[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4693]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              BUFFETT RULE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as millions of Americans prepare to file 
income tax returns, the Senate will consider one of the basic unfair 
provisions in the Tax Code. Today the wealthiest 1 percent takes home 
the highest share of the Nation's income since the early twenties, the 
Roaring Twenties. But while their bank accounts have grown, their tax 
bills have become smaller. The wealthiest Americans now pay the lowest 
tax rate in more than five decades. The rich pay less than they have 
for more than 50 years. This unfair system has turned a gap between the 
richest few and everyone else into a gulf, not a gap. Over the last few 
decades, a small number of Americans have seen their incomes skyrocket 
by almost 300 percent, but for the rest of Americans wages have barely 
moved. They have not kept pace with the price of a modest home, 
college, or, of course, a secure retirement.
  Times are tough for many middle-class American families, but 
millionaires and billionaires are not sharing the pain or the 
sacrifices--not one bit. Last year there were 7,000 millionaires who 
did not pay a single penny in Federal income taxes. Seven thousand 
millionaires did not pay a single penny in taxes. Instead, ordinary 
Americans footed the bill. That is not fair. In recent years some 
Americans earning north of $110 million a year paid a lower tax rate 
than millions of middle-class families. That is also not fair. That is 
how someone like our friend Warren Buffett winds up paying a lower tax 
rate than his secretary, which also is not fair.
  When the richest few are making more than ever before, they can 
afford to shoulder their fair share of the burden and make this country 
prosper. And they should not be allowed to hide behind tax loopholes 
that rig the system in their favor. The Paying a Fair Share Act, known 
as the Buffett rule, would restore fairness to a system that has 
favored the interests of the wealthy for far too long. This legislation 
would ensure that Americans who earn more than $1 million a year pay at 
least 30 percent of their income in taxes. The bill would hold harmless 
nearly every small business in America. In fact, more than 99 percent 
of small businesses would be held harmless. It would maintain the 
deduction for charitable giving. It would be a small but important step 
toward restoring fiscal responsibility as our Nation makes difficult 
choices about where to spend and what to cut.
  Three-quarters of Americans believe millionaires and billionaires 
should contribute more. Two-thirds of millionaires say it is time to 
even the playing field. Yet, everywhere, all Republicans except those 
within the beltway believe that is not the case. Republicans in 
Congress would rather end Medicare as we know it, set forth in the so-
called infamous Ryan budget. They would rather slash education funding, 
as set forth in that same infamous budget, than ask the richest of the 
rich to contribute even a penny to make education more meaningful and 
to continue maintaining Medicare as we know it. As the Senate Democrats 
work to make our tax system fair for all Americans, Republicans in the 
House continue to pursue a budget that would hand more tax breaks to 
the wealthiest few--the so-called Ryan budget I was just talking about.
  At its heart, this important debate and the Buffett rule are about 
setting priorities. America can build a world-class education system 
that will prepare our children and our grandchildren to compete in the 
industries of tomorrow. We can honor our commitment to a generation of 
young men and women who put their lives on the line to serve and 
protect our freedom, and we can ensure that seniors who worked hard all 
their lives look forward to a secure retirement and quality, affordable 
health care or we can keep protecting special tax rates for the richest 
of the rich. We cannot do both. We must make smart choices.
  President Franklin Roosevelt once said:

       In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our 
     seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we 
     all go up or else all go down as one people.

  I hope my Republican colleagues will join Democrats this evening as 
we choose a path toward economic fairness that allows all Americans to 
rise together as one people.

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