[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10720-10728]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1545
               SMALL BUSINESS JOBS TAX RELIEF ACT OF 2010

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to H. Res. 1436, I call up the bill 
(H.R. 5486) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax 
incentives for small business job creation, and for other purposes, and 
ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1436, the bill 
is considered read.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5486

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

                        TITLE V--TAX PROVISIONS

     SEC. 500. SHORT TITLE; ETC.

       (a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the ``Small 
     Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010''.
       (b) Amendment of 1986 Code.--Except as otherwise expressly 
     provided, whenever in

[[Page 10721]]

     this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an 
     amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the 
     reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
     other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       (c) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this 
     title is as follows:

Sec. 500. Short title; etc.

               Subtitle A--Small Business Tax Incentives

                       Part 1--General Provisions

Sec. 501. Temporary exclusion of 100 percent of gain on certain small 
              business stock.

         Part 2--Limitations and Reporting on Certain Penalties

Sec. 511. Limitation on penalty for failure to disclose certain 
              information.
Sec. 512. Annual reports on penalties and certain other enforcement 
              actions.

                        Part 3--Other Provisions

Sec. 521. Increase in amount allowed as deduction for start-up 
              expenditures.
Sec. 522. Nonrecourse small business investment company loans from the 
              Small Business Administration treated as amounts at risk.
Sec. 523. Benefits under the Small Business Borrower Assistance Program 
              excluded from gross income.

                     Subtitle B--Revenue Provisions

Sec. 531. Required minimum 10-year term, etc., for grantor retained 
              annuity trusts.
Sec. 532. Crude tall oil ineligible for cellulosic biofuel producer 
              credit.
Sec. 533. Time for payment of corporate estimated taxes.

               Subtitle A--Small Business Tax Incentives

                       PART 1--GENERAL PROVISIONS

     SEC. 501. TEMPORARY EXCLUSION OF 100 PERCENT OF GAIN ON 
                   CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESS STOCK.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 1202 is amended 
     by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Special 100 percent exclusion.--In the case of 
     qualified small business stock acquired after March 15, 2010, 
     and before January 1, 2012--
       ``(A) paragraph (1) shall be applied by substituting `100 
     percent' for `50 percent',
       ``(B) paragraph (2) shall not apply, and
       ``(C) paragraph (7) of section 57(a) shall not apply.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Paragraph (3) of section 
     1202(a) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``after the date of the enactment of this 
     paragraph and before January 1, 2011'' and inserting ``after 
     February 17, 2009, and before March 16, 2010''; and
       (2) by striking ``Special rules for 2009 and 2010'' in the 
     heading and inserting ``Special 75 percent exclusion''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to stock acquired after March 15, 2010.

         PART 2--LIMITATIONS AND REPORTING ON CERTAIN PENALTIES

     SEC. 511. LIMITATION ON PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO DISCLOSE 
                   CERTAIN INFORMATION.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (b) of section 6707A is amended 
     to read as follows:
       ``(b) Amount of Penalty.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subsection, the amount of the penalty under subsection (a) 
     with respect to any reportable transaction shall be 75 
     percent of the decrease in tax shown on the return as a 
     result of such transaction (or which would have resulted from 
     such transaction if such transaction were respected for 
     Federal tax purposes).
       ``(2) Maximum penalty.--The amount of the penalty under 
     subsection (a) with respect to any reportable transaction for 
     any taxable year shall not exceed--
       ``(A) in the case of a listed transaction, $200,000 
     ($100,000 in the case of a natural person), or
       ``(B) in the case of any other reportable transaction, 
     $50,000 ($10,000 in the case of a natural person).
       ``(3) Minimum penalty.--The amount of the penalty under 
     subsection (a) with respect to any transaction for any 
     taxable year shall not be less than $10,000 ($5,000 in the 
     case of a natural person).''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to penalties assessed after December 31, 2006.

     SEC. 512. ANNUAL REPORTS ON PENALTIES AND CERTAIN OTHER 
                   ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.

       (a) In General.--The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit 
     to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate an 
     annual report on the penalties assessed by the Internal 
     Revenue Service during the preceding year under each of the 
     following provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986:
       (1) Section 6662A (relating to accuracy-related penalty on 
     understatements with respect to reportable transactions).
       (2) Section 6700(a) (relating to promoting abusive tax 
     shelters).
       (3) Section 6707 (relating to failure to furnish 
     information regarding reportable transactions).
       (4) Section 6707A (relating to failure to include 
     reportable transaction information with return).
       (5) Section 6708 (relating to failure to maintain lists of 
     advisees with respect to reportable transactions).
       (b) Additional Information.--The report required under 
     subsection (a) shall also include information on the 
     following with respect to each year:
       (1) Any action taken under section 330(b) of title 31, 
     United States Code, with respect to any reportable 
     transaction (as defined in section 6707A(c) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986).
       (2) Any extension of the time for assessment of tax 
     enforced, or assessment of any amount under such an 
     extension, under paragraph (10) of section 6501(c) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       (c) Date of Report.--The first report required under 
     subsection (a) shall be submitted not later than December 31, 
     2010.

                        PART 3--OTHER PROVISIONS

     SEC. 521. INCREASE IN AMOUNT ALLOWED AS DEDUCTION FOR START-
                   UP EXPENDITURES.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (b) of section 195 is amended 
     by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Increased limitation for taxable years beginning in 
     2010 or 2011.--In the case of any taxable year beginning in 
     2010 or 2011, paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be applied--
       ``(A) by substituting `$20,000' for `$5,000', and
       ``(B) by substituting `$75,000' for `$50,000'.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2009.

     SEC. 522. NONRECOURSE SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY LOANS 
                   FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION TREATED 
                   AS AMOUNTS AT RISK.

       (a) In General.--Subparagraph (B) of section 465(b)(6) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(B) Qualified nonrecourse financing.--For purposes of 
     this paragraph--
       ``(i) In general.--The term `qualified nonrecourse 
     financing' means any financing--

       ``(I) which is qualified real property financing or 
     qualified SBIC financing,
       ``(II) except to the extent provided in regulations, with 
     respect to which no person is personally liable for 
     repayment, and
       ``(III) which is not convertible debt.

       ``(ii) Qualified real property financing.--The term 
     `qualified real property financing' means any financing 
     which--

       ``(I) is borrowed by the taxpayer with respect to the 
     activity of holding real property,
       ``(II) is secured by real property used in such activity, 
     and
       ``(III) is borrowed by the taxpayer from a qualified person 
     or represents a loan from any Federal, State, or local 
     government or instrumentality thereof, or is guaranteed by 
     any Federal, State, or local government.

       ``(iii) Qualified sbic financing.--The term `qualified SBIC 
     financing' means any financing which--

       ``(I) is borrowed by a small business investment company 
     (within the meaning of section 301 of the Small Business 
     Investment Act of 1958), and
       ``(II) is borrowed from, or guaranteed by, the Small 
     Business Administration under the authority of section 303(b) 
     of such Act.''.

       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Subparagraph (A) of section 
     465(b)(6) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``in the case of an activity of holding 
     real property,''; and
       (2) by striking ``which is secured by real property used in 
     such activity''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to loans and guarantees made after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 523. BENEFITS UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS BORROWER 
                   ASSISTANCE PROGRAM EXCLUDED FROM GROSS INCOME.

       (a) In General.--Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 139F. BENEFITS UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS BORROWER 
                   ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

       ``(a) In General.--Gross income shall not include any 
     amount paid on behalf of a borrower by the Administrator of 
     the Small Business Administration under the Small Business 
     Borrower Assistance program established under section 402 of 
     the Small Business Assistance Fund Act of 2010 (as in effect 
     immediately after the date of the enactment of such Act).
       ``(b) Denial of Double Benefit.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of this subtitle, with respect to the person for 
     whose benefit a payment described in subsection (a) is made--
       ``(1) Interest.--No deduction shall be allowed for interest 
     to the extent the liability for such interest is covered by 
     such payment.
       ``(2) Payments of principal.--If any payment is applied to 
     reduce the principal of the loan to which such payment 
     relates--
       ``(A) Allocation among financed expenditures.--Such payment 
     shall be allocated pro rata among the expenditures financed 
     with such loan.
       ``(B) Credits and deductible expenses.--No deduction or 
     credit shall be allowed for,

[[Page 10722]]

     or by reason of, any such expenditure to the extent of the 
     amount of the payment allocated to such expenditure under 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(C) Adjustment of basis.--The adjusted basis of any 
     property acquired with such expenditure shall be reduced to 
     the extent of the amount of the payment allocated to such 
     expenditure under subparagraph (A).''.
       (b) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for part 
     III of subchapter B of chapter 1 is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new item:

``Sec. 139F. Benefits under the Small Business Borrower Assistance 
              Program.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to payments made after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act.

                     Subtitle B--Revenue Provisions

     SEC. 531. REQUIRED MINIMUM 10-YEAR TERM, ETC., FOR GRANTOR 
                   RETAINED ANNUITY TRUSTS.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (b) of section 2702 is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) as 
     subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and by moving 
     such subparagraphs (as so redesignated) 2 ems to the right;
       (2) by striking ``For purposes of'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes of'';
       (3) by striking ``paragraph (1) or (2)'' in paragraph 
     (1)(C) (as so redesignated) and inserting ``subparagraph (A) 
     or (B)''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Additional requirements with respect to grantor 
     retained annuities.--For purposes of subsection (a), in the 
     case of an interest described in paragraph (1)(A) (determined 
     without regard to this paragraph) which is retained by the 
     transferor, such interest shall be treated as described in 
     such paragraph only if--
       ``(A) the right to receive the fixed amounts referred to in 
     such paragraph is for a term of not less than 10 years,
       ``(B) such fixed amounts, when determined on an annual 
     basis, do not decrease relative to any prior year during the 
     first 10 years of the term referred to in subparagraph (A), 
     and
       ``(C) the remainder interest has a value greater than zero 
     determined as of the time of the transfer.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to transfers made after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act.

     SEC. 532. CRUDE TALL OIL INELIGIBLE FOR CELLULOSIC BIOFUEL 
                   PRODUCER CREDIT.

       (a) In General.--Clause (iii) of section 40(b)(6)(E) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subclause (I),
       (2) by striking the period at the end of subclause (II) and 
     inserting ``, or'',
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subclause:

       ``(III) such fuel has an acid number greater than 25.'', 
     and

       (4) by striking ``unprocessed'' in the heading and 
     inserting ``certain''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to fuels sold or used on or after January 1, 
     2010.

     SEC. 533. TIME FOR PAYMENT OF CORPORATE ESTIMATED TAXES.

       The percentage under paragraph (2) of section 561 of the 
     Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act in effect on the 
     date of the enactment of this Act is increased by 7.75 
     percentage points.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) and 
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert 
extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This bill, H.R. 5486, the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010, 
is, in a few words, a continuation of our work to spur job creation and 
to really improve the quality of life in all of our communities. Since 
the beginning of this year, our economy has created 982,000 jobs. That 
is a reversal of 22 straight months of job losses, a very long stretch 
indeed. But we all know that far too many people today are out of work 
and the unemployment rate remains at a very unacceptably high 9.7 
percent. So something considerable has been done, but we have to do 
more.
  According to the SBA--and I think we all know this--small firms 
created 64 percent of the net new jobs between 1993 and the third 
quarter of 2008. So small businesses help lead job creation in a 
recovery, but today, small firms are having difficulty accessing 
capital.
  So what does this bill do? It provides a total of $3.588 billion in 
tax cuts to help American small businesses. It is part of the 
partnership between the public and the private sector, relying on the 
private sector to do the job creation. And I want to emphasize, this 
bill does not add a dime to our deficit. It doesn't even add a penny to 
our deficit.
  So let me explain the provisions in H.R. 5486. First of all, relating 
to business stock, small business stock, and capital gains, presently 
there's an exclusion of 75 percent because of the Recovery Act, and I 
emphasize that. This would increase the exclusion to 100 percent. It 
provides relief for small businesses from tax penalties when that is 
indeed appropriate. It also increases the deduction for startup costs 
for expenses not related to capital or equipment. It increases it from 
$5,000 to $20,000. So these are important stimuli for small business to 
help them create more jobs.
  As I said earlier, this is offset. It will not add a dime or, indeed, 
a penny to the Federal deficit. It includes two provisions that have 
already passed this House. One relates to what is sometimes called a 
grandchild of black liquor. It relates to essentially a byproduct. What 
this does, building on the work that we did in earlier bills, is to 
prevent people from receiving a windfall from unintended application of 
renewable fuel credits.
  The second part relates to what are called grantor retained annuity 
trusts, and I want to just say a quick word about this. This is clearly 
a loophole. This is clearly an abuse. Here's what happens, to try to 
put it in the simplest terms: A short-term trust usually is created by 
someone for a child. Then the person who created the trust takes back 
the value, let's say, in a few annual payments. So there's no gift tax 
for the grantor. The way it works today, all of the increase in the 
value of the stock is also outside of the gift tax.
  So, essentially, what is happening here is a paper transaction that 
leads to escape of taxation, and this provides in our bill that there 
has to be a 10-year term for the trust to be sure that the trust has 
actual substance. This change raises $5.297 billion over 10 years. So 
what this means, breaking it down in simple terms, is that about $500 
million per year from taxpayers is lost today through paper 
transactions, and we close the loophole. So, again, because of this, 
there is not any added cost.
  We also, if I might say so and will be discussing this I guess 
tomorrow, it provides money for the small business lending package, 
H.R. 5297. So that is also budget neutral, and that provides some 
additional important small business loan help so badly needed. It's 
hard to understand why people would vote against this. Plus, a 
provision that is $2 billion worth, and it goes to States and local 
governments, and they have written us, urging that we provide some 
assistance so that they can increase the flow of loans to small 
businesses in their States.
  So, in a word, we have a bill that is essentially a two-fer. It 
provides needed assistance for job creation by small business, and it's 
paid for. So I urge very much that somehow the other side can cross the 
bridge and join together instead of creating obstacles and vote for 
this bill and then its partner bill tomorrow.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill contains many positive features but also some 
negative ones, and thus, I reluctantly plan to oppose it.
  Like my friend on the other side of the aisle, I'm pleased to see 
that it does include some tax relief, albeit limited, for small 
businesses, including provisions championed by both Republicans and 
Democrats. I'm also pleased, unlike earlier versions of this 
legislation, the most objectionable revenue raiser, a provision that 
could provoke retaliation by other countries and that even the Obama 
administration officials warned would violate our international treaty 
obligations, has been

[[Page 10723]]

dropped from this bill. But despite those positive features, I will be 
voting against this bill for several important reasons.
  First, while the tax relief in here is welcome, it's not enough and 
won't actually help small businesses create the jobs we need to reduce 
our stubbornly high unemployment rate. While I would certainly support 
further lowering taxes on small businesses, the last thing they need is 
higher taxes, which is exactly what they are facing from this Congress.
  Just last month, the majority pushed through an $11.2 billion tax 
hike on certain small businesses that would subject their profits to 
employment taxes, and at the end of 2010, all individual income tax 
rates, as well as taxes on dividends and capital gains, are scheduled 
to rise dramatically. Because so many small businesses pay taxes at the 
individual level, the fear of these increases is chilling expansion and 
hiring and, therefore, job creation. So the majority's record on tax 
policy affecting small businesses is spotty at best.
  Second, this bill, like others before it, provides a stark reminder 
of the majority's view of the Ways and Means Committee as an ATM 
machine to fund other spending. Here, the majority is seeking to 
generate $7.1 billion in additional tax revenue but would only provide 
$3.6 billion in tax relief over the next decade. The rest of the money 
raised will be used to offset the cost of another bill, H.R. 4297, 
which was reported by the Financial Services Committee, that creates 
another TARP-like program. Some might call it TARP III.
  While I'm glad the majority found offsets that are less economically 
damaging than some that have previously passed the House, the practice 
of using permanent changes in tax receipts to fund temporary spending 
is disappointing and portends further and larger tax hikes in the 
future, perhaps as soon as the end of this month when the majority 
hopes to complete action on a financial system reform bill.
  Mr. Speaker, especially with the unemployment rate continuing to 
hover near 10 percent, our small businesses, the engine of economic 
growth and job creation, need help, but this bill isn't enough, and it 
takes us further down the dangerous road of higher spending our Nation 
cannot afford.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. Before I yield, I just want to say to Mr. Camp, I listened 
intently, and I can't understand your opposition. You like the 
provisions. You don't like what we once passed. If you don't like what 
we passed before--and I disagree with you--it's even more of a reason 
to vote for this bill.
  You complain about permanent changes. We're closing a loophole 
permanently. You want us to close it temporarily? And we're preventing 
a provision coming into effect that should never come into effect.
  So I just urge people to listen to the quality of this discussion, 
and I think, so far, it all points to everybody on both sides of the 
aisle voting for this bill. It helps small business. That's been 
acknowledged, and you don't challenge the tax cuts in terms of their 
merits. You talk about another tax cut in another bill you didn't like. 
I think you find it hard to find anything you like.
  I now yield 2 minutes to another member of our committee, our 
distinguished colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal).
  Mr. NEAL. I thank Mr. Levin for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of this small business bill before us 
today. In addition to the several tax breaks that Mr. Levin has pointed 
out, the bill will create a lending fund for our community banks to 
crop into. That's perhaps the most salient part of this proposal, to 
get capital flowing, to get capital back into the marketplace so that 
there's an opportunity for small businesses across the country to take 
advantage of what heretofore has become a dried up resource, and that 
is the availability of capital.

                              {time}  1600

  While the data tells us the economy is improving, our small 
businesses back home are still struggling, and much of that is due to 
the fact that lines of credit have tightened up or in many instances 
simply gone away. Now, those businesses are doing their best to keep 
everyone on the payroll even though sales are slow in an attempt to 
climb back, but the regulators have kept a strong hand and hold on 
banks that otherwise might be lending.
  Now, conceptually, I don't know how you can be opposed to this 
legislation. Community banks provide more than half of the small 
business loans in America that are less than $100,000. In Massachusetts 
alone, commercial bank lending to small businesses through the SBA 
guarantee program has doubled over the last year. This legislation will 
help even more.
  If you really care about small businesses and entrepreneurship and 
growing the economy, the essential argument here is how do we get these 
small business people back on their feet. The proposal here is to 
provide some tax relief. Greater lending possibilities with the 
prospect of encouraging small businesses to grow and invest is a very 
important part of what's incorporated in this very piece of 
legislation.
  Now, always we would find amongst the 435 of us in this institution a 
different way to do it, but that's not the proposal in front of us.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I just want to respond to my friend from Michigan, the chairman, and 
say it's really about the reality of this legislation, not just the 
rhetoric. And while excluding capital gains on the sale of small 
business stock is a great provision, the problem is this is drafted so 
narrowly that the small businesses have to be C corporations. And as we 
know, only a fraction of small businesses will be considered qualified 
small businesses to take advantage of this provision. This is the 
largest piece of this so-called ``small business relief'' bill. And 
while it's great to talk about, the reality of it is going to be very 
limited.
  As I said in my statement, there are some positive things in this 
bill. Obviously, closing the Black Liquor 3 loophole is something I 
support, but on balance, because the bill isn't really going to do 
anything to create jobs, A, and, B, because there are, again, going to 
be temporary provisions that are paid for with permanent tax increases, 
and, third, the revenue raiser on the estate tax area on the Grantor 
Retained Annuity Trust is really one that ought to be reserved for when 
we have to deal with estate tax reform. As you know, the law has 
expired. There are bills moving through the Congress to reinstate the 
estate tax. This really is appropriate to that area.
  I think it is absolutely unconscionable that we've gone all this time 
with no estate tax, with everyone understanding that the majority is 
going to create a retroactive death tax bill that's going to try to 
come back through the beginning of the year. This is where that 
provision should be.
  So, again, I reluctantly oppose this bill. I think there are some 
good things in it; unfortunately, they don't go far enough.
  I now yield 2 minutes to the distinguished member of the Ways and 
Means Committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam).
  Mr. ROSKAM. I thank Mr. Camp for yielding.
  Chairman Levin said a minute ago that it's hard to find anything that 
the minority likes. I'll tell you a few things, Mr. Speaker, that we 
would like. We would have liked a stimulus that worked. We would have 
liked a stimulus where unemployment actually peaked at 8 percent as 
long as our children and grandchildren were being foisted with a $1 
trillion obligation. We would have liked it if last month's 
unemployment numbers weren't goosed up by simply census employees 
joining the ranks. We would have liked it, Mr. Speaker, if during the 
health care debate a thoughtful approach had been put forward that 
wasn't going to cost employers like Caterpillar in my home State $100 
million in the first year or John Deere $150 million in the first year. 
We would have like those things, Mr. Speaker.

[[Page 10724]]

  I think what the majority is laying out is kind of a happy life of 
low expectations. That's not a bad way to go through life, but I think 
that we can do so much more than this. And to Mr. Camp's point, there 
are some things that are here that are decent and that are marginally 
okay and slightly better, but is that how dim the lights are in this 
Chamber that that's our expectation, that something is just sort of 
okay? I mean, this is an increase in government spending, after all, so 
I think we can do so much better. Why is it, Mr. Speaker, that we are 
halfway through the tax year and the research and development tax 
credit isn't resolved by this majority in this Congress? Why is it that 
the death tax is a complete ambiguity?
  So in answer to the chairman, I have a lot of respect for him and for 
his work and his sincerity, but I think I want to echo Mr. Camp's 
observation, that this is so narrowly crafted and so de minimus and 
being proclaimed by the same folks that promised us great things in the 
stimulus that I think we can do better.
  Mr. LEVIN. You say do better; you won't vote for anything.
  I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Rangel) to explain why this is more than de minimus, a bill that needs 
to be voted on on a bipartisan basis.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, sometimes when life gets rough for me, I try 
to put myself in the shoes of the other guy. What a rough time to be in 
the minority. We have so many people whose hopes and dreams have been 
shattered, they're out of work, they're angry, the economy has been 
blown wide open, and we find that the order of the day with the 
opposition is that they just have to say no. It must be awkward to say 
what I would do if this bill was defeated. It must be terrible to talk 
about the past things that haven't worked when someone has just lost 
their home or can't pay their rent or put food on the table or get 
clothes for their kids.
  It's a rough time for all Americans, and anybody who believes that 
Democrats always get it right, well, it's difficult to do, but for 
crying out loud, we have to do something. The $787 billion we voted on 
trying to get us out of this economic mess, and all the money just 
floated on the top for the big banks. Now we're trying to see what 
really works. Listening to the calls of small business people, trying 
to make certain they have capital to get the inventory, to provide the 
goods and services, to hire people, and as everyone admits, this is 
where the major jobs come.
  For crying out loud, sometimes the late John Kennedy said, The party 
just asks too much of you. These people are out of work. They're not 
Democrats and Republicans; they're American people. They work hard for 
their dignity. They're the ones that supported our country during good 
times. And now that times are rough, they've got to listen to debates 
between Republicans and Democrats as to, gee, this is what I would do 
if I was in charge? I don't think that's fair. And I really believe 
that the voters are not going to believe that all we can do is come up 
with ideas, have them ridiculed, and then just say no.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.
  Mr. RANGEL. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
  I know from time to time when my party asked me to carry too much 
weight that morally I don't believe I can do it, that somehow there are 
people on our side of the aisle that take the risk and being able to 
say I did it not because my party asked me to do it, I did it not to be 
opposed, I did it because it's the right thing to do.
  Now you have to find the issue; if it's not health care, if it's not 
education, if it's not national security, how about the opportunity to 
work, to make a living, to have the dignity, to have the pride, to 
raise your family, and indeed to pay taxes?
  This is going to be our last opportunity for this year. Maybe next 
year there will be a change in the philosophy--if you want to call it 
that--of the minority and they will work together; but I do hope this 
idea that on everything we come up with to improve the quality of life 
for the people of this great Nation, that the opposition can come up 
with something except ``just say no.''
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This bill is going to spend taxpayers' money. I believe we have an 
obligation, if we're going to spend taxpayers' money, that we do it 
effectively. On Friday night, the Treasury released a report that in 
2015 our debt will exceed the gross domestic product of this country. 
We've had expert testimony before the Debt Commission that said when 
your debt gets to 90 percent of GDP, you lose 1 percent off economic 
growth, which translates into 1 million jobs.
  This bill, because of how narrowly focused it is, how narrowly 
drafted it is, virtually no small businesses will take advantage of the 
exclusion of capital gains because they have to be C corporations. And 
if there is one trend we've seen, it's that businesses are being 
organized as passed-through entities now. That's how America, 
particularly small business America, is being organized. So while this 
is great rhetoric, this bill isn't going to be effective in doing 
anything.
  And let me just say, I heard the former chairman say that Republicans 
just say no. On the health care bill, we had a viable alternative. In 
fact, I will say the vote on the health care bill was bipartisan 
opposition, only majority partisanship support for that legislation. 
Whether it's been stimulus or health care or energy, we have had viable 
alternatives on the floor that we have brought forward. On this 
particular bill, I think that better work could have been done, more 
effective work could have been done. And, frankly, in this era of the 
highest debt ever this country has seen, I think we have an obligation 
that if we're going to spend taxpayers' dollars, it's done in an 
effective way and a way that gets results, and this bill falls short.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), member of the Ways and Means Committee.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is personal for me. 
We've watched our country come back from the brink in the fall of 2008. 
In my State of Oregon, helped by Recovery Act funds of about $6 
billion, we've been able to stabilize and make some progress. Is it 
enough? Absolutely not. But I've had a steady parade of people coming 
to my office thanking me for the investment that was made in terms of 
infrastructure, in terms of health care, in terms of making sure that 
we didn't have layoffs of public employees.
  Now we have a provision here that is an opportunity to focus on small 
business. It is a package, as the chairman mentioned, with two pieces. 
It's ironic that our friends are telling us that it's just not enough. 
These are small pieces, yet they were saying, on the other hand, the 
legislation we had that CBO has scored over 1.2 million jobs to as much 
as 2.8 million saved or created was too big. Well, we ought to be 
chipping away as we can on this. Having $30 billion for a small 
business lending fund, being able to provide a couple billion dollars 
of tax exclusion for small business capital formation are positive 
items.

                              {time}  1615

  You know, one of the things that strikes me as ironic is that our 
friends on the other side of the aisle ignore the fact that the 
Recovery Act legislation that we had previously, 42 percent of it, was 
for tax cuts and for preventing the impact of the alternative minimum 
tax from hitting middle and upper middle-income families. Every family 
in America which made under $250,000 a year got tax cuts last year, and 
they are getting tax cuts this year. We have tried tax cuts to help 
move things forward. Now, this is small business lending.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Serrano). The time of the gentleman has 
expired.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.

[[Page 10725]]


  Mr. BLUMENAUER. This is part of an ongoing effort which is making a 
difference. The job losses peaked the month that President Obama took 
office--not his fault. They had been building for 22 months. Now we are 
making some progress. Is it enough? All of us agree that it is not, but 
I would suggest that dismissing this because they think it doesn't 
solve everything would be, I'm afraid, disingenuous. I don't think it's 
helpful.
  I strongly urge the support of this legislation and then for us to 
continue with the task of rebuilding and renewing America, of reforming 
the Tax Code, and of coaxing the most out of these investments.
  Mr. CAMP. At this time, I yield the customary 1 minute to the 
distinguished minority leader, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).
  Mr. BOEHNER. I want to thank my colleague for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is supposed to be about helping 
small businesses. We do need to help small businesses as they are the 
engines of economic growth in our country. When you look at the jobs 
report that came out last month, there were only 41,000 private-sector 
jobs created.
  Yet, if we really want this bill to work and if we really want small 
businesses to be able to begin hiring once again, what we really need 
to do is to repeal the job-killing health care law that was passed in 
this Chamber on March 21. The heart of that law is something that is 
called the ``individual mandate.'' The individual mandate forces 
Americans to buy health insurance whether they want to or not, whether 
they can afford it or not. For small businesses, if they don't provide 
health insurance, guess what? The government is going to tax you. This 
is preventing small businesses from hiring additional people.
  Twenty States and the Nation's leading small business organization 
agree that this law is unconstitutional, and they are fighting to 
overturn it. The Federal Government shouldn't be in the business of 
forcing you to buy health insurance and of taxing you if you don't.
  If we really want to help small businesses get back to creating jobs, 
we should repeal the job-killing health care law, and we should replace 
it with reforms that will lower the cost of health insurance and that 
will help protect American jobs.
  My colleague from Michigan will be offering a proposal tonight to 
repeal the unconstitutional individual mandate, which is at the heart 
of this new law. His idea is posted right now on 
AmericaSpeakingOut.com. Americans are speaking out on it, and I hope my 
colleagues will get engaged and will see what the American people have 
to say about this individual mandate and about the taxes associated 
with it, but it is pretty clear.
  When we get to the motion to recommit, we will offer a motion that 
will eliminate the individual mandate, and every Member of this House 
will have an opportunity to stand up for their constituents or to look 
the other way.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a member of our 
committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5486.
  That is exactly correct. We should stop looking away. Let's focus on 
what the subject really is.
  The gentleman just left the floor, but in the final months of the 
last administration, on average, we had a loss of 725,000 jobs. This is 
the first increase that we have had in the private sector in over 2 
years. So you are the party of ``no.'' There are no two ways about it. 
Ever since we hit 750,000 in January of 2009, we have had an 
improvement every month, and now we are finally in the plus area. It 
took us 8 years to get into the mess. It is going to take us more than 
a year and a half to get out of it.
  This legislation is incredibly important because it will help this 
country's small businesses, both new and already existing, by making 
the Tax Code work for them. After years of misguided tax policies from 
the previous administration, which only helped extraordinarily wealthy 
individuals, the Ways and Means Committee is focusing its efforts on 
the real engine of the American economy: one-third tax cuts in the 
stimulus, one-third investment in the infrastructure, one-third 
investment in informational technology, energy jobs, and tax credits. 
That record is unparalleled. The tax cuts of this year and last year 
are the largest in the history of this country for any 2-year period 
because we help the middle class. That is what our party is all about.
  According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses have 
generated 64 percent of the new jobs over the past 15 years, and they 
must be at the forefront of the economic recovery today.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield an additional 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman.
  Mr. PASCRELL. How dare someone come before this body and talk about 
their alternative to the health bill. Their alternative to our health 
bill would have started the dismantling of Medicare. Read the language 
of their alternative.
  While our economy is growing stronger, unemployment is still too 
high, which is why we are directing aid to our small businesses. The 
bill assists already established small businesses by building on the 
Recovery Act's exclusion of 75 percent of business capital gains to now 
temporarily exclude 100 percent of capital gains from qualifying 
stocks, thereby encouraging investment in small businesses, which 
create jobs but which are encountering problems with restricted access 
to credit. The bill also helps people who want to start new businesses 
by quadrupling deductions and by increasing the cap for start-up 
expenses.
  This legislation is imperative in recovery. I ask that we all vote 
for it.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania, Allyson Schwartz.
  Ms. SCHWARTZ. I thank the chairman for his good work on small 
business and on the economic recovery.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief 
Act, which, when merged with the Small Business Jobs Credit Act, will 
increase lending to small businesses, will expand entrepreneurship, and 
will put Americans to work.
  The bill offers small businesses additional capital through capital 
gains tax cuts, relief from onerous tax penalties, and expanded 
deductions for start-up costs. It provides funding to create a small 
business lending pool which will make loans available to small 
businesses through our smaller community banks. This pool will provide 
small business access to much needed capital to acquire new equipment, 
to renovate, to make energy-efficiency improvements or for other 
business growth opportunities. It is hard to overstate how important 
access to capital is for small business, so this action is critically 
important.
  Last week, during a Budget Committee hearing, Ben Bernanke responded 
to me when I outlined our actions to help our small businesses. He said 
he was ``glad the Congress is exploring these different programs for 
making credit available to small businesses.'' He talked additionally 
about the need to be particularly attentive to new and start-up 
companies, all critical to our economic recovery and job growth.
  All of these comments demonstrate the wisdom of the action that we 
are taking today to support small business growth. I urge my colleagues 
to vote ``yes'' on this latest initiative to work with business owners 
in the private sector to strengthen our economy, to spur innovation, 
and to create jobs.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished 
Member from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).
  Mr. ANDREWS. I thank the chairman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, it is axiomatic in American politics and on this floor 
that Members come to the floor and praise small business to the 
heights. People frequently cite statistics which state

[[Page 10726]]

that small businesses create most of the new private-sector jobs. 
They're right. They praise small business men and business women, and 
they are right to praise them. Though, I think, after all the words, it 
is time that we took some action that actually benefits small business 
people in the country. This bill provides such action.
  It provides access to credit for small businesses which desperately 
need it. I think Americans are frustrated--and small business people 
share in the frustration--that, after advancing hundreds of billions of 
dollars to banks, many of those dollars haven't seemed to find their 
way into loans to small businesses. The underlying bill begins to 
address that problem in a very significant way. It extends a practice 
that this chairman and his predecessor began of extending tax cuts to 
small businesses. A small business that buys a laptop or a truck or 
some other piece of equipment can expense that. Businesses can, in 
effect, cut their taxes by investing their businesses in the economy.
  Then we have the ironic statement by the minority leader that, in 
order to help small businesses, he wants to repeal a law that helps 
small businesses, for the first time, buy health care. What the new 
health care law says is that a person running a small software company 
or a restaurant or a delicatessen should be able to buy health 
insurance with the same volume discount that Lockheed Martin or General 
Electric gets. Small business people have been asking for that 
opportunity for a very long time. The law the President signed provides 
that.
  It is very important to understand that, with all due respect, the 
minority leader did not correctly state the impact of the bill on small 
business, so let the record correctly reflect the state of the new law.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional minute.
  Mr. ANDREWS. If a small business person has 50 or fewer full-time 
employees, there is no mandate on that business to do anything. 
Businesses which choose to provide health insurance to their employees 
will have the same abilities that huge companies have to buy health 
insurance at a discount if they choose. Companies with fewer than 50 
full-time employees don't have to do anything. Many of the small 
businesses which do choose to insure their employees will get 
significant tax cuts to help them do that.
  After all of these words, isn't it time we had some loans for small 
business? Isn't it time we had some tax cuts for small business and 
some affordable health care for small business? If you want words, take 
the minority's approach. If you want action, support this bill.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will note the gentleman from 
Michigan has 10 minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Michigan has 
6 minutes remaining.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee).

                              {time}  1630

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman for his leadership, 
and I thank the full Committee on Ways and Means for being a lifeline 
for small businesses. And I ask my colleagues on the floor of the House 
to join them.
  Without this effort, small business doors across America will close. 
And, frankly, I believe it is important. As my colleague just said, let 
us walk the walk and talk the talk. For it is now time to invest in 
small businesses, which, in actuality, create the backbone of the 
economy of America and provide for employment in our rural and urban 
areas across this Nation. In fact, I think it is important to note this 
bill is paid for. By closing the black liquor loophole and the gift 
loophole, it will create $8 billion to ensure that we can do the right 
thing for our small businesses.
  I come from an area that is now being impacted by a major oil spill. 
I visit businesses whose doors are closing for lack of assistance. And 
I'm glad that we have a President who realizes who is important and is 
ready to sign this bill.
  Small businesses are in need. And so what we have here is an 
opportunity for banks to refocus their lending policies and give 
startup credit and access to dollars to help build these small 
businesses.
  Many of us heard of the redirection of the moneys that we lent to big 
banks in order to help them help America. Well, unfortunately, they 
couldn't find the doors of small businesses, many of my constituents. 
And so I am eager to have this legislation passed that's paid for to 
provide startup costs for small businesses that always have had a major 
impediment in getting in the door of these banks. Therefore, any relief 
for small startups is a plus by increasing the amount allowed to be 
deducted from the bottom line. And the capital gains issues as well 
that will be very important.
  I believe, finally, we need to hold these banks accountable by asking 
them to provide a plan to ensure that they are providing lending to 
these businesses. I ask for support of this legislation.
  I rise in support of the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010, 
H.R. 5486. I also want to thank Chairman Sandy Levin and the members of 
the Committee on Ways and Means for their hard work on this 
legislation. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
provide tax incentives for small business job creation, and for other 
purposes.
  This bill provides targeted relief for the Nation's small businesses. 
Without this relief, many small businesses will close, adding to the 
U.S. unemployment rate, still historically high at 9.7 percent. The tax 
relief in this bill will begin to address a number of issues 
confronting the owners of small businesses:
  (1) Start-up costs for small businesses have always been a major 
impediment to their success. Therefore, any relief for small businesses 
start-ups is a plus. By increasing the amount allowed to be deducted 
from the bottom line, a small business can then use the additional 
resources to grow and to expand his or her business. The bill would 
increase the deductible amount for start-up costs from the current 
$5000.00 to $20,000.00 for 2010 and 2011.
  (2) The bill also eases restrictions on real estate holdings where 
qualified Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) loans are involved.
  (3) This bill will increase, from 50 percent to 100 percent, the 
exclusion from gross income of the gain from the sale or exchange of 
qualified small business stock acquired after March 15, 2010, and 
before January 1, 2012. By reducing the tax liability related to gains 
on the sale of small business stock, this will free resources to be 
used for other business purposes in this tight economy.
  (4) Another important provision in the bill will exclude from gross 
income any amount paid under the small business borrower assistance 
program. Again, tax relief in any shape or form for small businesses is 
critical to sustained economic growth and economic recovery.
  In addition to these tax reliefs, the bill also requires the 
Commissioner of the Internal Revenue to provide annual reports to 
Congress on penalties relating to tax shelters and other transactions. 
Any additional measure designed to promote transparency and 
accountability must be supported. Again, this bill is a timely measure 
that will grant relief to a major segment of the Nation's business 
sector, suffering from the lasting effects of the worst recession in 
our history. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5486.
  Mr. CAMP. I yield myself such time as I may consume, Mr. Speaker.
  I agree with much of what some of the speakers have said today about 
the importance of small business and the job creation that small 
business has been responsible for. You can see statistics where 80 
percent of the job creation in recent years has been because of small 
business. Certainly, if we're going to recover as an economy, small 
business will lead the way, and needs to recover. And we've seen over 
the past few years the way small business has been organized. 
Increasingly, they're pass-through entities. The vast majority of small 
businesses are pass-through entities.
  So what does the majority do? They pass a small business bill that 
doesn't apply to the majority of small businesses. This provision here, 
which is the bulk of the bill that excludes capital gains on the sale 
of certain small

[[Page 10727]]

business stocks, only applies to qualified small businesses. Well, what 
is a qualified small business? A C corporation. That's how most large 
businesses are organized. So this bill won't do anything.
  Again, while we have record debt, the largest in the history of this 
country, well over $13 trillion and an estimate from the Treasury 
Department that, in 2015, the debt will exceed the size of the entire 
economy of the United States for the first time in history--before we 
spend taxpayer dollars, we ought to do it in a way that's effective.
  There are things that we could do for small business. I will say the 
majority has made this bill better than it was the first time by 
dropping some of the controversial provisions that would have 
potentially caused our trading partners to retaliate against us. 
Obviously, closing the black liquor provision is something that I think 
every Republican supports as well. That's a good thing. But the fact 
that this legislation is not where it should be doesn't mean that we 
should just look the other way and pass it, because it doesn't meet the 
standard that this Congress should be meeting in this difficult 
economic time.
  I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett).
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I know that our leader was just down here speaking a moment ago with 
regard to what is going to be coming shortly, which is the MTR, and I 
just want to take a moment in regard to that as well, a motion to 
recommit that will reduce the uncertainty and reduce the regulatory 
burdens facing who? The small businesses, by repealing the so-called 
individual mandate from the recently passed health care bill.
  Why do we talk about that now? Well, I have a bill that basically 
does the exact same thing. I introduced H.R. 4999, the Reclaiming 
Individual Liberty Act, which would also repeal that mandate. Because 
as we come to the floor right now, it's granted the authority to 
regulate various aspects of our economy is broad but is not that broad 
to be able to impose an individual mandate on what we know is, by doing 
so, we will hurt not only the individual and the family but also the 
economy of this country as well.
  So I commend the gentleman for his work in this regard. I commend the 
gentleman for the MTR that we're about to see in a few moments. Because 
in that MTR, just as in the Reclaiming Individual Liberty Act, we 
recognize that the Constitution prohibits the expansion of government 
authority in those areas. If we had that ability to do that here, 
wouldn't we have already done that last year with regard to the auto 
industry and said, we can mandate people to buy automobiles in that 
area? We can't do it in that area. We can't do it in this area. And I 
commend the gentleman for it.
  Mr. CAMP. I thank the gentleman for those comments. He makes a very 
important point.
  In closing, I just want to say that we look at the costs that the 
individual mandate particularly is going to hit hard on small 
businesses and how difficult that's going to make it for them to 
continue to be able to expand and hire workers. And we know that the 
small business health care tax credit is virtually a fraud; that 90 
percent of small businesses won't be able to qualify for that because, 
again, that's so narrowly drafted that there's the rhetoric of being 
able to say, Aren't we doing all these great things? But the reality is 
there's nothing there.
  Let me just say that at the end of 2010, when all the individual 
income tax rates increase, as well as on dividends and capital gains, 
that's going to hit small business particularly hard because most small 
businesses file as individuals. And that's going to make it much more 
difficult for them to expand. It's going to make it much more difficult 
for them to hire and much more difficult for job creation to occur.
  Also, I would say that another difficult problem is that this bill, 
while it generates $7 billion in tax revenue, it only provides about 
$3.5 billion in tax relief. So, again, taxes are being raised 
permanently for temporary spending in other parts of our economy, and 
it's my understanding that most of that extra revenue will be used to 
help pay for another TARP-like program--TARP III as some call it--
that's going to be coming our way.
  So, again, with our unemployment rate continuing to be at a lingering 
10 percent, the difficulty our small business, the engines of economic 
growth and job creation are facing, the help they need, this bill is 
not enough. Again, it takes us down a road of higher spending that our 
Nation cannot afford at this time.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. I think anybody who has listened to this debate, if 
they're at all objective, will be completely puzzled by the arguments 
of the minority. They say this bill won't do anything. But then they 
say there are tax increases to pay for it that are permanent. That's 
worse than a lame argument. It's completely without merit and is 
vacuous. The bill is scored for small business in terms of the 
exclusion from capital gains tax over 10 years at almost $2 billion. 
That's nothing. It provides relief from penalties. Over $175 million to 
small business. That's nothing. It provides an increased deduction for 
startup expenditures that provides over half a billion dollars, as 
scored. That's nothing.
  Now what's nothing are your arguments. And so you come here, I think, 
afraid to vote ``yes'' because it will blur your political message. You 
say you agree with these provisions, but then you're going to vote 
``no.'' You just don't apparently want to be caught being bipartisan. 
It's going to blur a political message.
  I don't understand your argument that the tax provisions are 
permanent. You don't argue these aren't loopholes. They're loopholes. 
And you criticize us for closing a loophole permanently, and then you 
say it's for spending, but you don't really challenge the validity of 
the spending. We do pay for some moneys for the second bill that's 
coming up because it provides loans to small businesses, and it also 
provides States that have written us supporting this bill, including 
your State, Mr. Camp, saying that they will use this money well to help 
collateral support for small businesses.
  So it's worse than puzzling. I think it's a pathetic effort to find 
an excuse to vote ``no.'' So then you come up with the argument you 
have a motion to recommit.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their 
comments to the Chair and not to other Members.
  Mr. LEVIN. I'll be glad to do that, Mr. Speaker.
  So then there's a motion to recommit to repeal an individual mandate. 
All I can say is that the individual mandate was the basis of the 
Republican health care proposal in 1993 and 1994. And now you come up 
and say you want to eliminate it. This is another entangled position of 
yours. You're tying yourselves into knots trying to oppose a bill that 
will provide help for small business. Maybe it's useless to appeal for 
bipartisanship to the other side.
  I close asking for support.
  Mr. Speaker, in conjunction with today's consideration in the U.S. 
House of Representatives of H.R. 5486, the ``Small Business Jobs Tax 
Relief Act of 2010,'' I have asked the nonpartisan Joint Committee on 
Taxation to make available to the public a technical explanation of the 
provisions included H.R. 5486. This technical explanation reflects the 
Ways and Means Committee's understanding and legislative intent behind 
those provisions. It is available on the Joint Committee on Taxation 
website at www.jct.gov and is listed under document number JCX-31-10.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, as we rebound from the greatest 
recession that has ever plagued this nation, it is important that we 
continue to support legislation that creates jobs and refurbishes the 
economic stability of American families--supporting small businesses, 
taxpayers and building a solid foundation for economic recovery.
  Small businesses are the life blood of American communities, creating 
two-thirds of the new jobs over the last 15 years. However, these 
entrepreneurs are stifled in their efforts to boost the American 
economy in that they

[[Page 10728]]

are frequently denied loans and face tight lending standards. Some of 
the most impoverished citizens in this nation live in the 7th 
Congressional District of IL. While the national unemployment rate in 
October 2009 rose to 9.8 percent, these communities experienced 
unemployment rates of up to 40 percent. We must do all that we can to 
provide jobs for American citizens and boost the economic stability of 
this nation. For this reason, I strongly support H.R. 5486--spurring 
investment in small business, providing for small business penalty 
relief, and increasing the deduction for business start-up expenses.
  These provisions are critical. They provide performance-based 
incentives to make sure that banks lend to small businesses and avoid 
what happened in 2009 when 45 percent of small businesses seeking loans 
were denied credit. Most importantly, as the nation continues its 
effort to create jobs and overcome high rates of unemployment, these 
provisions increase the deduction for start-up expenditures and allow 
entrepreneurs to focus on hiring workers and strengthening the economic 
stability of their businesses.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5486, Small 
Business Jobs Tax Relief Act. Small businesses form the backbone of our 
economy, and this bill helps them grow and create jobs.
  H.R. 5486 incentivizes people to invest in small business by 
increasing the capital gains tax cut. In addition, this bill would make 
it easier for entrepreneurs looking to start their own small business. 
H.R. 5486 would quadruple the tax deduction for your start-up and allow 
more businesses to qualify for the maximum deduction. These 
entrepreneurs can recover more startup expenses, and then work towards 
growing, expanding, and hiring new workers.
  I have always been a supporter of budget discipline, and the 
investments we make in this bill are fully paid for. These small 
business tax measures are paid for by tightening rules for claiming the 
biofuels tax credit and the estate and gift tax rules. I am pleased 
that we are able to help grow our economy and reduce the national 
budget deficit.
  While there is solid evidence that the economy is beginning to 
rebound, the recovery is on shaky footing. Across North Carolina, 
unemployment is still in the double digits and some counties in the 
Second District still have unemployment rates of up to 13 percent. 
Helping private industry create jobs needs to be our top priority, and 
small businesses are responsible for as many as two out of every three 
jobs created in our country. This bill provides tax relief to help 
small businesses create the jobs that we desperately need, and helps 
them help Main Street America.
  As a Member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, I support tax 
cuts that help small businesses contribute to our economic recovery. 
This should be a bipartisan effort, and I urge my colleagues to join me 
in voting for its passage.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, for every American seeking a job, and 
every small business trying to expand so they can hire them, I rise in 
strong support of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 and 
the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010. These two pro-growth 
initiatives illustrate very clearly that jobs continue to be job one in 
the 111th Congress.
  Small businesses are the engines of our economy, and timely, 
affordable credit is very often the fuel that helps them grow. Since 45 
percent of small businesses currently report inadequate credit to 
support their needs, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act establishes 
a new $30 billion fund for community banks, which will leverage up to 
$300 billion in new private sector lending to small businesses. 
Importantly, this new lending facility includes performance-based 
incentives to encourage near term lending by reducing borrowing costs 
to participating banks that increase their lending over 2009 levels and 
increasing borrowing costs when lending activity is reduced. The result 
will be a timely infusion of fresh credit to cash-strapped small 
businesses looking to create jobs in our growing economy.
  To make it easier for entrepreneurs to attract capital and launch new 
companies, today's legislation also provides a zero capital gains rate 
on equity investments in qualifying small businesses made between March 
15, 2010 and the end of the year--and it quadruples from $5,000 to 
$20,000 the deduction small businesses can take for start-up 
expenditures in their first year of operation.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is broadly supported by the National 
Small Business Association, the Small Business Majority, the Conference 
of State Bank Supervisors, the Independent Community Bankers of 
America, the American Bankers Association and the National Bankers 
Association. It is fully paid for and deserves my colleagues' support.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5486, 
the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act and H.R. 5297, the Small 
Business Lending Fund Act of 2010. These bills will help small 
businesses grow, create wealth in our communities, and create new jobs. 
As we often hear, small businesses drive our economy and create the 
most jobs.
  I have heard from businesses across my district that have had trouble 
accessing capital to expand their businesses, to weather this economic 
storm that Oregon faces, and to add to their workforces. Thousands of 
jobs have been lost, millions of dollars of savings have evaporated, 
and dreams have been cast aside or deferred for far too many Oregon 
families.
  The legislation that we will pass today will ease these challenges. 
The legislation establishes a $30 billion fund to boost lending to 
small businesses by community banks. To ensure that the additional 
funding is deployed, the recipient community banks will owe the US 
Treasury a variable dividend. The more they lend to small businesses, 
the less they will owe to the Treasury. If they fail to lend, then the 
dividend obligation increases.
  The legislation also makes important tax changes that will benefit 
the small business community.
  The legislation reduces capital gains taxes on the small business 
community. Under the Recovery Act, Congress excluded seventy-five 
percent of capital gains tax on the sale of small business stock during 
2009 and 2010. This legislation continues and expands that policy by 
increasing the exclusion to one hundred percent for 2010 to 2012.
  The legislation also improves the ability of small businesses to 
deduct start up costs. Under current law, a start up may deduct $5,000 
of start up costs; this legislation will expand that deduction to 
$20,000. These costs include market surveys, initial advertisements, 
training costs and other costs associated with starting up a business.
  Oregon is still struggling with a near record unemployment rate of 
10.6 percent, a percentage point above the national average. In April 
2010, over two hundred thousand Oregonians remained unemployed. It is 
imperative that we do all that we can to improve the economy and to put 
Oregonians back to work.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1436, the 
previous question is ordered on the bill.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further 
consideration of H.R. 5486 is postponed.

                          ____________________