[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S61-S62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HOUSE REPUBLICAN AGENDA

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on to business, in no time at all, 
the House Republicans are off to the rockiest start of any new majority 
in recent memory. Have you ever seen anything like this? We aren't even 
a month into the new Congress, and already the House GOP has shown the 
American people they have been consumed by chaos, paralyzed by 
division, and held captive by the most extreme elements of their 
conference.
  On their first day of voting--the very first day--House Republicans 
decided their first order of business as the new majority was to pass 
legislation making it easier for ultrarich tax cheats to escape 
accountability. Amazing. That is their first thing. At the same time, 
as they did that, they would blow a hole--a $100 billion hole--in the 
deficit because according to CBO, the amount of money brought into the 
Federal Treasury by closing some of these loopholes against tax 
cheats--very wealthy tax cheats--would far exceed the expenditure made 
for the new IRS agents. The deficit would come down if we passed this 
legislation. For all the talk on the other side about we have got to 
bring down the deficit--not when it comes to closing loopholes of the 
ultrarich and corporations that pay a smaller percentage than most 
Americans, uh-uh. Wow. Apparently, cutting taxes for megacorporations 
and the 1 percent was not enough for Republicans 5 years ago. They did 
that in the Trump tax bill. Now they want to make things even easier 
for tax cheats.
  Then, a few days later, the House Republicans doubled down on their 
war on women by passing measures that will undermine women's freedom of 
choice.
  Make no mistake, these bills will never see the light of day in the 
Senate. But again, the extreme--the extreme--MAGA fringe element of the 
Republican Party seems to be controlling the whole entity. We hope that 
doesn't last for long.
         
  We in the Senate will serve as an inextinguishable firewall and stop 
the anti-woman, anti-health, anti-choice bills in their tracks. So, 
right off the bat, the House Republicans are showing us exactly whose 
corner they are

[[Page S62]]

in: the ultrarich and the fringe elements of their party.
  Now, make no mistake, Democrats want to work with a competent and 
capable Republican Party wherever possible to make life better for 
average Americans. Democrats are united in this commitment because we 
all saw firsthand how bipartisanship was the key to so many of last 
year's successes. Later today, in fact, I will join President Biden, 
Leader Jeffries, and a number of Senate and House colleagues precisely 
to talk about how we can turn our unity into action to help the 
American people.
  House Republicans, meanwhile, seem trapped in a cycle of extremism so 
powerful that now they are even giving proposals like a national sales 
tax--a national sales tax--serious consideration. According to some 
House Republicans, House leadership has agreed to give GOP radicals a 
vote on a 30-percent national sales tax on all goods across the board. 
That means, right now, with inflation finally beginning to drop, 
Republicans are looking to make Americans pay 30 percent more for 
everything they buy.
  Look, if Republicans want to have a debate with Democrats on their 
national sales tax bill, we will be happy to have it. We would love to 
hear Republicans explain to the American people why it is a good idea 
to send prices skyrocketing on everything from cars to groceries, to 
diapers, and everything in between. We would love to hear Republicans 
tell seniors why their expenses would go up by a third after they have 
spent a lifetime for retirement. And we would love to hear Republicans 
explain to middle-class families why their taxes would increase by 
thousands of dollars a year while the ultrarich see their taxes go 
down. If Republicans want to push this terrible proposal, they are 
welcome to make their case. Make our day.
  I think many within the Republicans own ranks recognize that a 
national sales tax is an especially dimwitted idea. Even Grover 
Norquist, whose ideas on tax are far away from most Americans--and he 
is one of the most conservative voices out there--called it ``a 
terrible idea.''
  Even Steve Forbes said this would make the average new home in this 
country cost $100,000 more.
  Young families, do you want to buy a home? Some of our Republican 
friends want to add $100,000 to the cost of buying that home, and of 
course it would raise bills by thousands more. And yet--yet--despite 
the insanity of this idea, the House Republican leadership is bent to 
the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and have promised a vote.
  If this is how House Republicans want to spend their time--taxing 
middle-class families, attacking women's freedom of choice, giving 
cover to tax cheats--be our guest.
  Once again, this is the central quandary of the new Republican 
majority. By bending to the demands of the MAGA hard right, Speaker 
McCarthy has guaranteed that Republicans will have to constantly cater 
to the whims of the MAGA wing at the expense of the American people.
  Now, we will be a firewall against all of these things, and I am sure 
the American people are glad that we have a Democratic majority in the 
Senate to stop some of these rather insane proposals because when 
extremists run the show, as seems to be happening in the House, it 
makes it nearly impossible to have serious-minded, constructive 
conversations on the big issues that matter.
  No issue, of course, will matter more in the coming months than 
raising the debt ceiling. Over the next few months, we are going to 
hear more about the debt ceiling in Congress, maybe more than any other 
issue. But the matter is very simple. If the United States is allowed 
to default on its debt for the first time, the consequences will be 
severe and every single American will pay the price.
  A default means interest rates will spike on everything from car 
loans to credit cards, to mortgages. It means that Americans will have 
to pay thousands of dollars more on regular expenses. Homes will lose 
their value. Homes, the average middle-class person's piece of the rock 
that they struggled and saved for so that they could own a home and so 
they don't have to pay rent and can pay a mortgage where they get 
equity--those homes will lose their value if we default, God forbid, on 
the debt because mortgage interest rates will soar. That means people 
will have less money to pay for a home and supply and demand just sits. 
The price goes down. The value goes down.
          Meanwhile, the millions of Americans who have saved for 
retirement will see their retirement plans, like 401(k)s, lose their 
value, robbing retirees of their hard-earned livelihoods.

  So the dangers of default are not abstract. Oh, no, this is not some 
academic argument up there in the clouds. This affects every American 
family, and we are going to make sure that they hear all about it. The 
consequences are as real as they get, and the entire world is watching 
what we do here in Congress.
  But, rather than work with Democrats in a productive, constructive 
way to raise the debt ceiling, the House GOP has immediately resorted 
to brinksmanship and hostage-taking. They say they will not raise the 
debt ceiling unless we give in to their demands for draconian spending 
cuts that would impact just about every American--again, in a very bad 
way.
  Well, I say to my Republican colleagues, if you want to talk about 
deep cuts, then you have an obligation--an obligation--to show the 
American people precisely what kind of cuts you are talking about.
  Are Republicans going to hold Social Security hostage in exchange for 
the debt ceiling or pay raises for our troops or support for veterans 
or funding for police and fire and first responders or Medicare funding 
that millions of seniors rely on?
  Republicans, you owe the American people answers on what you mean by 
spending cuts.
  Remember, the House rules that the GOP approved are clear. They need 
to bring a debt ceiling bill to the floor, let the entirety of the 
House debate it and vote on it, and let the American people see and 
assess the cuts for themselves.
         
  So, once again, to my House GOP colleagues, if you are serious about 
spending cuts, show us the math. Show us why you think it is worth 
risking a global financial crisis just to pass an extremist agenda, 
because, inevitably, what you are saying are cuts are vital to so many 
Americans--so many Americans. Being in the majority means that it won't 
be enough to hide behind time-worn rhetoric about wasteful spending. 
When it comes to the debt ceiling, the substance counts; the details 
count; and the consequences are very, very real.
  Unless the Republicans can resolve their own chaos and beat back 
their own extremism, I fear that every day that passes without action 
on the debt ceiling will increase the risk of default and risk the 
great harm it will do to the American people. And, should that happen, 
Americans will see that the fault lies entirely in the hands of the 
radical GOP.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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