduction in their 
paychecks because we failed to extend the payroll tax cuts. We can 
today make sure they at least get some assistance for the next 2 
months. Then we can reach an agreement on how to do this for the entire 
year. That doesn't seem to be unreasonable. It's just 2 months.
  We need to vote on the Senate bill today. And as my colleague was 
talking about not leaving town, you're right. We should not leave town 
until we pass this bill, and we need to let millions of struggling 
families and children know that they will have some relief at least for 
the next 2 months so they can enjoy the holidays, so they can really 
believe in merry Christmas and a happy new year. And that's all we need 
to do before leaving here is to pass it for 2 months, just 2 months.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I am pleased to yield 1 minute to my physician 
colleague from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 
501. As a cardiothoracic surgeon, I often worked through the holidays 
since, guess what? No one chooses when they have a heart attack. I did 
my job. I'm here today to do my job, and I'll work through the holidays 
if that's what it takes. We have 11 days to pass a tax relief bill 
along with the extension of unemployment insurance, Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families and, finally, 11 days to prevent a 27 
percent cut to Medicare that will put American seniors at risk of 
losing their access to quality health care.

                              {time}  1450

  Seniors rely on being able to see their doctors. This 60-day patch 
does nothing to create certainty for providers of seniors; in fact, it 
jeopardizes their care.
  I support the bill we passed last week. I support this resolution. I 
urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on House Resolution 501.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is 
remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from South Carolina has 12\3/
4\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Georgia has 16 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I am pleased to yield 1 minute to a freshman 
Member from Mississippi (Mr. Nunnelee).
  Mr. NUNNELEE. I thank the chairman for yielding.
  I rise in support of the House-passed provisions, specifically the 
provisions relating to unemployment insurance reform.
  We passed a full year, we extended the benefits, but we added 
commonsense reform, things like strengthening enforcement of waste, 
fraud, and abuse in unemployment benefits, strengthening work search 
and education requirements, and allowing States to test for drugs for 
those that are receiving benefits. It's very simple: If men and women 
that are working have to pass a drug test in order to draw their 
paycheck, those receiving unemployment benefits ought to have to pass 
the same drug test.
  So I call on Harry Reid to bring the Senate back to work so that we 
can reach a full year's agreement that includes these reforms to our 
unemployment insurance.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my 
friend, another physician colleague and a colleague from the State of 
Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for 
yielding, and I rise in strong support of H. Res. 501 and commend the 
gentleman for the work he has done.
  Colleagues, House Resolution 501 restates the provisions in House 
bill H.R. 3630 that we passed last Friday in a very bipartisan way and 
sent it over to the Senate--things like, yes, extending the payroll tax 
cut to 160 million middle-income Americans for a full year; allowing 99 
weeks of unemployment insurance coverage for those individuals who have 
been out of work for more than 6 months, we do that for an additional 
year; and last but not least, to mitigate the payment cut, the 27 
percent payment cut to health care providers who need to be there for 
our senior citizens. We do this all, and we pay for it in a responsible 
way.
  Now, let's be serious about the controversy here in regard to this 
Senate amendment versus our bill, H.R. 3630. And it's time, Mr. 
Speaker, to end the mendacity. There is not one scintilla of logic in 
the Senate amendment to House bill H.R. 3630. The only thing that makes 
sense is the Democratic majority in the Senate wants to pay for these 
things by raising taxes on job creators. We in the House want to pay 
for it in a much more responsible way, raising taxes on nobody, but 
freezing salaries for Federal employees--yes, including our ourselves--
for the next 3 years.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an 
additional 15 seconds.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  And the sale of electromagnetic spectrum, which will raise some $8 
billion and create thousands of jobs.
  So let's not make any pretenses about this. The House and the Senate 
have choices: They can name the conferees, they can come to conference, 
and they can get this done, or they can let these bills fail and fail 
the American people.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentlelady from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

[[Page H9992]]

  Ms. SEWELL. Mr. Speaker, instead of doing what's best for the 
American people, we are once again dealing with the same old partisan 
politics that has plagued this Congress this entire year.
  The Senate amended and passed a bipartisan bill that would extend the 
payroll cuts for millions of workers and families and protect 
unemployment benefits for Americans while ensuring our seniors have 
access to critical health care. This Senate version reflects a 
compromise that was negotiated in good faith, Mr. Speaker, by both 
Senate Democrats as well as Senate Republicans. It was overwhelmingly 
approved by 89 Senators, including 39 Republican Senators.
  As Members of Congress, it is absurd, I believe, that we are being 
deprived the opportunity--denied the opportunity--to vote for a bill 
that would add certainty to the economy and to the people that we 
represent.
  It is unacceptable that some of my Republican colleagues in the House 
have once again refused to compromise.
  Our constituents elected us here to make their lives better, not 
worse. This latest Republican grandstand will cost the American public 
dearly. As a result, 160 million middle class Americans will see a 
payroll tax increase, and over 2 million Americans, including almost 
25,000 Alabamians, will begin losing their unemployment benefits.
  While I had hoped for a 1-year extension, like many here, this 2-
month compromise is better than the alternative, which is to let 
millions of Americans suffer economic hardship.
  It was Martin Luther King who said that the time is always right to 
do what is right. It is right this holiday season to make sure that the 
American public enjoys the blessings of this holiday season by being 
assured of the protections that they've already so greatly earned.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to 
the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy).
  Mr. DUFFY. I appreciate the gentleman for yielding.
  I am sick of the demagoguery. I think it is important that we truly 
talk about the facts. This is not a debate about whether we're going to 
extend the payroll tax holiday or not. This is a debate about what kind 
of extension we're going to get. Is it going to be 1 year or is it 
going to be 60 days?
  To be clear, we are advocating for a 1-year extension, which is a 
$1,000 tax break for every American in this country. My friends across 
the aisle are advocating for a $170 payroll tax cut. $1,000 versus 
$170.
  We're talking about Christmas gifts. A $170 payroll tax gift is not a 
Christmas gift to the American people, but $1,000 would be. The only 
gift I hear being offered here is the gift to the Senate colleagues who 
want to go home for Christmas.
  Let's stay here and do the work of the American people, make sure we 
extend the payroll tax holiday, and make sure we give certainty to 
every American throughout the country.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).
  Mr. GARAMENDI. I think somehow I made a mistake. I came over here to 
listen to the debate, and it's almost like ``Alice in Wonderland,'' 
like we all fell down the hole here--up is down, down is up, black is 
white, white is black. I mean, this is confusing to the folks out 
there, so let's just try to understand where we are at this moment.
  We sent a bill--that is, the Republicans in this House sent a bill to 
the Senate that was rejected, rejected for several reasons. One of them 
was the pay-for, how is it going to be paid for--ways that dealt, I 
think, unfairly with workers who are unemployed. It shortened the 
period of unemployment not to 99 weeks, but even shorter, to just over 
50. And it also went after Medicare recipients, causing them to pay 
more. It was rejected by the Senate.
  The Senate put together a compromise. Ninety percent of the 
Senators--well, just short of 90 percent--89 Senators, Democrat and 
Republican, voted for a 2-month compromise that was paid for, with the 
understanding that they would spend the next 2 months trying to figure 
out how to make this thing last a whole year.
  We're really far apart on many of the underlying things, and so here 
we are running up against the deadline. And, by the way, if we had a 
conference committee, if we actually had a conference committee and 
they came to a conclusion before the end of the year, did anybody 
consider the Senate rules? There is a potential of 90 hours of debate 
in the Senate before it could be taken up and passed.
  So what are we doing here?
  We ought to think about the people out there and about the 
foolishness of all that's going on around here. Let's just agree to 
where the Senate is. We've got 2 months to figure out how to make the 
rest of the year work. And the rhetoric goes back and forth.
  We're not in ``Alice in Wonderland'' here. This is about the people 
of the United States. We have an opportunity to get this thing done 
only for 2 months. Nobody is happy about that, but at least we can get 
it done and we can come back and deal with some very difficult 
underlying issues for which there is no agreement at this moment. We 
need time to do that. The conference committee could surely not do 
that.

                              {time}  1500

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to 
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith).
  Mr. GRIFFITH of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I think that if Thomas 
Jefferson had just dropped back into this body, he would think he was 
Alice in Wonderland because when he wrote the wonderful ``Jefferson 
Manual of Parliamentary Procedure,'' he made it very clear that we had 
two bodies in this government, the Senate and the House; and each was 
to act independently one from the other in order to come up with what 
was right for the American people.
  We are now told today that we are supposed to except a compromise 
that the Senators compromised on and then left town to go home to 
celebrate their holiday.
  Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think that's appropriate. I think we 
should do what the system called for when our Founding Fathers put it 
together, that is, they do their business, we do our business, and we 
do what we think is right. We are trying to do what we think is right 
here today.
  This resolution includes many parts. One of those parts that I think 
is extremely important is the Boiler MACT part. It had 41 Democrat 
votes in this House. It has 13 Democrat cosponsors in the Senate. It is 
a very bipartisan and popular measure, and I hope we adopt the 
resolution.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, how much time is now remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from South Carolina has 8\3/4\ 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Georgia has 11\1/4\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I am pleased to yield 1 minute to a physician 
colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy).
  Mr. CASSIDY. I actually again agree with my colleague, Mr. Garamendi. 
There has been a lot of sturm und drang, but there's actually something 
that we can agree upon here.
  First, I'll say that President Obama, many congressional Democrats 
and House Republicans all agree that 12 months would be better than 2 
months in terms of the extension of these things. The Senate disagreed. 
They did it for 2 months.
  The Constitution says that if the House and the Senate disagree, the 
two come together, have a conference, a compromise, common ground is 
found, and then both Houses vote upon it. For some reason, we don't 
want to go through that process. For some reason, Senator Reid does not 
want to bring his people back from vacation to vote.
  Now, I will say that all this other conversation about issues kind of 
obscures--I think, almost is there to obscure the fact that this is 
about whether regular order will be followed, whether the 
constitutional method of resolving differences will be employed.
  Now, I would say that I ask the Senators to pay attention to what the 
Constitution says, to do the work of the American people. I know it's 
inconvenient. I know it's a holiday, but this is too important. Let's 
not give up on the process.

[[Page H9993]]

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy).
  Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, families are doing holiday 
shopping, planning budgets. So are employers.
  Now we're being asked to accept a 2-month plan here, $166 per family, 
and a message of: Trust us and we'll come back.
  Congress needs to be doing more than rehashing this again. We need to 
be dealing with unemployment, the deficit, and not just spending more 
time over 2 months.
  We're telling families to accept $166 instead of $1,000. For that 
$166, that's about a week and half of groceries for a family of four. 
For that same family of four, we're talking about 12 months of gas 
bills, 11 months of diapers, 10 electric utility bills, 9 months of 
baby formula, 8 months of cable, 7 months of auto insurance, 6 weeks of 
groceries, 5 months of gasoline, four student loan payments, three car 
payments, two credit card bills, and one mortgage payment for your 
house.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Missouri, the chair of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, Mr. Cleaver.
  Mr. CLEAVER. I sat in my office and listened to this debate; and the 
one thing I know is that neither side is listening to each other. 
Everybody's just trying to say something. The people at home are 
probably trying to figure out if there is any sanity anywhere in 
Washington. We're having fact-free debates, and the truth of the matter 
is that we're putting ideology over logic.
  I'm not going to be here on Christmas. You can get whatever people 
you want. You can send all kinds of things into my district. We're on 
the verge of the second holiest holiday in my religious tradition. I'm 
going to be home. I'm going to be in church.
  This is sick. This is sick. And the people all over the country, the 
people in the gallery, they know that they are watching 
dysfunctionality at its best. I'm ashamed, ashamed that this kind of 
thing is going on and the world is watching.
  All we need to do is wait until a better season so that we don't look 
as bad. Every minute we debate, our poll numbers drop. It's probably at 
a point now where they can't drop any further.
  But can't we stop this and start trying to rationally deal with the 
business of the public?
  We're not listening to each other. The media just wants to listen to 
see if anybody's going to say anything that's caustic. The red meat 
crowd is waiting for somebody to say something insulting to the other 
side.
  We ought to be listening to our better selves. We ought to call the 
best in us out right now, solve this problem, and go home and be with 
our families.
  I'm going to be with my family. You guys can stay here and scream at 
each other all you want. I'm going home.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I would remind my friend that it 
was President Obama who said:

       This Congress cannot and should not leave for vacation 
     until that--until they have made sure that that tax increase 
     doesn't happen. Let me repeat that: Congress should not and 
     cannot go on vacation before they have made sure that working 
     families aren't seeing their taxes go up by a thousand 
     dollars.

  Mr. Speaker, in order for their taxes not to go up by $1,000, the 
length of time of the payroll tax reduction has to be 1 year, not 60 
days.
  I am pleased to yield a minute and a half to my friend from Texas 
(Mr. Culberson).
  Mr. CULBERSON. We're sending this bill back to conference because we 
share Speaker John Boehner's core governing principle to do the right 
thing for the right reasons for the country. And the right thing to do 
here is to make sure nobody's payroll taxes go up for at least a year. 
The House bill does that.
  If you want your payroll taxes to go up in 2 months, then you would 
support the Senate bill.
  We are sending this bill back to conference because the Senate bill, 
unlike the House bill, the Senate bill does not require people applying 
for unemployment to either get a GED or show that they're working their 
way towards a degree. The Senate bill doesn't do those things. So we're 
obviously sending this bill back to conference.
  The House bill also gives States the flexibility to require 
unemployment beneficiaries to submit to drug testing, which is 
something common sense that everybody in the country can understand.
  The Speaker also included in the House bill the ability for 
businesses to expense 100 percent of the money they invest in new 
investments and that, obviously, is going to create jobs immediately. 
The Senate took that language out.
  This is just not complicated. If you want your payroll taxes to stay 
the same for 12 months, then you would support the House bill. If you 
want your payroll tax to go up in 2 months, then you'd support the 
Senate bill. This is not a complicated debate. This is very 
straightforward.
  We in the House want to make sure that nobody's tax goes up for at 
least 12 months so people can plan, so businesses can predict, so they 
can expense money that they can invest so that they can create jobs. We 
also want to make sure that businesses in America can continue to 
create jobs.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to 
the gentlelady from Maryland (Ms. Edwards).
  Ms. EDWARDS. 160 million Americans are wondering why Republicans want 
to raise their taxes on January 1. There are 2.2 million Americans 
wondering why the Republicans think that what unemployment people need 
is a drug test instead of a job or, in the absence of that, 
unemployment benefits.
  Doctors all across this country who treat Medicare patients, Mr. 
Speaker, are wondering why it is that Republicans want to ensure that 
their doctors receive 25 percent less than they should for treating 
Medicare patients.
  I have to tell you, I am with the American public. I'm completely 
confused about why Republicans in this Congress want to send Americans 
into January 2012 without an unemployment check, with a raise in their 
taxes, and cutting their Medicare benefits. That's what the American 
people want to know and don't understand. And they want to know why 
these House Republicans can't go along with what House Democrats want 
to do, what Senate Democrats already voted to do, what Republicans in 
the Senate already voted to. And it's time for us to do the business of 
the American people.

                              {time}  1510

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of my colleague as 
to how many speakers he has remaining?
  Mr. CLYBURN. I have two speakers left.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from South Carolina has 5\3/4\ 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Georgia has 7\1/4\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield a minute and 
a half to my physician colleague from the great State of Maryland (Mr. 
Harris).
  Mr. HARRIS. Thank you very much, Mr. Floor Leader, for yielding the 
time.
  The last time the Senators passed a major bill over just before 
Christmas, it was 2009. It was the ObamaCare bill. That last Congress, 
the 111th Congress, decided not to go to conference and accept what the 
Senate sent over.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask those Americans watching to ask themselves: How 
did that work for you? That's what they want us to do with this piece 
of legislation, just accept what the Senate says. They want to go home 
for Christmas, and we'll just see how it all works out. Didn't work out 
so good that time; won't work out so good this time.
  The gentleman from California said you almost need a playbook to 
figure out what's going on. Mr. Speaker, thank goodness we have one. 
It's called House.gov. You can go and you can see exactly how your 
Representative voted on a 1-year tax cut extension.
  We took a vote last week. You can go see that one. We're going to 
take three today, whether you want a 1-year or a 2-month. Go to 
House.gov. You don't have to believe what anyone says on the floor. Go 
to House.gov.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, let's talk about the other part of the bill, which 
is a 2-year Medicare fixed SGR. I ask those seniors who are watching, 
pick up the

[[Page H9994]]

phone once this debate is over and call your doctor's office. Ask him 
one question: Do you want a 2-month fix or do you want a 2-year fix? 
That's all. Simple question. Let's see what the doctors want.
  I know we in Washington like to think we know best for everything 
that goes on, including what our Medicare seniors want and their 
doctors want. I ask our seniors to do that.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, some have suggested that we're choosing between 1 year 
and 2 months. The fact is that by rejecting the Senate bill, which 
would have created certainty for 2 months, we are instead replacing 
that with uncertainty that begins in 2 weeks. Going the direction we're 
going in, in 2 weeks we won't know what the situation will be for 
payrolls that start on the 1st of January.
  A full-year consideration is not going to be achieved in the next 2 
weeks. The doc fix we've been working on for years; unemployment 
compensation and tax policy we've been working on for a long time. The 
idea that we're going to appoint a conference committee and they're 
going to meet and agree and figure all of this stuff out in a couple of 
days, we tried that with the supercommittee. It didn't work. This 
little conference committee is not going to solve all of these problems 
in the next 10 days.
  So we have a choice: 2 months of certainty or a few days of total 
uncertainty. Who knows what's going to happen.
  Economists have said if we don't extend the payroll tax and 
unemployment compensation that it will have significant adverse effects 
on the economy.
  So we should do this. We should do it for 2 months and work on it for 
2 months, and hopefully we'll have a solution at the end of 2 months. 
We certainly won't have a solution at the end of 2 weeks.
  So that's the choice.
  When people talk about certainty, this is a group that talked about 
certainty and then changed the regulations on light bulbs that have 
been in effect for 4 years on a 2-week notice. Here we are with 
certainty for 2 months, and they say, well, uncertainty is a problem, 
so let's do it in 2 weeks.
  Let's have some certainty, 2 months of certainty. Let's work on it, 
and we can get a full-year solution. We're not going to do that the way 
we're headed.
  I would hope, Mr. Speaker, that we would adopt the Senate amendments, 
leave town, send the bill to the President and be finished with it 
rather than invite all of this uncertainty which is certainly going to 
befall us if we don't do that.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I am pleased to yield a minute and a half to my 
colleague from the great State of Texas (Mr. Conaway).
  Mr. CONAWAY. I thank the gentleman.
  This is really hard to listen to in the sense that we are being asked 
to simply accede to the wisdom of the Senate. The wisdom of the Senate 
would say that long-range planning is 2 months. The wisdom of the 
Senate would say let's pay for 2 months' worth of these fixes by a 
permanent increase in mortgage insurance. That's unwise.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to abdicate my responsibility to vote what 
I believe is in the best interest of the county and the best policy 
simply because it's Christmas.
  Now, we've got 2 weeks to work this out. The House has already passed 
an extensive bill that fixes and addresses these issues across a broad 
spectrum of the fixes. And to have the other side over and over say 
it's really the wisdom of the Senate that you should accede to, it's 
really the wisdom of the Senate, look what the Senate did, Mr. Speaker. 
It's irresponsible on every level to simply say 2 months is somehow 
going to fix these problems, that we can avoid dealing with the issue 
for another 2 months and then that's wise?
  I would argue that my colleagues on the other side are wrongheaded in 
this regard. We have a bill that fixes this for 2 years, 1 year on the 
unemployment and taxes. We've got the pay-fors in place. The conferees 
can come together and get this worked out over the next week and a half 
that we've got before these things go into effect and bad things 
happen.
  To ask us to yield to the Senate, to accede to the Senate's wisdom is 
wrongheaded on every level, and I refuse to do that, Mr. Speaker, and 
would argue that the House-passed bill that we passed last week should 
be the base bill on which we go to conference on and to work out these 
differences.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  I would like to say to my colleagues on the other side that there is 
much more to legislation than a time line--2 months of certainty or we 
could go with the bill that this House passed.
  It was a year. It was their year. What did they do in that year's 
time? They cut 40 weeks off of unemployment. Now, that might be good 
for them, but it's not good for the people in my State where, in spite 
of all of the great numbers that I spoke about here earlier this 
afternoon, 100,000 more private-sector jobs created over the last 5 
months, the biggest number since 2006.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CLYBURN. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
  Now, the only way for us to really instill certainty in the 
unemployed and in those 160,000 million Americans who would like to 
continue to have their tax cut is for us to pass the Senate compromise 
and for us to really say to those people that we want you to have a 
pleasant holiday season and we'll all come back here the first of the 
year and give you an additional 10 months.
  How much time do I now have remaining, Mr. Speaker?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 2\1/4\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. CLYBURN. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Scott).
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from South 
Carolina has indicated, we can have 2 months of certainty if we follow 
our lead. The Republicans have said that we'll get 1 year of extension 
if we follow their lead. By tomorrow afternoon, we'll see who's telling 
the truth.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, may I say to my colleague that I 
am prepared to close if the gentleman is prepared to close.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from South Carolina has 2 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to close as I opened.
  I said at the outset that we've been getting some tremendous, what I 
would call tremendously positive numbers for our economy in the past 
several months, and I believe the American people are beginning to 
create more certainty in their lives.

                              {time}  1520

  I would hate to see us disrupt that by continuing to debate this 
issue when we know full well that our failure to pass this bill will 
almost guarantee that 160 million working Americans will see their 
taxes go up and their paychecks go down.
  There are 2.2 million people who are currently unemployed through no 
fault of their own, who are looking for work and who would like to 
contribute to the deficit reduction that we are trying to gain, but we 
will see them continuing in the unemployment status, without their 
benefit, if we fail to pass this bill.
  Also, the 48 million seniors who have developed relationships with 
their doctors, who during this time of year depend upon the medical 
profession for their quality of life, could very well see their doctors 
experience a 27 percent decrease in their reimbursements if we fail to 
pass this bill. We know what will happen. These doctors will walk off 
the field and will refuse to treat Medicare patients.
  I would hope that my friends would come to their senses and pass the 
Senate-passed compromise.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 501.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?

[[Page H9995]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, somebody once said that whether 
you say you can or you can't, you're right. The other side says they 
can't. The other side says we can't. We believe we can.
  Mr. Speaker, we have two different versions of H.R. 3630. There is a 
House version and a Senate version. Everybody who knows about the 
United States Government knows that when you have two different 
versions you come together in a conference committee. You come to 
common ground, work out the differences, and move the bill back to both 
Chambers.
  What are the differences?
  In the House bill, we protect seniors' access to their doctors for 24 
months. How about in the Senate bill? It's 2 months;
  In the House bill, the Federal unemployment benefits extension goes 
for 13 months. In the Senate bill, it's 2 months;
  As for the payroll tax cut extension, in the House bill, it's 12 
months. In the Senate bill, it's 2 months;
  As for the payroll tax cut for workers earning $50,000 a year, in the 
House bill, it's $1,000. In the Senate bill, it's $167.
  There is a pay freeze for Members of Congress and Federal workers 
included in the House bill, not in the Senate bill. There is the ending 
of unemployment and food stamp benefits for millionaires in the House 
bill, not in the Senate bill.
  So, Mr. Speaker, this is about two different bills. It's about 
certainty. It's about certainty for families and for job creators and 
for seniors. It's also about real jobs for real people. Our bill 
provides certainty and 20,000 jobs with the Keystone pipeline 
construction and another 120,000 new jobs in the supply chain for the 
pipeline: positive policy.
  Why wait? Why wait, Mr. Speaker? Why not make a decision in the next 
few days on these tax and health care and unemployment extensions? 
What's the economic or the policy argument for putting this off for 
another 2 months? The truth is that there is none, and there are strong 
arguments against delay. We ought to be working on alleviating the 
uncertainty that that would bring about, not adding to it.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to support this resolution and 
to move forward positively for families, for job creators, and for 
seniors.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 502, the previous question is ordered on 
the resolution and on the preamble.
  The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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