[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15802]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              FISCAL CLIFF

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it took 4 months, but Republicans are 
finally realizing their way back from the fiscal cliff has been right 
in front of them all along. In July the Senate passed legislation to 
give economic certainty to 98 percent of American families and 97 
percent of small businesses, to every American making less than 
$250,000 a year. For 4 months we have been one vote away from a 
solution to this looming crisis. For 4 months House Republicans have 
refused to act. Instead, they have held the middle class hostage to 
protect the richest 2 percent of taxpayers--people who have enjoyed a 
decade of blooming income and shrinking tax bills.
  One has to admire the President, who went out and campaigned on this 
issue. He did not in any way walk away from the issue. He said: That is 
how we are going to get our fiscal house in order. And independents by 
a huge margin, Democrats by a huge margin, and 41 percent of 
Republicans support what the President asks us to do.
  So now reasonable Republicans--I think it is very important--are 
coming around to what Democrats have said all along: Let's reassure 
millions of Americans that taxes will not go up by $2,200 a year on 
January 1; that is, those people who are the middle class of America.
  Prominent Republicans are calling on Speaker Boehner to end the 
suspense for millions of these American families. Yesterday Republican 
Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a veteran in the House of 
Representatives, urged his caucus to pass the Senate's legislation 
keeping taxes low for those making less than $250,000 a year. That 
would pass by an overwhelming margin. All the Speaker has to do is let 
it come up for a vote. I would bet a lot of his Republicans would vote 
for it. I would bet a majority of his Republicans would vote for it. 
Virtually every Democrat would vote for it. They only need 218. There 
are 435 Members in the House. We also noted yesterday that Republican 
Congressman Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is noted for his 
conservatism, admitted yesterday that if the Speaker brought our bill 
to a vote, it would surely pass. So it is time the House Republican 
leadership listened to the will of the American people--Independents, 
Democrats, and Republicans--and also the advice of the reasonable 
members of their own caucus. The way out of this standoff is clear. Yet 
we are left wondering how long Republicans will force middle-class 
families to wait and to worry.
  Unfortunately, resolving the standoff will not resolve every conflict 
over the fiscal future. We have to end wasteful tax breaks for the 
richest Americans. We agree. We agree with the majority of Americans. 
We are serious about reducing the deficit. It will take a balanced 
approach. Last year we successfully worked across party lines to cut $1 
trillion worth of spending we could not afford. Even our Republican 
colleagues acknowledge budget cuts alone will not solve our fiscal 
challenges. We can argue over whether to give more wasteful handouts to 
the wealthy. They can do that tomorrow. We can discuss balanced, 
responsible ways to reduce our deficit tomorrow. But let's take care of 
the middle class today.

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