[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19652]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          IN THE LAST MINUTES

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, as the old saying goes:

       If it were not for the last minute, a lot of things would 
     not get done.

  Well, God willing, we are nearing the last minutes of this Congress 
and, God willing, we are close to getting a lot of things done.
  For the better part of this Congress, we have been working on passing 
three major tax bills. One has been to put America on sounder energy 
policy. The second has been to prevent the AMT from raising taxes for 
millions of American families. The third has been to extend a series of 
tax incentives that are vital to American jobs and families. Frankly, 
on these matters, what unites us is far greater than what divides us. 
And now, at the last minute, it is time to get these bills done.
  With this in mind, I have worked with my good friend Chuck Grassley, 
the ranking Republican member of the Finance Committee. Together, we 
have worked with the majority leader and with the Republican leader. We 
have worked with Senator Durbin and with Senator Kyl. All of us have 
come together on a way to get these major tax bills done.
  What has divided us on tax measures has been mostly whether to pay 
for them. Democrats have said we should. Republicans have said we 
should not. So we and the leaders have come up with an honorable 
compromise. We propose that we pay for the energy tax bill, that we not 
pay for the AMT bill, and that we pay for roughly half of the tax 
extenders bill. With this structure, we believe we can pass these 
bills, we can get a lot of things done, and we can help to bring on the 
last minutes of this Congress.
  Passing these bills would get a lot of things done. The Energy bill 
would help to create well-paid jobs in the growing field of new energy 
technologies. It would help to secure America's independence from high-
priced foreign oil. It would help us to move closer to addressing 
global warming.
  The AMT patch would keep some 21.5 million taxpayers from being hit 
by a tax increase. We must not let more families fall into the AMT.
  The tax extenders package would help provide relief in a time of 
economic uncertainty. The economy clearly is struggling and so are 
America's working families. Markets are experiencing volatility. In 
times such as these, Americans need tax cuts they have come to count on 
to help them get by. The tax extenders package includes the research 
and development tax credit to spur new, high-paying jobs. It includes a 
teacher expense deduction to help teachers who put out money from their 
own pockets to buy school supplies. It includes a tuition deduction to 
give families needed relief from rising college costs.
  As well, this package includes the mental health parity bill. The 
bill has been a long time in coming. We must pass this bill for many 
reasons. It would ensure that families facing mental health challenges 
would receive fair treatment--treatment the same as those facing other 
health challenges. This legislation is a tribute to the hard work of 
Senators Paul Wellstone, Ted Kennedy, and Pete Domenici.
  This package also includes disaster relief. It would aid the victims 
of the Midwest floods. It would help the victims of all recent 
federally declared disasters. It includes relief for the victims of 
Hurricane Ike and Gustav.
  This is a good package. It would make real progress on energy policy. 
It would extend needed tax relief in hard times. It would give us a 
chance to show American families that Congress can work for them.
  So let's hasten the last minutes of this Congress. With that, let's 
finally get a lot of things done. Let's do the work of governing that 
the American people sent us here to do.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 
15 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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