[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8584-S8586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          JOB PROTECTION AND RECESSION PREVENTION ACT OF 2012

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of H.R. 8; that the substitute amendment, 
the text of which is at the desk, be agreed to; that there be 10 
minutes of debate equally divided between the two leaders prior to a 
vote on passage of the bill, as amended; that there be no other 
amendments in order prior to the vote; that there be no points of order 
in order to the substitute amendment or the bill; finally, that the 
vote on passage be subject to a 60-vote affirmative vote threshold.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, very quickly, we have worked really hard 
this week. We Senators had to be here and are happy to be here, but 
there are four individuals who didn't have to work this week, but they 
volunteered to do so. These four pages have kept this place operating 
by helping floor staff and us. They could be home with their families 
and friends enjoying the holiday. Instead, they are here.
  We have 18-year-old Jarrod Nagurka, of Arlington. He gave up his 
winter break to be here; Twenty-two-year-old Priscilla Pelli of 
Washington, DC, is a staff assistant in my office. She has devoted her 
time here. Twenty-two-year-old Erin Shields of Takoma Park, MD, is an 
intern in my office. And 16-year-old Gwendilyn Liu of Kaneohe, HI, the 
only remaining current page, skipped her winter vacation to help here. 
I want the record to reflect our deep appreciation for them, and I wish 
them the very best in their future endeavors.
  Mr. President, working through the night and throughout today, we 
have reached an agreement with Senator McConnell to avert tax increases 
on middle-class Americans.
  I have said all along that our most important priority was to protect 
middle-class families. This legislation does that. Middle-class 
families will wake up today to the assurance that their taxes won't go 
up $2,200 each. They will have the certainty to plan how they will pay 
for groceries, rent, and car payments all during next year. The 
legislation also protects 2 million Americans who have lost their jobs 
during the great recession from losing their unemployment insurance.
  I am disappointed that we weren't able to make the grand bargain that 
we tried to do for so long, but we tried. If we do nothing, the threat 
of a recession is very real. And passing this agreement does not mean 
the negotiations halt--far from it. We can all agree there is more work 
to be done. I thank everybody for their patience today--and they have 
had a lot of patience.
  I also thank my friend the Republican leader, Senator McConnell, for 
his hard work to reach this bipartisan agreement. It has been difficult 
and very hard. As we have said before, Senator McConnell and I out here 
do a lot of talking to each other; we kind of go over everybody's head. 
But he and I know that when the talk is done out here, we work hard to 
try to help this country. So he is my friend, and I appreciate very, 
very much the work he has done.
  For example, this bill cuts $4 billion in fiscal year 2013 and $8 
billion in fiscal year 2014. These are real cuts that are in this bill.
  I hope the new year will bring a new willingness on the part of the 
House Republicans to join Democrats in the difficult but rewarding work 
of governing. The Speaker has said all along that he was waiting for 
the Senate to act. The Senate soon will act. Now, I hope for America 
that the Speaker will allow the full House of Representatives to vote 
on this bipartisan legislation.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to thank my good friend the 
majority leader for his kind words and thank everyone for their 
patience and their counsel throughout this process.
  I also thank the Vice President for recognizing the importance of 
preventing this tax hike on the American

[[Page S8585]]

people and stepping up to play a crucial role in getting us there. It 
shouldn't have taken us this long to come to an agreement and this 
shouldn't be the model for how we do things around here, but I 
appreciate the Vice President's willingness to get this done for the 
country.
  I know I can speak for my entire conference when I say we don't think 
taxes should be going up on anyone, but we all knew that if we did 
nothing, they would be going up on everyone today. We weren't going to 
let that happen. Each of us could spend the rest of the week discussing 
what a perfect solution would have looked like, but the end result 
would have been the largest tax increase in American history.
  The President wanted tax increases, but thanks to this imperfect 
agreement, 99 percent of my constituents will not be hit by those 
hikes. So it took an imperfect solution to prevent our constituents 
from very real financial pain. But, in my view, it was worth the 
effort.
  As I said, this shouldn't be the model for how we do things around 
here, but I think we can say we have done some good for the country. We 
have done some good for this country. We have taken care of the revenue 
side of this debate, and now it is time to get serious about reducing 
Washington's out-of-control spending. That is a debate the American 
people want. It is the debate we will have next, and it is the debate 
Republicans are ready for.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I want to address the bill before us 
tonight. Despite the best efforts of Senate Democrats to strike a 
balanced and fair compromise--to avert tax hikes on Americans making 
less than a quarter of a million dollars, to avert the expiration of 
unemployment insurance, to avert the damaging automatic spending 
reductions--we instead have before us a package that is at best a half-
measure. This is not how we should govern.
  However, the bill before us is better than the alternative facing 
millions of Americans. If we do not act, taxes for the middle-class 
will rise tomorrow, support for unemployed workers will lapse, Rhode 
Islanders will be hurt, and our economic recovery could suffer another 
Republican induced economic setback.
  Unless this bill is signed into law, starting January first, taxes 
rise on every American and hundreds of thousands middle-income Rhode 
Island families will see their taxes increase by an estimated $2,200 in 
2013. Rhode Islanders numbering 37,000 would lose a tuition tax credit 
to help them pay for college and 103,000 Rhode Island families raising 
children would see an average tax increase of $1,000 because they would 
no longer qualify for the Child Tax Credit. The economy is tough enough 
for most Rhode Islanders, and they shouldn't be asked to absorb a hit 
like that due to the stubbornness of the other side of the aisle.
  This bill will also continue unemployment insurance for 2.1 million 
Americans and almost 9,000 Rhode Islanders. Without a continuation of 
unemployment insurance, millions of Americans actively seeking work 
will suffer a debilitating economic blow. People will lose their homes 
and be unable to put food on the table, as they lose one of the few 
lifelines they and their families have as they look for work in a tough 
economy. Neighborhood businesses would have taken a hit as well. An 
estimated $48 billion in economic activity will be sapped from our 
recovery and one of our most effective counter-cyclical economic 
policies would have been lost.
  It is a sad truth, but the middle-class tax cuts and unemployment 
insurance were being held hostage by my Republican colleagues in order 
to secure even more generous tax cuts for the wealthy. So at least with 
the permanent extension of tax cuts for the middle-class and a one-year 
continuation of unemployment, that immediate threat is gone.
  However, it is outrageous that this threat has been taken this far 
and that my Republican colleagues continue to demand a perpetuation of 
an unfair tax code that is tilted towards the wealthiest.
  So I remain committed to reforming the tax system so it is fair for 
all Americans. I remain committed to ending egregious loopholes that 
result in absurd and unfair results, like a private equity partner 
paying a lower tax rate than a janitor.
  I do want to stress that, despite Republican demands for big cuts in 
the social safety net, this bill protects Social Security, Medicare, 
and Medicaid beneficiaries. Such beneficiary cuts would have made this 
package even more unbalanced and unfair. Unfortunately, it appears that 
Republicans are already planning to hold the debt ceiling hostage in 
order to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Today they will 
insist on additional tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, 
especially estate tax cuts, but then demand that we cut Social 
Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to cover these and other debts. I will 
work to prevent such callous efforts.
  I am deeply disappointed by the package before us today. I believe 
the White House should have stood firm on reducing the deficit by 
nearly $1 trillion and let income tax rates for those making over a 
quarter of a million dollars revert to Clinton-era levels. I am 
disappointed with Republican intransigence and the prospect of once 
again being on the brink of a manufactured economic catastrophe in 
order to secure tax preferences for millionaires and billionaires and 
attempting to pay for them by cutting Social Security or programs that 
benefit middle-income Americans.
  In the coming weeks, I hope Republicans will drop their attempts to 
cut the deficit on the backs of the middle-class and seniors, and 
instead work with us to craft a fair and balanced compromise that 
strengthens, not endangers, our economic recovery.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  THE PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the vote will start immediately, and people 
should get here as quickly as they can.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, amendment No. 
3448 is agreed to.
  The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under (``Text 
of amendments.'')
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment of the 
amendment and third reading of the bill.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second? There 
appears to be a sufficient second.
  The bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall the 
bill pass.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Lautenberg) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. 
Kirk).
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 89, nays 8, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 251 Leg.]

                                YEAS--89

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bingaman
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Hagan
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lugar
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Portman
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--8

     Bennet
     Carper
     Grassley
     Harkin
     Lee
     Paul
     Rubio
     Shelby

                             NOT VOTING--3

     DeMint
     Kirk
     Lautenberg
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. A 60-vote threshold having been achieved, 
the bill, as amended, is passed.

[[Page S8586]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we don't expect any more votes today, no 
more votes today. We want to wait and see what the House does on Sandy, 
and I think whatever we do on Sandy will have to be done by unanimous 
consent anyway, so I wouldn't expect any votes until we come back here 
and reconvene on January 3, the day after tomorrow.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the title 
amendment with respect to H.R. 8, which is at the desk, be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3450) was agreed to, as follows:
       Amended the title so as to read:
       An Act entitled the ``American Taxpayer Relief Act of 
     2012''.

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