[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16704-16705]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MIDDLE-CLASS TAX RATES

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, the House of Representatives is back, 
and we welcome them. It is good to have them back in business in 
Washington. I hope the first order of business this week is to pass a 
bill that we enacted in July of this year which would protect 98 
percent of American families from any increase in income taxes because 
of the fiscal cliff. I hope both Democrats and Republicans in the House 
agree these working families don't need a tax increase. Those who 
should pay an additional amount are those in the highest income 
categories. That is what President Obama said.
  When we voted in the Senate, we said those families making $250,000 
or less should have no increase in income tax. I appeal to Speaker 
Boehner--before he takes another recess in the House--please call this 
measure and pass it. It will give peace of mind to literally millions 
of American families who are wondering what is going to happen January 
1. These are many families who struggle from paycheck to paycheck. I 
have several letters.
  From Lansing, IL, Linda wrote:

       Please vote to keep middle class taxes from rising. $2,000 
     will help me to keep food on the table and gas in my car. It 
     could even help me help someone else. Please vote for the 
     middle class.

  I will.
  This letter is from Jeremy in Princeville, IL:

       I am reaching out to you to ask you to continue to push for 
     extensions of middle class tax cuts. We are a family of four 
     making one hundred thousand annually. A two thousand dollar 
     increase will hurt our family in many ways. Our family is 
     trying to better ourselves but a $2,000 tax increase will 
     hurt our bottom line and the chances of enhancing our 
     children's lives.

  Joan from Naperville writes:

       Very high earners should pay more in taxes. And as a former 
     small business owner, I know this will not hurt small 
     businesses--very, very few of us make over $250,000 a year . 
     . . I know the gap between the rich and everyone is the 
     greatest it's been since the Gilded Age. Smart, brave 
     politicians helped give the middle class a chance--and we 
     need that from you now.

  She wrote that to my office. I support her, and I think she and the 
President are right. I am waiting for Speaker Boehner to finally break 
out of this

[[Page 16705]]

back-and-forth as to whether the wealthy in America should pay a little 
bit more in taxes. For goodness' sake, that is obvious to everybody in 
America but the Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, get back to Ohio and ask some of those families about 
whether middle-income families should pay higher taxes come January 1. 
The answer is clear: They should not. It is within the power of Speaker 
Boehner to bring to the floor of the House today a measure that passed 
the Senate in July that will protect families making $250,000 a year or 
less.
  What I hear from the Speaker is, We won't protect middle-income 
families until you agree to raise the eligibility age for Medicare.
  I have said to all who have asked, I believe in entitlement reform. I 
believe Medicare going broke in 12 years is a serious challenge to all 
of us, but I am loathe to see us make a policy change in Medicare in 
the closing days of this month that we have to live with and cannot 
explain.
  Here is the part we cannot explain: If we increase the eligibility 
age for Medicare from 65 to 67, what is a person to do who retires at 
63 or 64 with a medical condition? Where are they going to go for 
health insurance, the insurance exchanges created by health care 
reform? Remember the Republicans and their blood oath to kill that the 
first chance they got? Is that going to be the only rescue, the only 
option for a senior waiting for Medicare eligibility? Are the 
Republicans prepared to say they will now stand behind the insurance 
exchanges and make sure there is an affordable, accessible health 
insurance plan that covers seniors until they are Medicare eligible? 
That is the key question. Until they answer that, I basically think the 
proposal of raising that Medicare retirement age is one that cannot be 
supported in good conscience.
  Let's get down to business. Let's protect the middle-income families 
in America. Let's do it now. Let's do it before January 1. Let's make 
sure they have the confidence of knowing their income taxes are not 
going up. One person has the power to do it, and that is Speaker John 
Boehner. If he calls the bill that passed the Senate, as he is being 
urged to even by Members of his own party, we can give a good holiday 
gift--if not a gift, at least a holiday reference--to families all 
across America who are looking for some help not only in this holiday 
season but beyond.

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