[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18193]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          UNFINISHED BUSINESS

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we are in pro forma session. Pro forma 
session is a session without substance or solutions.
  We have much to do, Mr. Speaker. Millions of Americans returned to 
work yesterday. Millions more have returned to work today after taking 
off time for their holidays.
  Mr. Speaker, we have, as you well know, a long list of expiring items 
this House must complete before the end of the year or it will have 
adverse consequences to our people.
  First I want to say, Mr. Speaker, that you are one who has been 
working very hard to assure that we reached solutions, and I want to 
thank you for that. Some of us are here in this Chamber today, but, 
very frankly, all of us ought to be here in this Chamber today, all the 
Republicans and all the Democrats, working so that our people have 
confidence that although our challenges are tough, that we are at least 
here trying to reach a consensus on solutions to those challenges.
  Mr. Speaker, as you well know, on January 1, middle class taxes will 
rise. Indeed, taxes on all Americans will rise. Mr. Speaker, you are 
also aware that we have legislation that has passed the Senate 
overwhelmingly on a bipartisan, 68-31, vote to address the issue of 
violence against women. Postal reform legislation passed the Senate in 
a bipartisan fashion. We have a farm bill, Mr. Speaker, that has passed 
through the Senate in a bipartisan fashion and passed out of the 
committee in this House in a bipartisan fashion. We are facing 
sequestration on January 2 that every Member of this House believes is 
an irrational alternative. We have many of our fellow citizens battered 
by Sandy, one of the largest storms to hit the Northeast ever. The 
Senate is now considering a foreign intelligence surveillance act, a 
piece of legislation to keep our country safe and secure. We have 
doctors who are worrying about whether they're going to be reimbursed 
for their medical expenses that they deliver to senior citizens. We 
have an alternative minimum tax that will expire on December 31, 
resulting in a tax increase to many of our citizens. We have tax 
extenders that have not been extended. We have a jobs bill that the 
President has asked for that has not been considered, much less passed.
  Mr. Speaker, we ought to be here, working, addressing these 
challenges. Everywhere, Mr. Speaker, that you and I go, I know that we 
hear, ``What are you doing on the fiscal cliff?'' Or ``I hope you're 
working hard on the fiscal cliff.''
  Mr. Speaker, lamentably, I must tell them, we're not working. We're 
not here. We're not addressing the challenges that I have just 
mentioned.
  Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the Speaker of the House would call us 
back immediately to address these challenges. We have 4 days left to go 
before the end of this year, before all of those items that I spoke 
about expire. The sequester happens the 2nd day of January.
  We ought to be here working, Mr. Speaker. We're not. This is a pro 
forma session. As I said at the beginning, a pro forma session is a 
session without substance and without solutions.
  I would urge the Speaker of this House to call us back in session to 
do what America expects us to do: address the challenges, find 
solutions, come to agreement, make compromises, make democracy in 
America work and give confidence to our people and to our economy.
  I hope, Mr. Speaker, that the Speaker will do that and will do it 
today.

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