Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act (pt. 3)

Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I joined 49 of my colleagues in voting to waive the Congressional Budget Act in support of Senator Dorgan's amendment to restore the pre-1993 tax treatment of Social Security benefits.

In 1993, I joined a majority of Congress in voting for the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which combined with subsequent similar laws, eliminated the deficits of the early 1990s and the debt that had grown exponentially under Presidents Reagan and Bush. Included in this 1993 Act was a provision that changed the way Social Security benefits for individuals making over $25,000 and couples with income over $32,000 were taxed. Like many of my colleagues at that time, I believed there were more appropriate ways to eliminate the deficit, but budget procedures prevented them from being considered, and, while there were partisan amendments offered at later dates to reverse this policy, they did so by increasing the deficit, so I and a majority of my colleagues opposed these proposals.

Today's vote was different. It was different because the President and the Republican majority have brought about a striking reversal in our Nation's fiscal policies. In the span of less than 3 years, the government's fiscal situation has deteriorated from budget surpluses to near record budget deficits. We have gone from concerns that we would retire our mountains of public debt too quickly to considering the President's request to increase our debt limit to its highest level ever. And, today we are voting on a tax bill that will only exacerbate both of these problems. Indeed, it appears that the majority is resolutely determined to cut dividend taxes for the most affluent in our society. These actions are being taken without regard for fiscal soundness and without any consideration of the impact and the burden decisions we make today place on future generations.

In this environment, Senator Dorgan's amendment to aid senior citizens rather than the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, is the appropriate policy because at the very least if we are going to deficit spend, we should direct those resources to those individuals who have already contributed in so many ways to this great Nation.

It would be my hope that we can find a way to address 1993 OBRA in a manner that aids deserving seniors while protecting the long term solvency of Social Security and restoring some sense of discipline to the Federal budget process.