[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 104 (Thursday, June 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2704-S2705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              The Economy

  Mr. President, what I want to speak to today is the evidence that we 
are seeing that the economy around the country is starting to reopen. 
There is still a lot of work, obviously, that has to be done to defeat 
the virus and help our economy and the American people recover.
  As I mentioned, we have spent the past few weeks focused on 
monitoring the implementation of the $2.4 trillion in aid that Congress 
has provided. Our committees are hard at work conducting coronavirus 
oversight and looking ahead to what else Congress may need to do to 
combat the virus and to get our economy going again.
  We are looking at what more funding Congress may need to provide and 
what Congress can do that doesn't involve a lot of new spending.
  As I said, Congress has already provided $2.5 trillion to fight the 
coronavirus, and we will absolutely provide more if needed, but we need 
to remember that every dollar we have provided is borrowed money that 
our children and grandchildren will have to repay.
  Our debt was already very large compared to the size of our economy, 
even before--before this year's coronavirus-related borrowing, and that 
is a very concerning reality. The truth is, we can't just keep 
borrowing and borrowing ever greater sums without suffering real 
economic consequences.

[[Page S2705]]

  So, while we may need to borrow more money to meet our needs before 
this crisis is over, it is crucial that we keep that borrowing as low 
as possible and only spend that which is absolutely necessary.
  That is why the Senate is so focused on conducting oversight of the 
money we have already provided. Seeing how and where those funds are 
used will give us a better sense of where we spent sufficiently and 
where more money may be needed.
  We are also, as I said, looking at what we can do to help families 
and businesses that does not involve spending a lot of taxpayer 
dollars. While my friends across the aisle generally seem to regard 
money or a new government program as the solution to every problem, the 
truth is, there are a lot of things Congress can do without spending 
trillions of taxpayer dollars or setting up new government 
bureaucracies, everything from making permanent reforms to make 
telehealth more accessible to shielding responsible businesses from 
frivolous litigation.
  I have three tax bills that I have introduced this Congress that 
would help Americans during and after the pandemic. One of these bills 
is my Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act, which I 
introduced last year along with Senator Sherrod Brown.
  In our economy, substantial numbers of workers travel to different 
States for temporary work assignments on a regular basis, and they end 
up subject to a bewildering variety of State laws governing State 
income tax.
  Our legislation would simplify things for both workers and employers 
by creating an across-the-board tax standard for mobile employees who 
spend a short period of time working across State lines. It would 
ensure that States receive fair tax payments while making life a lot 
easier for workers who travel to different States for work.
  While this legislation is good tax policy, generally--we have needed 
clear rules of the road for out-of-State workers for a while--it has 
particular relevance in the age of coronavirus.
  The Governor of New York has made it clear that he is looking to cash 
in on the pandemic by subjecting doctors and nurses who cross State 
lines to voluntarily work in New York to New York's income tax.
  We need to make sure that medical professionals who traveled to other 
States to help fight the coronavirus aren't rewarded with big tax 
bills. Another tax bill I introduced last year that has particular 
relevance in the age of coronavirus is my New Economy Works to 
Guarantee Independence and Growth Act. We always have an acronym around 
here. It is called the NEW GIG Act.
  The last decade or so has seen the rise of the gig economy--services 
provided by individuals through apps and websites like Uber, Lyft, 
TaskRabbit, Instacart, Postmates, and many others. A lot of us have 
relied on these workers during the pandemic to provide food and grocery 
delivery. But these gig economy arrangements stretch the boundaries of 
current tax law.
  During the pandemic, companies who have wanted to provide additional 
benefits to workers--from personal protective equipment to financial 
assistance--have hesitated to do so for fear that their actions would 
accidentally reclassify their workers from independent contractors to 
employees. That would mean the end of this kind of work for a lot of 
people who rely on it for the income and flexibility it provides.
  My NEW GIG Act updates our tax law to provide clear guidance on the 
classification of this new generation of workers. It will ensure Lyft 
drivers, Postmates, Taskers, and others are treated as independent 
contractors for purposes of tax law if they meet a set of objective 
criteria.
  My bill will allow companies to provide support to workers to help 
them stay safe during the pandemic without jeopardizing these 
individuals' status as independent contractors. And it will ensure that 
the valuable services these individual provide will remain available to 
the Americans who are increasingly reliant on them.
  In addition to the NEW GIG Act, I also introduced the Digital Goods 
and Services Tax Fairness Act last month. This legislation, which I 
introduced with Senator Wyden, is designed to prevent consumers from 
being faced with multiple taxes for downloading digital products.
  Over the past few months, I imagine a lot of Americans have purchased 
new books to read on their Kindle or a new television series to watch. 
But what many Americans don't know is that, right now, a digital 
purchase of a book or television series could hypothetically be taxed 
in up to three States, depending on the circumstances of the purchase.
  With States likely looking to find new revenue in the wake of 
declining receipts during the pandemic, there is a real danger that 
Americans could see multiple States' worth of taxes on their digital 
purchases. The Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act would 
provide ``rules of the road'' for taxing digital goods and services and 
ensure that digital purchases could be taxed in only one State--the 
State in which the consumer resides.
  It would also prohibit States and local governments from taxing 
digital goods at higher rates than tangible goods. In other words, 
under our bill, that season of ``The Office'' you want to buy digitally 
couldn't be taxed at a higher rate than if you were purchasing the 
season on DVD.
  These tax bills are just some of the ideas Republicans are putting 
forward that would help Americans without spending trillions of 
additional taxpayer dollars. I am working on multiple other measures to 
help Americans in the wake of the coronavirus. For example, the CARES 
Act, our largest coronavirus response bill to date, included a 
temporary version of legislation I introduced with Senator Warner that 
allows employers to contribute up to $5,250 tax-free to help pay down 
their employees' student loans.
  This is a win for employees, who can receive help with burdensome 
loan payments during a time when multiple Americans' finances are 
stretched thin. And it is a win for employers, who have a new benefit 
to offer to help attract talented employees as they seek to build their 
businesses back up after the past few months of COVID-related 
challenges.
  I am hoping that we can make this legislation permanent before the 
end of the year. As I said earlier, if we need to provide additional 
coronavirus funding, we will. But we need to make sure we are only 
providing what is genuinely necessary because today's young workers, 
and our children and grandchildren, will be paying the price for the 
debt we are amassing.
  I am committed to supporting legislation that will help Americans get 
through this crisis while minimizing the burden on future generations. 
My tax bills are one example of this kind of legislation. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to advance them in the U.S. 
Senate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington