[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H137-H143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 3630, TEMPORARY PAYROLL TAX CUT 
                        CONTINUATION ACT OF 2011

  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to instruct conferees at the 
desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mrs. Capps moves that the managers on the part of the House 
     at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
     on the Senate amendment to the bill H.R. 3630 be instructed 
     to file a conference report not later than February 17, 2012.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XXII, the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) and the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Reed) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
  Mrs. CAPPS. I yield myself 5 minutes.
  I rise today to offer a straightforward motion to provide certainty 
to American families and businesses.
  As we all know, late last month, after a lot of drawn-out drama, we 
enacted a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut, of unemployment 
insurance, and the so-called doc fix. All of these provisions were set 
to expire at the end of last year. Payroll taxes would have gone up on 
160 million American workers. Millions of unemployed people would have 
had their benefits cut off even though they still can't find work, and 
doctors would have faced huge cuts in their reimbursement from 
Medicare, making it harder for seniors to see a doctor. The 2-month 
extension was not ideal, but differences could not be resolved before 
the clock ran out.
  Now, with this short-term extension set to expire in just a few 
weeks, we must find a way to bridge our differences and enact a full-
year extension of these provisions, and we need to do it as soon as 
possible, and that's what this motion is about.
  It simply directs the conferees to finish their work by February 17 
so both the House and Senate will have time to vote on the final 
package before the clock runs out on the 29th; just a date certain to 
ensure that we get our work done without yet another last-minute 
scramble. We have a habit in this Congress of leaving our work to the 
last minute, something we should have learned when we were kids when 
our parents warned us about this long ago.
  Last year, for example, was filled with manufactured crises and last-
minute deals. It led to a great deal of uncertainty about everything 
from tax policy to whether or not America will pay its debts. This 
uncertainty has affected our economy and our efforts to create jobs. I 
know we can do better. I know we must do better
  Our economy is still in a fragile state, and we must not add to its 
precarious nature with yet another unnecessary dustup here in 
Washington and especially not about provisions we generally agree upon. 
For example, extending the payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans 
will put a thousand dollars more in their paychecks for a worker in 
this coming year. In my home State alone, that would put $21 billion 
into the pockets of 17 million Californians. That's real money for 
consumers to spend quickly at small businesses across the country, 
stimulating demand and growing our economy.
  Now, economists from both sides from every perspective agree that 
this

[[Page H138]]

payroll extension is critical to maintaining our recovery and critical 
to extending new jobs.
  In addition, there is a general agreement about the need to extend 
unemployment benefits. This affects about 4\1/2\ million Americans who 
would lose their unemployment benefits if we don't get our work done in 
time. Never before have we allowed emergency unemployment benefits to 
expire while unemployment remains so high. Millions of middle class 
workers and their families depend upon emergency unemployment benefits 
to feed their families, to put gas in their cars, to keep their houses 
warm.
  Once again, extending these benefits helps create jobs, helps to grow 
our economy. According to Mark Zandi, every dollar of unemployment 
benefits creates $1.65 in economic demand. It's not rhetoric. It's a 
fact.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, we all agree on the need to ensure our doctors 
don't see a draconian cut in their Medicare reimbursements. Such a cut 
would affect the health care of nearly 50 million seniors who could 
lose access to their doctors if we don't complete our work on time. 
Without an extension, Medicare physicians will see nearly a 30-percent 
reimbursement cut at the end of this month, and of course this is 
something we face every year, which is why I have always supported a 
permanent fix to the SGR. But at a minimum, we must include a full-year 
fix for this program. Failure to do so will harm not only our doctors 
and their employees but our seniors as well.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people are rightfully tired of the 
political games and needless brinksmanship that has become all too 
common in this body. I say it's time to change course.
  Let's begin this new year on a better note. Let's begin the year by 
putting aside our differences and working together. Let's begin the new 
year by completing the work that we all were sent here to do, and let's 
do it on time and without unnecessary drama.
  Let's begin the new year by helping middle class families and small 
businesses stay afloat in these tough times. It's way too important to 
wait until the last minute. Millions of American workers, business 
owners, and families are depending on us. The time to act is now.
  I urge my colleagues to support this motion to ensure that we get our 
work done on time.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in great agreement with my colleague from California on 
the other side of the aisle. What she has articulated before us in this 
Chamber, Mr. Speaker, is an instruction to the conferees, of which I am 
one, to get our job done. I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.
  Also, there is a tremendous amount of agreement when it comes to the 
payroll tax extension to get an extension for at least a year, to 
extend unemployment benefits, and also to do what we have to do in 
Washington, D.C., in regards to our providers under Medicare with our 
doc fix.
  We have proposed and passed in this Chamber before the end of the 
year a 1-year proposal on the payroll tax extension fully paid for, a 
2-year proposal on our doc fix fully paid for. Those are long-term 
solutions that have been offered by our side of the aisle, adopted in a 
bipartisan fashion before the end of the year, and sent to the Senate 
to act upon.
  The reality of the situation finds us in a position where the Senate 
has not done its job. And my colleague from California is correct. A 
lot of it had to do with the fact that the Senate ran out of time, and 
they reverted to classic, old political ways of doing business: passing 
legislation at 3 o'clock, 2 o'clock in the morning, waiting until the 
last minute, and putting forth a product that only allowed us to kick 
the can 2 months down the road.
  We can do better. We need to do better. The proposal that came out of 
this Chamber was a start in that right direction. It is time that we 
join together and we hit this long-term solution put forth for the 
American people because they deserve no less.
  I would be remiss if we did not identify the fact that we as 
conferees were here over the Christmas break. We were here trying to 
champion the cause for making sure we put policy into law, not achieve 
political gamesmanship or wins. It is time for us to focus on policy 
and put politics aside. Hardworking taxpayers deserve that today in 
America.
  I, for one, will join my colleague on the other side of the aisle in 
the tremendous amount of agreement that I think we have going into this 
conference and the sentiment of getting the job done in time, not 
waiting until the last minute, coming up with a long-term solution of 
at least a year on our payroll tax extension, at least 2 years for our 
doctors who are getting reimbursed under Medicare, and take care of the 
unemployment situation.

                              {time}  1330

  But I would have to disagree with my colleague on the other side of 
the aisle when she says that unemployment benefits are some sort of 
economic stimulus that should be expanded. I understand, and I have 
read what the economists have said on the economic impact of 
unemployment benefits.
  My point would be, if that logic were true, then why don't we just 
extend unemployment benefits to every American and sit back and watch 
the economy blossom. The fundamental truth is--and it's time to be open 
and honest with the American people about it--that the economy is not 
going to strengthen based on government expansion, government spending. 
It's going to strengthen on a commitment to small-business America 
laying the foundation upon which the private sector knows that there is 
certainty, there is confidence in the market, and they have the ability 
to know what the rules are going to be for years to come, not on a 
month-by-month basis.
  I urge my colleagues in the other Chamber, in the U.S. Senate, to 
heed that fundamental message. We can no longer, in Washington, D.C., 
believe that short-term policy is the best we can do for America. 
Hardworking taxpayers deserve better than that, and small business 
owners across America need to know what the rules are with certainty 
and for years so that they can make the investments to put our 
hardworking taxpayer Americans back to work.
  That's what we stand for on this side of the aisle; and that is what 
I am hopeful, going into this conference, we will be able to produce 
out of this payroll bill, unemployment extension, and our doc fix.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee).
  Ms. LEE of California. I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding 
and also for her tremendous leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to encourage all the conferees on H.R. 3630 to 
fully consider the chilling effect on the economy of any failure to 
fully extend unemployment benefits.
  While we are all pleased to see the economy slowly improving, 
unemployment rates continue to be unacceptably high; and, yes, there 
are four individuals looking for every one job. This job recovery still 
has not created enough jobs in our country.
  I have participated in many job fairs in my district, along with the 
Congressional Black Caucus; and we have witnessed thousands and 
thousands and thousands of people lining up for the jobs that existed. 
People want to work. It's not that people are sitting around waiting 
for their unemployment benefits. If there were jobs, people would work. 
So we need this bridge over troubled waters until we find out a way to 
create the jobs that people deserve.
  We must immediately extend all expiring unemployment benefits. The 
conferees should also strongly consider adding an additional 14 weeks 
of tier 1 unemployment benefits for the millions of 99ers who have 
completely exhausted their benefits. We don't remember that even with 
the extension of unemployment, there are between 2 and 3 million people 
who will not be eligible because 99 weeks is the limit.
  So we can't abandon those individuals. We have to pass, and we're 
asking for Congressman Scott's bill and my bill, H.R. 589, to be 
included in any final legislative agreement.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I am pleading for this body to really understand 
that until we figure out a way to create jobs, people want to work. It 
is our

[[Page H139]]

moral responsibility to create this extension of unemployment benefits 
to include an additional 14 weeks for people who have hit the 99-week 
mark. That's our duty and our responsibility, and I hope that you'll 
put this in our package.

                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, January 23, 2012.
     Hon. Dave Camp,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of 
         Representatives, Longworth HOB, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Max Baucus,
     Chairman, Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate, Dirksen SOB, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Camp and Chairman Baucus: As you and your 
     colleagues on the conference committee address the extension 
     of payroll tax relief and unemployment compensation benefits, 
     restoration of Medicare payments to physicians, and other 
     matter, I urge you to fully consider the ongoing impacts of 
     the crisis in unemployment and long term unemployment, not 
     only on the millions of affected individuals and families who 
     are living life on the edge, but to also consider the impact 
     on our nation's struggling economy.
       While we see some slow improvements in the jobs numbers, 
     unemployment rates continue to be unacceptably high and the 
     rates of long term unemployment as well the length of time 
     that the unemployed are out of work are both at record highs.
       We must immediately extend the expiring emergency 
     unemployment benefits to the maximum authorized levels and we 
     should also immediately add an additional 14 weeks of tier I 
     unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who have 
     completely exhausted their benefits while struggling to find 
     work.
       Far too many Americans have exhausted all of their 
     unemployment benefits and are still unable to find work. 
     Abandoning these job seekers will only further depress the 
     economy and will fail to reduce our deficits as these so 
     called 99er's will begin to fall into poverty and begin to be 
     eligible for other needs based federal benefits.
       With nearly 50 million Americans in poverty and half of all 
     Americans in low income households, we must take bold action 
     now. It is only by providing these millions of struggling 
     American families with adequate and immediate relief and a 
     genuine long term pathway out of poverty that we can put 
     America back on track to prosperity and economic growth for 
     all.
       I strongly urge the members of the conference committee to 
     consider my legislation, H.R. 589 for inclusion in any final 
     legislative agreement.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Barbara Lee,
                                               Member of Congress.

  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would like to respond to my colleague on the other side of the 
aisle who just spoke in regard to when it comes to unemployment benefit 
extensions.
  What we have to do, in my opinion, is set the framework upon which 
jobs in America could be created. We just had an example of this last 
week. I so hope our President tonight in this very Chamber comes and 
explains his decision to reject American jobs being created through the 
Keystone pipeline, because there is a project that has been identified; 
and it will be implemented in a way that would create an immediate 
20,000 new jobs for men and women in America.
  That will go a long way to solving our unemployment problems in the 
United States, not just extending unemployment benefits. But as we take 
up the issue of extending unemployment benefits, we need to do better. 
We owe it to hardworking taxpayers of America to come up with solutions 
and reforms in our unemployment benefits programs that give them the 
tools, the resources to be reemployed.
  I agree wholeheartedly with my colleague on the other side of the 
aisle that I don't believe the majority of Americans wants to be 
unemployed. They want to get back to work.
  So in our reforms that were passed in this Chamber before the end of 
the year, we talk about such things as requiring GEDs, high school 
education equivalency diplomas, high school degrees so that people 
could have that basic educational benefit that will give them the tools 
to get back to work. We should be focusing together in a bipartisan 
manner, Democrat and Republican, on reforms that are going to give 
those tools to our unemployed Americans rather than just giving a 
check.
  There is an old adage that I grew up with, being the youngest of 12 
children, that was passed on for generations in our family, which was: 
You give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. You teach a man or woman 
to fish, you feed him and her and their entire family for a lifetime.
  That is the mantra. That is the foundation upon which we should take 
up unemployment extension in this conference and join hands to 
implement going forward.
  Again, I have to highlight the fact that what we see out of the other 
Chamber in the United States Senate is a willingness to just achieve 
what is politically possible, to only achieve what could be called a 
political win. It is time to stop focusing on politics. Hardworking 
taxpayers in America deserve us to focus on good policy.
  Mr. Speaker, with that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey).
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Capps motion to 
instruct conferees.
  This issue is just too important to get tied up in election-year 
politics. Failing to extend the payroll tax cut, unemployment 
insurance, and the Medicare doc fix will have real and lasting effects 
on our Nation's middle class. It will mean that fewer doctors will be 
available to care for seniors and the aging baby boomer generation. It 
will mean that people who have lost their job through no fault of their 
own will have the safety net pulled out from under them, and it will 
mean that working families will see their paychecks shrink.
  Americans don't want partisan gridlock. They want jobs, they want 
economic security, and they want access to health care. I urge my 
colleagues, support the Capps motion and put our families first.
  Mr. REED. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Castor).
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. I thank our colleague, Representative Capps, 
for yielding time and for her great leadership on behalf of middle 
class families across America.
  I rise to encourage all of our colleagues to get to work on middle 
class tax relief and also take this opportunity to strengthen Medicare. 
We're going to have a lot of debates over Medicare here in the coming 
year.

                              {time}  1340

  This will be an opportunity to address a real shortcoming in 
Medicare, and that is protecting our parents and grandparents and the 
ability that they have to see the doctor of their choice. See, what 
will happen if the Congress does not act is there will be instituted 
very harsh cuts to the reimbursement rate for doctors who take care of 
our parents and take care of our grandparents under Medicare. We simply 
can't let this happen.
  Democrats are interested in a permanent fix to these Medicare cuts to 
doctors. This is vitally important for tens of millions of our parents 
and grandparents all across America. And you better believe in the 
State of Florida, where we have 3.4 million seniors who rely on 
Medicare, we want to ensure that the ability of the doctor that they 
trust, that they see time and time again, will be there when they make 
that appointment in the doctor's office. We're interested in a 
permanent fix. We think working together we can get this done.
  Medicare is that promise that has been made to generation after 
generation of Americans; that it will be there no matter what happens, 
how hard they work, what happens in their lifetime, Medicare will be 
there to serve them, and we need to ensure that the doctors are there 
on the front lines to take care of our parents and grandparents as 
well.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, again I'm heartened because, as the gentlelady 
spoke, I came to the conclusion we're in full agreement. House 
Republicans are in full agreement, so that gives us hope, ladies and 
gentlemen. That gives us hope going into this conference that what 
we're going to be able to put together with the doc fix and how our 
providers are paid under Medicare is a solution that will be a long-
term solution to this situation that politically is required to go 
through all the time because of this doc fix situation we find 
ourselves in.
  But I would remind this Chamber and I would remind all of my 
colleagues that we are in the midst of a fiscal crisis in this Nation 
that needs to be respected. And as we talk about making

[[Page H140]]

sure that our providers under Medicare are taken care of on a long-term 
basis, we need to go into this discussion with our eyes wide open, and 
that is that fiscal crisis forces us to cover these costs, for us to be 
responsible in Washington, DC, for one time and pay for what we are 
doing and live within our means.
  That's what our proposal for 2 years out of the House Chamber before 
the end of year passed by a bipartisan fashion did--took care of 2 
years of the doc fix, fully paid for and offset. What we need to do is 
bring that attitude into the conference to get it taken care of.
  I so heartily agree with my colleague, the esteemed lady, and her 
position in coming up with a long-term solution for our doctors under 
Medicare. But we do need to be responsible and we have to offset and 
make sure that it is paid for. That is the reality of the situation we 
find ourselves in in America in the fiscal crisis we now face, and it 
will be the reality of our Nation's fiscal prosperity going forward if 
we so choose to honor it.
  With that, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).
  (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, we hear that there is agreement over some 
basic principles here. Just about everyone thinks we should extend the 
middle class tax cut for the rest of this year. Just about everyone 
thinks we should make sure that doctors don't see a nearly 30 percent 
cut in the payments that they receive to take care of our seniors and 
disabled persons under Medicare. Most of us think that unemployment 
benefits should be extended at a time when there are four people 
unemployed for every one job opening in the country.
  Most people believe that most if not all of this should be paid for; 
that is to say that we shouldn't borrow the money to do these things. 
The amount of money that's needed to do that is about $3 out of every 
$1,000 that we're going to spend here. It's significant money, but it's 
about $3 out of every $1,000 that we spend.
  So here's the idea behind this motion. Since there is such broad 
agreement that this middle class tax cut and the other provisions need 
to happen, since there is such broad agreement that it ought to be 
offset in part, if not fully, and since it's such a relatively small 
amount of money, $3 for every $1,000 we're going to spend, let's not 
wait until the very last minute to do it.
  The history of 2011 is littered with the majority waiting until the 
eleventh hour. And it was more than just an inconvenience for the 
legislative process. In August when the markets melted down, it turned 
out to be a crisis for the country and the global economy. Let's not 
take that chance again.
  So if everybody is so much in agreement, vote for this motion. What 
it says is let's not wait until February 29. They gave us a leap year 
this year, so let's not stretch it. Let's not wait until February 29 at 
midnight. Let's get this done no later than February 17 to get this 
done in an orderly fashion.
  The American people are tired of a Congress that has the study habits 
of a student who parties all semester and crams for the finals. Let's 
get serious, let's grow up, and let's vote for this motion.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I do have to remind my good friend on the 
other side of the aisle that, on December 22, House Republicans were 
here. We were sitting in the conference ready to get to work, and 
conferees on their side of the aisle had not even been named by that 
point in time.
  I was here over the New Year's break, Thursday, Friday, working on 
this issue in preparation for the conference. Where was the Senate? 
Nowhere to be found. So let us be straight with the American people. 
Let's be open and honest with the American people that who's ready to 
do the work is us in the House Chamber on the House Republican side. We 
demonstrated it at the end of 2011 by staying here. We may have been 
hurt politically or lost that political battle. But you know what? The 
American people want us to do not what is politically the winning 
strategy, but what is the best policy for the American people. And 
that's what we stood up for.
  Maybe that message didn't get home to the men and women back in our 
districts immediately. But I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, when I went 
back in my district and I had the question presented to me at my local 
church, local grocery store, why were you still down there? What was 
the problem? What were you fighting for? And we went through the 
details of the policy that we're talking about here with the payroll 
tax rate, the unemployment extension, and the Medicare reimbursement 
for our providers under Medicare, and they said: Well, obviously, you 
needed to stay there to get it done. And that's what we have to do. We 
have to adopt the attitude of, we have been sent here to do the 
people's work. It's time not for us to wait until the last minute, I 
wholeheartedly agree. But it's also time that we just do not leave town 
because we've accomplished what was politically possible or what was in 
our political interest. I wholeheartedly am committed to finding the 
real solutions, the real policy initiatives, and that's what we are 
standing for on this side of the aisle.
  With that, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on each 
side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Each side has 18 minutes remaining.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Capps motion, 
which again says that we should move as swiftly as possible to resolve 
all of these issues.
  In support of that, I just want to share with the body a survey that 
was released by the Connecticut Medical Society a few days ago. It's 
the largest physician group in the State of Connecticut. It asked what 
the impact would be if the SGR 27 percent rate cut went into effect. It 
would be catastrophic: 40 percent of doctors would stop accepting 
Medicare patients; 10 percent would close their practices; 32 percent 
would lay off staff. But what was interesting was that 19 percent said 
they are already refusing to take new appointments of Medicare 
beneficiaries and are curtailing access for both Medicare and Tricare 
patients all across the State of Connecticut.
  So clearly, this is not an issue which can wait until the last 
minute. People are already voting with their feet, and it's affecting 
access to health care literally as we sit here today in the House 
Chamber.
  I also would just like to remind the gentleman from New York that the 
measure that the Republicans passed in December, which supposedly 
addressed this issue, paid for the SGR fix by taking $40 billion out of 
the hospital accounts in Medicare.

                              {time}  1350

  So in the name of protecting physician fees, they butchered the other 
part of the system and the central part of the system in terms of 
hospital access which provides emergency care all across this country. 
The American Hospital Association and others clearly warned this 
Chamber and the Senate that this cut would be extremely damaging and 
catastrophic to the American health care system. And the fact that the 
Senate did not just rubber-stamp what the House did, in my opinion, 
shows that they acted appropriately.
  It is extremely urgent for the American health care system that we 
pass and follow the Capps motion's timeline to fix this issue, frankly 
an issue which has festered since the 1990s when the Republicans passed 
the SGR formula. This is not part of the Affordable Care Act. In fact, 
at the time we passed the Affordable Care Act, it abolished the SGR 
with H.R. 3662. We should follow that path at the end of the day, and 
we should certainly follow the timeline of the Capps motion.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I so appreciate my colleague reminding me of the offsets on the doc 
fix bill. And I would just like to remind my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle and this entire Chamber that in the House-passed bill 
that was sent to the Senate, 90 percent--90 percent--of those offsets 
were recommended and

[[Page H141]]

supported by the President of the United States, President Obama.
  Now, I'm not saying that that's the final thing that we can agree to. 
By no means am I saying that. But what I will say is that we did our 
work. We found common ground with the President's own recommendations 
and policies that he supported and sent it to the Senate. At this point 
in time, I still remind the American people who is at the table: the 
House. Where is the United States Senate? And may I remind the Speaker 
and the American people, I say the entire Senate but, in particular, 
those on the other side of the aisle.
  With that, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. I am pleased to yield, Mr. Speaker, 2 minutes to our 
colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, in just a few hours, the President of the 
United States will be on the floor to present his ideas as to how we 
can grow our economy and put the American people back to work. I hope 
the majority keeps an open mind and rejects the extreme ideology and 
political timidness that has driven the 112th Congress of the United 
States.
  Need I remind my friend from New York State, need I remind him that 
the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, as we move into this next decade, are 
the biggest cause and the biggest proportion of the deficit facing this 
Congress. And you are not going to--you are not going to nickel and 
dime us to solve the problem of the deficit on the backs of the middle 
class and the working poor. It doesn't work. You can't figure it out.
  While the economic indicators are showing pretty good improvements, 
the unemployment rate in my home State of New Jersey is still 9.1 
percent, above the national average of 8.5. Because of games played by 
the extreme wing of the Republican Party, the payroll tax cut that 
President Obama and the Democratic Congress support is at risk of 
expiring again.
  Now, I can't say any clearer than this: $1,000 may not be a lot for 
millionaires like Mitt Romney paying a 13.9 percent tax rate, but it is 
a significant amount of money directly in the pockets of middle class 
families in north Jersey.
  You don't have to look far to see where we are still hurting. Just 
last month, Mr. Speaker, the construction industry unemployment rate 
jumped another 3 percent to 16 percent. Passing the payroll tax cut 
will help grow the economy and get the American people back to work.
  Isn't that what we want?
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to my good 
friend from Missouri (Mr. Long).
  Mr. LONG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the issue of the 
payroll tax extension--holiday--whatever you want to call it, and the 
doc fix that we address every single year here in this Congress. At the 
end of last year, we went home. We did our work. We extended the 
payroll tax holiday for 1 full year. We did the doc fix for 2 years. 
When I got to the airport in Dallas, Texas, we got a call that the 
Senate had sent back over a bill here that was going to pay the doctors 
taking care of our seniors on Medicare for 2 months. I think, if I 
remember right, they had three different plans. It would either take 
care for 2 months, 8 weeks, or 60 days. That's the only three programs 
they looked at in the Senate. Then they sent it back over here, and 
then they try and blame us, saying we're not for the payroll tax 
extension. We were for it for a year; we were for the doc fix for 2 
years.
  I think it is ridiculous that the Senate cannot do their work, just 
like we haven't had a budget out of the Senate in 1,000 days.
  Mrs. CAPPS. I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from 
North Carolina, David Price.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the 
motion to instruct and want to thank our colleague from Santa Barbara 
for offering it.
  Last year, as we lurched from one congressionally created crisis to 
another, uncertainty plagued families and businesses, and the American 
people's confidence in our ability to do their work plummeted.
  In the first few months of the new year, we can right these wrongs. 
We can proceed in a deliberative, mature manner to address our Nation's 
problems.
  As the President will reiterate tonight in his State of the Union 
Address, this is a make-or-break moment for our economic recovery, for 
our middle class and those trying to reach the middle class. Extending 
the payroll tax cut will put an average of $1,000 in the pockets of 
working people this year. Let's not play games by threatening to raise 
taxes on 160 million workers if you don't get your way on one 
bargaining chip or another.
  We should pass a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut right 
away and then move on to the President's broader jobs bill that would 
create jobs and put us on a faster road to recovery.
  Mr. REED. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from New 
York (Mr. Crowley).
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Mrs. 
Capps, for yielding this time and for spearheading this resolution 
which will simply end the ``dog ate my homework'' excuse my Republican 
colleagues have repeatedly used when refusing to do more than the bare 
minimum that our job requires.
  I'm a father of three children all under the age of 13. My kids are 
the best. I love them dearly. But they are like most: they don't like 
doing their homework, and they often wait until the last minute to get 
it done, despite my wife's and my best efforts to see otherwise. While 
this behavior is common in households across America, it is not 
acceptable in the workforce, and it ought not be acceptable here in the 
Halls of Congress. Yet, this is how the Republican leadership has gone 
about our business here in Congress.
  This Congress almost let the United States of America default on its 
bills. This Congress almost prevented Social Security checks from going 
out to every American senior because they wanted their way or the 
highway. This Congress almost refused to pass a middle class tax cut 
for Americans before the holidays because they didn't believe middle 
class Americans deserve one.
  And here we are today. The majority has refused for weeks to even 
begin discussions on the payroll tax even though Democrats named their 
conferees several weeks ago and have been ready to talk ever since.
  President Obama has been waiting for any word from my Republican 
colleagues. He's made clear he wants to talk, negotiate, and get this 
done. But the Republicans have clearly been in no rush to get a tax cut 
passed for the middle class.
  Today, with the passage of Mrs. Capps' resolution, that will all come 
to an end. The middle class will go to the front and center of this 
Congress, and it's about time. We cannot wait until the last second 
once again. We have the chance to pass a bill that will provide the 
typical American family earning $50,000 a year over $1,000 in tax 
cuts--tax cuts they will see in every paycheck.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mrs. CAPPS. I yield 30 seconds to our colleague.
  Mr. CROWLEY. We have the chance to ensure the doctors treating 
seniors on Medicare can continue to do so without having to charge them 
higher fees for medical care. We have the chance to continue 
unemployment benefits for those who lost their jobs by no fault of 
their own and are actively looking for work.
  The majority has a simple choice today: pass this resolution and make 
it clear it's our shared goal--Republicans and Democrats alike--to help 
hardworking Americans who are struggling in this economy; or reject 
this bill and continue playing the same games that have become the 
hallmark of this do-nothing Congress.

                              {time}  1400

  The fact is the American people don't have time for these games 
anymore. Stop the games. Pass this motion to instruct conferees.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my 
colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan).
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I enjoy listening to revisionist history as is practiced here on the 
floor of the House of Representatives.

[[Page H142]]

  Our friends on the other side are saying that we haven't done our 
job, that we're not doing our work. Well, let's think about this for a 
second. It was the House Republicans that passed the full-year 
extension last year of the payroll tax and the unemployment extension. 
It was the House Republicans that named the conferees to get this work 
done. Let's think about who is and who is not getting their job done.
  This year marks the second year in a row where the President has 
literally flouted the law and is delaying his budget. It's 2 years that 
the President hasn't brought the budget on time as according to law. 
Today is 1,000 days since the other body in the United States Senate 
bothered to even try to pass, let alone propose, a budget.
  We acted responsibly. We acted in time. And, more to the point, Mr. 
Speaker, if we're going to have a temporary tax holiday for payroll 
taxes, let's never forget the fact that payroll taxes finance Social 
Security. This is why we insist on spending cuts--to make sure that 
Social Security is intact, remains whole. The failure to cut spending 
to pay for this temporary tax holiday means complicity with raiding the 
Social Security trust fund, and we are not in favor of that.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, may I ask, please, how much time I have 
remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Womack). The gentlewoman from California 
has 10 minutes remaining.
  Mrs. CAPPS. With that, may I just remind our colleagues that we went 
lurching from one crisis to another during the past year, first about 
our debt ceiling default crisis, then whether or not we could even 
continue the government. Then we spent some time shutting down the FAA. 
So that's the reason behind this motion to instruct conferees in terms 
of getting on time.
  Now I would like to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from New York 
(Mr. Engel).
  Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. I rise in 
strong support of her motion, and I urge my colleagues to do so as 
well.
  Today is a day of bipartisanship. The President is speaking to us. We 
should really show it. We should really put our money where our mouths 
are. It may be true, as the gentleman just said on the other side of 
the aisle, that the Republicans passed a year of a payroll tax break, 
yeah, but they put poison pills in it. They put Keystone in it. They 
put Medicare restrictions in it.
  We want a clean bill. We want a year's bill, but let it be a clean 
bill. Let it be a bill that is not mixed in with anything else, no 
poison pills. I challenge my friends on the other side of the aisle to 
do that. This is what we should be doing. The American people want it.
  There are still significant differences between the two parties on 
the specifics. Let's resolve them. Let's resolve them sooner rather 
than later. The American people are saying Congress is dysfunctional. 
Congress can't even agree on a bill, which everyone agrees. And this is 
more reason why we should pass this and show that we should not be 
playing politics on something that's so vital to people's lives. We 
should not wait until the very last minute to reach an agreement.
  This motion simply instructs conferees to finish negotiations by 
February 17; and by doing so, we'd avoid the confusion and uncertainty 
that happened last time when the Congress waited until the last minute 
for the last extension. We need these tax breaks for the middle class. 
We need the doc fix. We need unemployment benefits for those who have 
been hurt most by the prolonged economic downturn.
  Let's not play politics with people on these issues. I urge the 
conferees to quickly reach an agreement that will not hurt the 
unemployed and will help continue our economic recovery.
  So again, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this motion so 
that we don't take this debate to the last minute again, make us look 
like fools and play games with people's lives. Let's pass this. Let's 
do it now. Let's not wait. Let's stop the political games.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I'd just remind my good colleague on the other 
side of the aisle that we were here. The House Republicans were here 
December 22. December 26, conferees weren't even named yet. I was here 
Thursday and Friday of New Year's working on the issue.
  We're ready to do the work. But there is one thing that we will not 
yield on, that we have demonstrated years in Washington, DC, of fiscal 
irresponsibility. And until we came in, this freshman class in November 
2010, there was an attitude of, Don't worry about how we're going to 
cover it; don't worry about how we're going to pay for it.
  That attitude has changed, and that's why I'm proud to yield 2 
minutes to a fellow freshman Member from North Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers).
  Mrs. ELLMERS. I thank my freshman colleague from New York for 
yielding.
  I've been watching this discussion, this debate going on, and I am 
once again amazed by the issue.
  I am in favor of this motion to instruct. In fact, I am so much in 
favor of it that I wish we weren't here talking about it right now. I 
wish we had finished the people's work in 2011. As my colleague has 
pointed out, we were here. This idea that somehow we don't work up 
until the minute, Mr. Speaker, this is ridiculous. This is absolutely 
ridiculous. This is nothing more than a dog and pony show.
  As a conferee, I am anxious to begin the House and Senate-level 
meetings and to learn about what policy pathway will get us to the 
yearlong extension we are all seeking, what we voted for, what we 
passed in the House of Representatives--bipartisan effort, mind you. I 
am waiting to see what the Senate has to say about this on this 1,000th 
day of their not even passing a budget. The Senate's willingness to 
produce a plan is critical to giving employers, workers, and those 
seeking to reenter the workforce certainty they need.
  Again, I am ready to work on this issue. My colleagues are ready to 
work on this issue. We were ready to fix this problem in 2011, where it 
should have been left, so that into 2012 we could provide certainty for 
the American people.
  I support this effort, and let's get to work.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Before I yield time, I just want to congratulate the 
conferees for finally meeting today for the very first time, at least 5 
weeks after they were appointed. So that's the point.
  I am pleased now to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from Texas, 
Sheila Jackson Lee.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I thank the gentlelady from California for 
the recognition and also for the leadership.
  I might say to my colleagues that whenever we come to the floor of 
the House to do the people's business it is an important effort, and 
this motion to instruct is truly the people's business. I want to 
applaud you for framing the urgency of answering the call of doing what 
we need to do with respect to 160 million Americans who need payroll 
tax relief--again, tax cuts for middle class and working Americans, not 
a discriminatory treatment of only the top 1 percent being able to sing 
the song ``Oh Happy Day,'' but to allow those who get up every day, 
some working with their hands, some working with the genius of their 
minds, and being able to get tax relief from this Congress.
  I also know that the American people are looking for immediate relief 
as it relates to jobs. And I join with my colleague, Chairman Larson of 
the Democratic Caucus, about the American Jobs Act and the President's 
initiative on putting teachers and firefighters, police and 
construction workers to work, creating jobs and cutting taxes to put in 
the American people's pockets, and, as well, to provide job training 
and extended unemployment incentives.
  But I do raise this question as we look to protect Medicare and, yes, 
to provide the doctor fix, which is so important to Houston, with the 
large Texas Medical Center and the large population of seniors. I join 
with my colleagues to urgently move toward that. But may I make it very 
clear that unemployment benefits are not a handout. It is not given to 
people who have not worked. It is given to blue collar workers. It's 
given to white collar workers. It's given to people who have worked and 
contributed to this economy. For my friends on the other side of the 
aisle to suggest in the most

[[Page H143]]

insulting way to give drug tests and to suggest that people need a GED, 
I can assure you people want to get a GED. But when you talk of the 
body politic of unemployed workers, 14 million people can't find jobs 
because there are no jobs to be found, and we are working to create 
jobs.
  So the issue is: Help us pass the American Jobs Act, and help 
recognize that those who get unemployment benefits, Mr. Speaker, are 
Americans who have worked, who deserve this kind of insurance.
  I join in passing the payroll tax motion to instruct and the 
unemployment benefits. Let's do it now.

                              {time}  1410

  Mr. REED. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from 
Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).
  Mr. KUCINICH. I agree with Representative Capps in that we shouldn't 
wait. We have to move quickly to eliminate any uncertainty that 
American families have in planning their budget or any uncertainty that 
they may have as to whether or not they're going to get unemployment 
benefits.
  We in this Congress have certainty in much of our lives, especially 
with the fact that we get paid every month. But if you are out there 
and you have a really tight budget or you are unemployed or you are a 
senior trying to make sure you can go to your doctor of choice, this 
motion that the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) has is very 
important because we need to recognize that the middle class has been 
under enormous financial stress. With the wealth of the country 
accelerating upward, middle class people have been looking for a break.
  If I'm right, this legislation will provide up to $1,000 for the year 
for a middle class family, which would be a great break for many 
families. This middle class tax break is imperative. Unemployment 
benefits for those who have not been able, despite their best efforts, 
to find a place in the job market are absolutely essential. There are 
13 million people who are unemployed. There are a tremendous number of 
unemployed people in my own State of Ohio. They are looking to see, are 
we going to help them eliminate the uncertainty? That is why the Capps 
amendment is important, because we move forward quickly to show them, 
we are there for you. And the senior citizens, they want to make sure 
they can get their doctors of choice, and doctors want to make sure 
they are going to paid what is appropriate.
  So I rise to support this amendment. Let's remember the middle class 
taxpayers. Let's remember those who are unemployed. Let's remember 
seniors who want to see the doctor of their choice. Let's remember 
doctors who want to get paid a fair amount. And let's pass this Capps 
amendment.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would just like to say simply 
this, that we wholeheartedly agree with the general sentiment that has 
been brought to the House Chamber today, with the motion that is before 
this body, that we need to do our work in the conference. We cannot 
wait until the last minute. We wholeheartedly join in that sentiment, 
and we have demonstrated that commitment by what we have already done. 
Our actions should speak louder than our words.
  The House Republicans were here on December 22, asking the Senate to 
come back to the table and do the people's work. And we are ready to do 
that work now. We need the Senate to come to the table in good faith, 
finalize this package on a long-term basis, bring certainty to our 
payroll tax rates, bring certainty to our providers, how they get paid 
under Medicare, and take care of the unemployment extension situation. 
But we must go into this conference with our eyes wide open.
  We were sent to Washington in November 2010 because the American 
people recognized the fiscal crisis that is coming to our shores in 
America if we don't get our debt under control, and the habit that 
creates it; the spending problem of Washington, D.C., corrected once 
and for all, or we will not have a future in America. And that is 
unacceptable to me, as a father of two, and as the father of three, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) on the other side of the aisle, 
also indicated. We are fighting for our children and our grandchildren 
who have yet to see the face of this Earth.
  So I join with my colleagues in sending a message that we will do the 
work. The hardworking taxpayers in America deserve no less. The U.S. 
Senate should come to the table, find a solution to these issues, and 
we will wholeheartedly join hands on our side of the aisle when we do 
it in a responsible way that will take care of this situation in a 
long-term fashion, not the short-term Band-Aid that Washington, D.C., 
for so long has thought is good policy at the expense of the 
hardworking taxpayers of America.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. I yield myself the remainder of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I will say to my colleague from New York, being here in 
December, as you mentioned a few times, it was December 22 that Senator 
McConnell--actually several Senators said to us, Don't just be here, 
but get to work. Again, I acknowledge that, today, the conferees are 
meeting for the first time.
  In closing, I just want to make a few quick points: first, to remind 
our colleagues what is in this motion. It simply says that the 
conference should finish its work and report it back to the House by 
February 17. It doesn't speak to specific outcomes, just that we get 
our work done and do it in a timely fashion. It is very clear that we 
need to come together and work on the problems that the American people 
have sent us here to address. They are rightfully tired of the endless 
drama and the political posturing in Washington, D.C. They know we can 
do better, and we know it too.
  Second of all, we pretty much agree on the need for the basic 
provisions of this bill--the extension of the payroll tax cut, a tax 
cut for middle class, hardworking families, an extension of 
unemployment benefits, and a doc fix for Medicare providers for the 
rest of the year.
  Third, it sounds like we all want to get these issues resolved as 
quickly as possible. There was a lot of agreement here on the floor 
during the past hour. So I hope we can all agree now to pass this 
simple and commonsense motion to instruct the conferees to get their 
work done over the next 3 weeks so that we can get our work done here 
on the floor and get moving to the agenda that we know lies before us.
  I urge my colleagues to support this motion, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mrs. CAPPS. 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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