[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12678-12679]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              THE TAX CODE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, when President Obama proposed a plan 
yesterday to simplify our corporate Tax Code and lower rates for 
businesses, I expected Republicans all over the country but especially 
here in Congress to jump for joy. I think there are many people around 
the country who were satisfied and happy, but the Republican leadership 
in the Congress surprised me and I think a lot of people by their 
reaction. Just a few months ago Leader McConnell signaled he would be 
open to a plan to reform the Tax Code. This is what he said:

       I'm told President Obama is going to come out for lowering 
     the corporate tax rate. To the extent he wants to do some of 
     these things, our answer is going to be yes.

  It is amazing how quickly his answer went from yes to no, no. 
Republicans have favored corporate tax reform for decades. We have 
heard them say so. This was one of the mantras during the Presidential 
campaign. But now that President Obama is proposing it, Republicans are 
opposing it.
  The President's thoughtful approach would couple lower tax rates, 
corporate tax rates, with investments in job-creating measures, such as 
roads and bridges and dams, worker training programs, and manufacturing 
incentives.
  He was in the State of Tennessee when he made this announcement. They 
are a picture book as to how corporate interests there can really move 
on. They have done a great job in Tennessee, and I would bet that at 
every corporation in Tennessee they were elated to hear what President 
Obama had to say yesterday.
  It is going to take a balanced approach and include smart spending 
cuts, closing wasteful loopholes and asking corporations that will 
benefit from lower tax rates to contribute their fair share. Even 
Speaker Boehner supported this approach in the past. This is what he 
said just a short time ago:

       If we want to put Americans back to work, I think lowering 
     the corporate tax rate is critically important. And to do 
     that, I think

[[Page 12679]]

     we have to look at the tax-expenditure side, the deductions, 
     credits, and other gimmicks that may be in the tax code and 
     that have accumulated over the last 30 years.

  I do not say this very often, but Speaker Boehner was right.
  This is the kind of balanced approach to deficit reduction the 
American people favor--a simpler tax code that lowers rates, makes our 
businesses more competitive, but also raises new revenue to invest in 
job creation. We have learned that the sequestration has already cut 
1.6 million jobs, so we need job creation. We need to help the middle 
class by creating jobs. As President Obama said, if we are going to 
give businesses a better deal, we need to give workers a better deal 
also. We can use the money we save by simplifying the Tax Code to 
create jobs now, right away, jobs that can never be outsourced. Both 
Democrats and Republicans can get something they want, and the economy 
gets the shot in the arm it needs.
  We have already cut the deficit in half over the last 3 years--that 
is the yearly deficit--and we have already saved $2.6 trillion from the 
accumulated debt. Democrats know there is more to be done. We certainly 
do. But we will not agree to any plan that balances the budget by 
killing jobs even more than already and whacking the middle class, and 
that is while holding the richest individuals and corporations 
harmless.
  Democrats believe we must offset the harsh spending cuts of the last 
few years with job creation that puts the middle class back on track. 
To get the economy back to full steam, we should be making targeted 
investments in areas such as infrastructure and education--things that 
have always helped America grow and succeed.

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