[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16481-16486]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1315
 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5771, TAX INCREASE PREVENTION ACT 
   OF 2014, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 647, ACHIEVING A 
                   BETTER LIFE EXPERIENCE ACT OF 2014

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 766 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 766

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 5771) to 
     amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain 
     expiring provisions and make technical corrections, and for 
     other purposes. All points of order against consideration of 
     the bill are waived. The amendment printed in part A of the 
     report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution 
     shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall 
     be considered as read. All points of order against provisions 
     in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question 
     shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and 
     on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Ways and Means; and (2) one motion 
     to recommit with or without instructions.
       Sec. 2.  Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 647) to amend 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the tax 
     treatment of ABLE accounts established under State programs 
     for the care of family members with disabilities, and for 
     other purposes. All points of order against consideration of 
     the bill are waived. In lieu of the amendment in the nature 
     of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Ways and 
     Means now printed in the bill, the amendment in the nature of 
     a substitute printed in part B of the report of the Committee 
     on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered

[[Page 16482]]

     as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as 
     read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as 
     amended, are waived. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any 
     further amendment thereto, to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Ways and Means; and (2) one motion 
     to recommit with or without instructions.
       Sec. 3.  In the engrossment of H.R. 5771 the Clerk shall--
        (a) add the text of H.R. 647, as passed by the House, as 
     new matter at the end of H.R. 5771;
       (b) conform the title of H.R. 5771 to reflect the addition 
     of H.R. 647, as passed by the House, to the engrossment;
       (c) assign appropriate designations to provisions within 
     the engrossment; and
       (d) conform cross-references and provisions for short 
     titles within the engrossment.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 1 
hour.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentlewoman from New York 
(Ms. Slaughter), pending which I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is 
for the purpose of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, as the calendar year comes to an end, 
America's small businesses and taxpayers are looking to Congress for 
certainty before they file their taxes in April of 2015. While far from 
perfect, the Tax Increase Prevention Act will provide certainty by 
extending for 1 more year a number of tax relief provisions that simply 
would have expired at the end of this year. Put simply, this bill will 
prevent tax increases on millions of families that would happen if we 
were not bringing it to the floor today.
  And to Mr. Kingston, I thank you for your years of service to this 
body on behalf of the American people and the people of Georgia.
  In an ideal world, Mr. Speaker, the House would be debating a more 
comprehensive approach to tax reform. We would be worried and focusing 
our activities on growing jobs in America and giving the American 
people more of their hard-earned money back so they could invest either 
in their family or in their business--an opportunity to grow our 
economy to keep America strong--but our Tax Code is holding back 
America from being competitive and from providing America with more 
jobs.
  American taxpayers deserve what we are doing today, which is an 
opportunity to work incrementally on a better, simpler, easy-to-
navigate Tax Code with certainty, but only for 1 more year. We should 
be making long-range plans by working with the United States Senate and 
the President to make sure the American people come up winners. The 
United States tax rate is currently the highest in the world, and I 
would prefer to be debating reform, but we are here today for 1 more 
year's worth of opportunity to keep America where she and her citizens 
are prepared for the future.
  Thanks to the leadership of the chairman of the Ways and Means 
Committee, Dave Camp from Michigan, we almost had a chance to fix these 
issues today, but he came to the rescue and said, ``I am going to work 
with Republicans and Democrats and anybody who will work with me''--
meaning the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee--``on helping 
American business be stronger.''
  The bottom line is that I believe we are going to work together, and 
it starts in the House of Representatives to get that work done. So 
just like the deal that Dave Camp started, we are here for the process 
today of jump-starting American business for yet another year.
  Sadly, reports tell us that the President's veto threat undermines 
these bipartisan negotiations. The things Chairman Dave Camp is working 
on to make American jobs stronger and a reality--and working on in a 
bipartisan effort--the President of the United States is threatening to 
veto that very legislation. So, today, despite the veto threat, we are 
here to do our work.
  Today, you will see, Mr. Speaker, Republicans and Democrats certainly 
have things in the bill which are special and important to them but 
that, more importantly, are about the American people and opportunities 
to save and grow jobs.
  Earlier this year, and certainly last year, the House passed a number 
of permanent extensions of these policies on a bipartisan basis. That 
means, Mr. Speaker, Republicans and Democrats tried to work together. 
But the failure of leadership on the Senate side meant those bills were 
not ever even brought before the Senate to debate them. Worse yet, the 
President of the United States opposes those efforts.
  We are here for one simple reason today. By taking the leadership 
opportunity, we think we can gain the ability, on a bipartisan basis in 
the House of Representatives, to give the Senate and the President one 
more whack at it.
  Let me be clear. Even if this legislation is not as ambitious as it 
could have been, it is still vitally important. I think what we are 
doing here, under the leadership of John Boehner, is to say to the 
American people that we know what our job is, even if we are not as 
wildly successful as we want to be. America's small businesses and 
families actually need, and rely upon, Congress to do its job.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Representative of the 32nd Congressional District 
of Texas, which is essentially Dallas, Texas, and some suburbs, I 
regularly meet with small businesses--important businesses--that employ 
people. Earlier in the year, I met with Jamey Rentfrow of Ascend Custom 
Extrusions in Wylie, Texas. Jamey's company manufactures and designs 
custom aluminum extrusions for industry. It was a most interesting 
visit. They call this manufacturing in America.
  On the same day, I also met with JoAnn Gardner, a young woman who 
owns Savage Precision Fabrication. They make parts for military 
aircraft. They count on us to be able to get our job done to buy the 
newest and best equipment. It goes to help not only aerospace and 
military but other civilian needs also. They know that if we do this, 
the option for them to expense 50 percent of the purchase price of 
their assets can be taken care of. They can write it off when they want 
to rather than when the Tax Code wants.
  In March, I met with Frank Millsap. It was a most interesting visit. 
He runs a rod car store called Sachse Rod Shop. He explained to me how 
our onerous Tax Code prevented him from employing more people.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why we are here today. We are here to make sure 
we take care of the people in our home districts, many of them 
companies that are small mom-and-pop shops, but others that employ 
hundreds of people.
  The bill would also affect a minority-owned business called Aluma 
Graphics, which is located in Wylie, Texas, and owned by Randall 
Williams, a young man who played professional football. When he got 
out, he decided he was going to go into business. He is realizing how 
tough it is to manufacture labels and decals for industrial products. 
This bill would help him and his employees.
  These businesses, not just in the 32nd Congressional District but all 
over our country, are important, as they provide people the honesty of 
hard work and the return of continuing to come to work the next day 
because their company can make the money to get it done.
  What we are doing today will extend for only 1 more year the tax 
provisions, but it will help millions and millions of people.
  Additionally, Mr. Speaker, this rule contains a great bill that's 
called the ABLE Act, which represents, I believe, what our country can 
do best when Republicans and Democrats and people who care in the 
United States Congress work together.

[[Page 16483]]

  Almost every single person in America, I believe, knows someone with 
a disability: a family member, a best friend, perhaps a brother or 
sister, or maybe even an aunt or uncle. But we all know that it is only 
fair that we pay attention to the people we dearly love.
  So, today is a game-changer. Today, we are removing what I think is a 
glass ceiling for disabled people who are held at a disadvantage in our 
Tax Code. The ABLE Act would make 529 tax-free savings accounts 
available so that families can cover important expenses such as 
postsecondary education, housing, career development, and medical 
expenses not covered by private insurance, Medicaid, or other benefits 
that might be available to them offered by government.
  These tax-free savings accounts will empower families so that their 
loved ones can have opportunities they have not had in the past. It is 
personal to me because as my father looks at all of his grandchildren, 
he can have the opportunity of helping out in their education, but not 
for Alex Sessions, his grandson with Down syndrome. He can help all the 
grandkids, but not Alex.
  This happens millions of times in our country. There are millions of 
people with disabilities who count on going into a program or being 
enrolled in something that the Federal Government pays for, but we 
discriminate against them. When this gets signed into law, my father, 
Judge Sessions, will be able to treat Alex as he does his other 
grandchildren. What is amazing is that Alex needs it more than all of 
them combined, but he is the one that we wanted to keep in his place 
because he has a disability called Down syndrome.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is important. It is important to the people 
whom it impacts. It is important to our families. But more importantly, 
it is important to our country. The gentleman, Ander Crenshaw from 
Jacksonville, has worked on this bill for 8 years. We are finding a way 
to put it into a piece of legislation. To help millions of people with 
their jobs, it needs to pass.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why we are here today. We are here doing 
important work for millions of people. It does matter, and I think we 
make a huge difference.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Today, we have two bills before us: one extending tax relief measures 
and another for helping our brothers and sisters and family members 
with disabilities. These bills, considered under two more closed rules, 
which I feel I must point out, adds to the tally of the most closed 
Congress in American history.

                              {time}  1330

  First, H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. This 1-
year extension will cover approximately 60 temporary Tax Code 
provisions that expired at the end of 2013 or during 2014. Many of the 
provisions have been previously extended with broad bipartisan support.
  This bill is far from perfect, but it provides us a sorely-needed 
stopgap measure. Our economy has finally emerged from the shadow of the 
Great Recession, but playing games like this, lurching from one short-
term measure to another, will certainly harm that recovery.
  This bill will ensure some consistency in the Tax Code that will help 
the American people avail themselves of the tax credits that they 
depend on, just in time for the tax filing season.
  However, of particular note, left out of this package is the health 
coverage tax credit, which is made available to workers who have lost 
their jobs as a result of unfair trade deals and retirees who are at 
risk of losing their pensions.
  In my district, in Rochester, the retirees of Delphi and other local 
companies depend on the health coverage tax credit to cover their 
health care bills, and they have been fighting mightily for some relief 
from the fact that they have lost their pensions and their health care. 
This is all that they have, the government program.
  Denying a critical tax credit to families who have been hit hardest 
by unfair foreign competition and a tough economy here at home is a 
mistake, and one I will fight hard to correct.
  The second bill we have before us today is H.R. 647, the ABLE Act. 
This bill will right an injustice that has been impacting millions of 
Americans with disabilities, their families, and their caregivers.
  Under current law, the individuals with disabilities can qualify to 
receive Social Security Disability Insurance, but there is an asset 
limit of $2,000, meaning that if you have more cash than that on hand, 
your SSDI benefits will be reduced.
  This disincentivizes work and saving, creates an unnecessary economic 
uncertainty, and it does nothing to better the circumstances of our 
Nation's most vulnerable.
  The ABLE Act will change that by creating a tax-free savings account, 
with an annual cap on contributions of $14,000, ensuring that people 
with disabilities have a better sense of security and ways that friends 
and family can contribute to their education, transportation, medical 
expenses, employment support, housing, and more without risking their 
eligibility for the badly-needed disability insurance.
  I am pleased to see this come to the floor with such strong support 
because my district in Rochester has a vibrant and involved community 
of people with disabilities.
  I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, my friend, the 
chairman of the Rules Committee, in particular, for the diligent, 
passionate, and careful work on this important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I have some reservations about these bills, the first 
bill anyway, but stabilizing the Tax Code and ensuring financial 
independence for our brothers and sisters does provide much-needed 
support. So I urge my colleagues to do the best they can on the rule 
and the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Jackson County, North Carolina (Mr. Meadows).
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Rules Committee 
for his leadership and his vision and his passion and his great words.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from Jacksonville, Florida (Mr. 
Crenshaw). He is a true leader, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of the 
ABLE Act.
  Today, we can talk about taxes, we can talk about legislation, but 
really, what we are talking about is people, Mr. Speaker.
  I want to share two personal stories because, for me, I don't have to 
deal with children with disabilities on a daily basis. I was blessed 
with two kids that didn't have some of those same challenges.
  What I have had is I have experienced the love and the compassion 
that two children with special needs have given to me over and over.
  The first one of those is a young lady, 21 years of age, with Down 
syndrome named Chloe. Chloe is not only a dear friend but also is 
someone who has been able to share with me the struggles in her life, 
the passion in her life, the vision. She has a part-time job.
  But the other part of that story is the difficulties that sometimes 
families with special needs have. What I have seen over and over again 
is that, even though I was able to experience the love firsthand, that 
there is a 24-hour, 7-day a week job that parents have to deal with, 
and some of those challenges are monumental.
  We need to address that as a body. We need to partner with those moms 
and dads across America to make sure that, indeed, what they have to 
face is not really handicapped because of a Tax Code that penalizes 
them.
  So the ABLE Act, after 8 long years of work by the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), hopefully, will be voted on and passed in this 
very House to provide the needs and the help that those parents so 
desperately need.
  But I also want to share another story about a young lady from my

[[Page 16484]]

home district who has just turned 1 named Holland Burleson, because, 
indeed, Down syndrome, whether it is with Chloe or this young lady, has 
a profound effect; same love, same compassion that I got to experience.
  But yet, what happened is that those parents went out, funded a 5K 
run to bring the awareness to a community up in the mountains of 
western North Carolina, and overwhelmingly, that community came 
together, raising funds not just for the benefit of the Burleson family 
but for the benefit of all of those families.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 1 
minute.
  Mr. MEADOWS. I thank the gentleman.
  What happened is lives were transformed in that small little town. 
And so I am here today to speak on behalf of not only great work, but 
great vision and a partnership in which we can partner with families, 
moms and dads across this country, to do a job that should have been 
done long ago, to allow the special needs of those special families to 
be addressed.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I have one request for time, and so I 
yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. 
Welch), within the parameters of the debate time, and provided that no 
one else shows up who requests time.
  Mr. WELCH. I thank the gentlelady.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to reiterate what Mr. Sessions said, and 
thank you for your tremendous service here in this body. So thank you 
for acknowledging that too.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress is broken. We know it, and the American people 
know it. The difference between us and them is that we can actually do 
something about it. In fact, that is our job.
  But here we go again, ducking our responsibility and not doing our 
job. We ducked when we failed to pass a long-term transportation bill. 
We ducked when we failed to meet our constitutional responsibility to 
debate a new, long-term military commitment in the Middle East.
  And now, here we go again with this tax extender bill.
  We need tax reform. 435 Members of Congress agree. Both parties 
agree. This year we had an opportunity. The Ways and Means Committee, 
under Chairman Dave Camp, presented a real plan, real simplification 
and lower rates, and all of it was paid for.
  There were many points of disagreement, as well as agreement in that 
bill. In a functioning legislature, we would have debated the Camp 
bill, modified it, and passed some version of it to move America 
forward.
  Instead, Speaker Boehner said the Camp bill was dead on arrival. No 
discussion, no debate, no progress. More ducking and dodging instead of 
Congress doing its job.
  This tax extender package adds insult to the American people who want 
tax reform to the injury Congress inflicts by failing to do its job. 
When we pass tax extenders instead of tax reform, Congress, once again, 
is back to doing business as usual.
  This bill, considered on December 3, is retroactive to January. How 
can we expect businesses and families to plan when we don't let them 
know what the rules for the tax year are until the year is nearly over?
  It is business as usual when we preach fiscal responsibility, 
pledging allegiance to a balanced budget, and then pass a bill which 
adds $44.7 billion to the taxpayers' credit card.
  Mr. Speaker, how can Congress assert today that we will do tax reform 
next year, tax reform that the American people are demanding, when we 
are about to repeat the irresponsible practice of passing short-term, 
retroactive bills, something Congress has been doing year in and year 
out?
  This bill says to the American people that Congress is up to its old 
tricks. Meet the new Congress--same as the old Congress. Congress says 
one thing: ``We need tax reform,'' but Congress does another, kicks the 
can down the road.
  Mr. Speaker, I do support some of the provisions in this bill and I 
would like to vote for them, but Congress must do its job, not dodge 
its responsibilities.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we are going to take the gentleman from Vermont up on, 
really, his issues. We are going to have a Republican House, a 
Republican Senate, that is able to effectively work with each other, 
look each other in the eye and find progress for the American people. 
So I promise the gentleman, he is going to get what he wants and more 
so that we can grow our economy.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to have as our next speaker a gentleman 
who, for 8 years, has toiled on the ABLE Act. He is the chief sponsor. 
He is the young man who has made so many conversations and discussions, 
not just among our Members here, but also among people all around this 
country, disability groups.
  I earlier accused him of being from Texas. He is actually from 
Jacksonville, Florida, so I am sure I will get lots of cards and 
letters about that. We wish he were a Texan, but he is from Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Crenshaw).
  Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the 
time. I thank Chairman Sessions for the work that he has done all along 
the way.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to urge the adoption of this rule and the 
underlying legislation, particularly the ABLE Act, which the chairman 
just talked about.
  Eight years ago I first filed this legislation, and an awful lot of 
people have spent a lot of time and a lot of energy bringing us to 
where we are today.
  The gentleman before me spoke about how Congress is often 
dysfunctional. As we look at the ABLE Act today, I think we will have a 
chance to see what can happen when people work together, when Democrats 
and Republicans come together, when the House and the Senate work 
together to do what is best for the people of our country.
  I think it is a great illustration of what we can do, and the fact 
that we have over 380 cosponsors in the House, over 70 sponsors in the 
United States Senate, is a demonstration of that, what can be 
accomplished when we put our minds to it and work together.
  It has been pointed out that most of us know someone with a severe 
disability, might be Down syndrome, might be autism. But sometimes it 
is hard for us to understand the difficulties that they have to go 
through, along with their families. They face challenges that we can 
hardly even imagine sometimes.
  The ABLE Act seeks to try to remedy that situation, to bring justice, 
to bring peace of mind to millions of American families who have to 
live with disabilities every day. It does that by creating these tax-
free savings accounts, allows the money that they set aside to grow 
tax-free as long as they use those proceeds for qualified expenses. And 
what that does is it simply gives those individuals with disabilities a 
chance for the American Dream.
  They have hopes and dreams just like we all do, and this will give 
them the tool to open the door to a brighter future, the way to realize 
their full potential.

                              {time}  1345

  We help other people save for college by creating 529 tax-advantaged 
accounts. We allow people to save for their health care by creating 
health savings accounts. We allow people to save for their retirements 
through individual retirement accounts and 401(k)'s.
  It seems only fair that we offer individuals with disabilities the 
same tax-advantaged tools, so they can realize their dreams, maybe get 
a job, maybe save for the future, maybe go to college.
  I just hope that, as we adopt this rule and as we move into the ABLE 
Act, that we will all continue to work together because I can't think 
of anything more special, as more of a privilege, than for us as a 
Congress to speak up for those who so often can't speak for themselves.

[[Page 16485]]

  I urge the adoption of the rule and of the underlying bill as well.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  A number of people who asked to speak today are on their way here, 
and we will do that.
  I really want to stand up for just a few minutes, pending those 
several Members coming here, to say to you and to the American people, 
Mr. Speaker, that this country--America--is a great, great, great 
country. It is great because of its people. There is a lot that has 
been said today and on other days about some of our frailties, about 
some of our warts, about some of the problems that we have.
  I think what Mr. Crenshaw said in his remarks is most appropriate 
because you have a man who has a number of very important issues that 
he carries on behalf of his congressional district in Jacksonville, 
Florida. He spoke about also taking the time to be a voice for millions 
of people across this country, not just for those whom he saw 
specifically in Jacksonville.
  You heard the gentleman, Mr. Meadows, speak very plainly about two 
Down syndrome young women of our country who are key assets to our 
country. We weren't asking for anything else today through this ABLE 
Act that Mr. Crenshaw has so ably moved forward--it has taken 8 years--
than for people to have equity or fairness.
  In the larger scheme of things, as a parent of a Down syndrome young 
man, I looked at where we stood, and said, ``Why wouldn't we allow the 
fairness?''
  Really, let's look at it another way. Why would we want to keep these 
disabled individuals from having fairness? Why do we want to keep them 
poor and in the same circumstances they are in? Why would we want 
everyone else to be treated under one set of rules and, because they 
are disabled, they are treated another way?
  These are questions and discussions that have been in my family now 
for 20 years. I don't know why Alex is my special gift. He is perfect. 
God made every child perfect in His image. We are the ones who 
struggle.
  Today, we are working together as the House of Representatives for a 
bill that Mr. Crenshaw saw a need for, and he had the fortitude and the 
opportunity today because of John Boehner. Yes, Chris Van Hollen, a 
Democrat Member of this body; yes, some United States Senators, 
including Senator Harkin of Iowa and, yes, Senator Casey from 
Pennsylvania; yes, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a senior member of our 
Republican leadership team who, by the way, has a Down syndrome son, 
Cole--we all worked together. This is a special thing.
  I think, today, it ought to be a pat on the back for us, an 
opportunity for us to say this is important and this is good. That is 
what we should remember from today, in that we may not go to sleep 
knowing our job is done, but that we did something right by coming 
together as a body.
  My dear colleague Louise Slaughter, who is from New York, very 
clearly understood a long time ago, as she put her name on the bill, 
that this is a good bill. Members of the Rules Committee, who typically 
don't put their names on bills, put their names on this bill--380 
Members of this body. See, there are good things that happen.
  I do want to thank my colleague, Ms. Slaughter. I do want to thank 
people because this is a bipartisan effort. This is a chance for us to 
work together, and I think we did a good job today.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, in reply to the gentlewoman, I will let 
her make her closing arguments, and then I will do the same.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, in closing, the Democrats have 
reservations on these bills, but extending tax credits to ensure 
continuity in the Tax Code is very important to us, even though we know 
that large pieces of America have been left out of this bill.
  It causes us great sadness, but nonetheless, we recognize the need to 
get this done. All of us appreciate the opportunity for the brothers 
and sisters with disabilities to have the stability that they need, and 
we are certainly in concert with that.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  It has been mentioned a couple of times today, but I also want to 
thank you, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Georgia, for your 
distinguished service, not only to the people of Georgia in your 
district, but also to the people--your friends--who are in this body, 
who have benefited from your service on the Appropriations Committee 
and who knew that you took time, just as we are doing here today, to 
deal with the intricacies of NIH, to deal with the intricacies of 
cancer, to deal with the intricacies of disabilities, to deal with the 
intricacies of our working together as a country and as a body and as 
Americans to make life better for people.
  Mr. Speaker, your years of service here--some 20 years of service 
that you have given--have been of distinguished service. I have known 
you for a long time and have admired you.
  I want to thank the gentleman, Jack Kingston, for his great service 
to America, which is exactly in line with what we are doing today.
  Thank you, sir. I appreciate your hard work. Your being in the chair 
as we do this is not by accident. It is on purpose. With the 
distinguished opportunity that you have of serving as the Speaker pro 
tempore today, I appreciate your great service.
  Mr. Speaker, we have made the case today of what we are trying to do. 
We are on the floor to bring certainty to the Tax Code for one more 
year. It is not perfect--the gentleman from Vermont noted that--but it 
is an opportunity as best as we can do in the environment that we are 
in, and that is what this is about. It is the knowledge that we are 
going to wake up and do the best that we can for the American people.
  Today is about the American people and their Tax Code. Today is about 
the ABLE Act and about millions of people with disabilities who are 
attempting as best as they can to make due with what they have but who, 
tomorrow, can get fairness and equity in that process. It is about an 
opportunity for families not to question why but to dig in and help.
  Today is yet another opportunity when not only the gentlewoman, Ms. 
Slaughter, and I may work together in our tutelage as chairman and 
ranking member of the Rules Committee but when we can have a common 
sense of purpose. This is not perfect, but the world can be better 
today and tomorrow.
  I would ask my fellow Members to understand that we are here asking 
for everybody to vote ``yes'' on the rule. They can do what they want 
to do on the underlying legislation, but today is an opportunity to 
give thanks for the opportunities that lie ahead of us that are about 
others instead of ourselves.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, as the 113th Congress draws to a close, 
American businesses and families are looking to us with hopes for a new 
spirit of bipartisanship and decisive action. We should take this 
opportunity to find common ground and give certainty to our 
constituents instead of continuing to postpone difficult choices and 
leaving the tough decisions for next year.
  The bill before us today, H.R. 5771, extends several important tax 
provisions, many of which I have actively supported over the last two 
years. But by failing to extend these provisions beyond 2014, we have 
missed the chance to provide much-needed certainty to our constituents. 
For this reason I am reluctantly supporting H.R. 5771, but also calling 
on my colleagues to embrace long-term solutions as we consider these 
important issues going forward.
  The production tax credit for renewable energy has been key to the 
growth of an important industry in my home state of Oregon and in this 
country, and ending it in 2014 jeopardizes new investments in our 
communities and job creation opportunities. H.R. 5771 extends the 
production tax credit, but the short-term

[[Page 16486]]

nature of the extension makes it difficult for the wind industry and 
others to meaningfully plan future projects. This does nothing to end 
our dependence on fossil fuels from other nations, and it doesn't 
create any incentives for innovative clean energy companies to hire 
additional employees.
  H.R. 5771 does provide some relief to underwater homeowners who have 
had a portion of their mortgage debt forgiven, and that is a provision 
that comes as a great relief to many of our constituents. But still 
others will wonder what to expect in tax year 2015 and beyond, thus 
adding to the financial instability that prevents families from feeling 
the benefits of the slowly developing economic recovery.
  Making businesses and families in our districts wait until the end of 
the year to find out whether we will grant a retroactive extension of 
many tax provisions that affect their returns and their finances is 
unacceptable. Governing by crisis must end now. Americans and 
Oregonians expect more from us, and they deserve more from us. H.R. 
5771 is a small step in the right direction, but Congress needs to do 
more and give our constituents the certainty they need to lead us to a 
robust economic recovery.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, as Ranking Member of the House Budget 
Committee, it is abundantly clear to me that what our country needs 
most right now--and what we really should be voting on today--is 
comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform that encourages investment at 
home, drives job creation and delivers broadly shared prosperity to all 
Americans.
  Instead, we are voting to retroactively extend a group of over 50, 
mostly business-related, temporary tax provisions that expired at the 
end of last year--until the end of this year. Which is now about four 
weeks away.
  That's what today's legislation does. It retroactively takes these 
50-odd expired provisions back to the beginning of the year, and then 
extends them forward for the next four weeks, at which point they will 
expire again and we'll be right back to square one.
  Let me be clear: I support a number of these expiring provisions--
like the R&D Tax Credit--and think they should be made permanent as 
part of comprehensive tax reform. And there are additional steps I 
think we should be taking--like extending the Health Care Tax Credit 
for trade-displaced workers and older workers whose pensions have been 
taken over by the PBGC. And ending the egregious practice of so-called 
corporate inversions once and for all.
  I am reluctantly supporting this bill because, without it, many 
individuals and businesses would see an effective tax increase.
  But Mr. Speaker, at some point, we're going to have to stop kicking 
the can down the road. From my perspective, that moment can't come soon 
enough.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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