[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1738-S1739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 948
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, I rise today to discuss
another issue in the Democrats' massive COVID spending bill that we
need to fix.
My Democratic colleagues want to keep spending into oblivion, taking
our national debt to $30 trillion. This would be bad enough on its own,
but tucked into the bloated spending package were new tax hikes on
self-employed individuals.
President Biden and the Democrats didn't talk about it, and they
certainly aren't talking about it as they travel the Nation to brag
about their bad bill.
Democrats are quietly raising taxes, hoping the American people don't
notice. The $1.9 trillion so-called American Rescue Plan Act, of which
less than 10 percent went to actually help fight COVID and 1 percent to
vaccines, had several tax increases and burdensome reporting
requirements, including one that significantly impacts the gig
workers--those who have been severely impacted by the coronavirus
pandemic.
Starting in 2022, this bill requires many contractors with gig
economy companies like Uber, DoorDash, Airbnb, and Lyft to file 1099
forms when they previously would not have. The new requirement
dramatically lowers the annual 1099 reporting threshold from $20,000
and 200 transactions to just $600 and eliminates the transaction
minimum.
In late February, before the Democrats rushed their spending bill
through Congress on a purely partisan basis, a coalition of groups
wrote to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer, asking that this onerous
new provision, which has nothing to do with addressing the coronavirus
crisis, be removed or at least reconsidered. The letter was signed by
groups such as the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, the
National Asian American Chamber of Commerce, National Association for
the Self-Employed, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the
National Association of Women Business Owners.
After receiving such a letter, one would think that Democrats would
want to reconsider. Raising taxes and reporting requirements in the
midst of a pandemic? This is never good policy, but I can't think of
any worse timing. Of course, Democrats kept the provision buried deep
within the bill, hoping the American public wouldn't notice.
The Democrats' new reporting requirements are effectively a tax hike
and will ultimately hurt low- and middle-income contractors, the self-
employed, and freelancers, many of whom have been devastated by the
pandemic,
[[Page S1739]]
while Federal and State Governments will collect billions more in
income tax revenue.
My Democratic colleagues want the American public to believe this is
about catching tax cheats. And, to be clear, any attempt to evade taxes
and defraud the public by not following the law should be condemned,
and Congress should appropriately address it. However, a massive new
reporting requirement of gig workers, many just trying to make ends
meet in the midst of this pandemic, is not about catching tax fraud. It
is about punishing the self-employed and raising revenues for the
Democrats' massive spending plans.
It wasn't that long ago that President Biden promised that he
wouldn't raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000. Obviously, that
was not true. But this isn't the first time Democrats have tried to
quietly increase taxes and saddle the self-employed with new
requirements like this. They did it with ObamaCare when they required
businesses to send 1099 forms for all purchases of goods and services
over $600 annually. They quickly learned how unpopular and harmful this
provision was, and they quickly repealed it. The Obama administration
even praised the repeal as a ``big win'' for the self-employed. I guess
some never learn.
What I am proposing is very simple. It is what the Democrats
supported in 2011 when they repealed this bad tax increase in
ObamaCare.
Today, I want to remove this new reporting requirement and simply
reinstate the previous law back into U.S. code.
Increasing reporting requirements on our gig workers will create new
and unexpected challenges for independent, self-employed workers and
entrepreneurs, who are already facing an incredible burden created by
the coronavirus.
Increasing costs and regulations on already struggling Americans is
wrong, and I hope all of my colleagues will join me today and repeal
this bad policy.
Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous
consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S.
948, introduced earlier today. I further ask that the bill be
considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. WYDEN. Reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Oregon.
Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, the Senator from Florida claims to be
looking out for gig workers and freelancers. The reality is very
different.
What is in the bill, which the Senator from Florida apparently
opposes, is a way to make sure that these workers can get the
information they need to help meet their existing tax obligations.
Without this information, for example, workers may lose out on benefits
that would help them pay rent and buy groceries. They could
inadvertently lose out on important tax benefits, like the earned
income tax credit. The rescue plan, of course, expands the earned tax
credit. We want to make sure that every eligible worker can get that
financial help.
Finally, without reporting, workers might jeopardize the size of
their future Social Security benefits, putting their retirement
security at risk.
So what the Senator from Florida is up to here would deprive American
entrepreneurs of the information they need to keep business records,
comply with tax requirements, and claim important Federal benefits. For
these reasons, I strongly object to this request for unanimous consent.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
The junior Senator from Florida.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, that sounded good, but this is
clearly a tax increase. It is a massive tax increase, and it is a
massive new reporting requirement on already struggling Americans. Our
focus ought to be on helping support American workers, especially these
gig economy workers who have been hurt so badly.
I am disappointed my colleague wants to increase costs and
regulations on American families. What is strange is that my colleague
from Oregon voted to repeal this bad provision when Democrats added it
to ObamaCare. So what is crazy is, why is he OK today with raising
taxes on the American people now? This is all part of the Democrats'
tax-and-spend agenda, and it is just the beginning.
Let's remember, with the last spending bill the Democrats passed, we
will have $30 trillion of debt. As Governor of Florida, I worked so
that we cut taxes 100 times, and we paid off a third of our State debt.
We have to think that way here. How can we grow this economy and
reduce the costs for Americans, not increase the costs to Americans?
These bad types of policies will ruin our economy and a shot at the
American dream, which we all believe in.
I am going to fight every day to get the government out of the way
and make sure that doesn't happen.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Florida.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LEE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at the
conclusion of my remarks, I be allowed to present an excerpt of my
speech in Spanish. I will provide transcripts both in English and in
Spanish of those paragraphs.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.