Providing for consideration of H.R. 5970, Estate Tax and Extention of Tax Relief Act of 2006
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5970, ESTATE TAX AND EXTENSION OF TAX RELIEF ACT OF 2006 -- (House of Representatives - July 28, 2006)
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Ms. PELOSI. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership on these very important issues before us that affect the lives of America's working families, the minimum wage, the pension bill, that are part of this rule. I also thank him for meaning what he says on the floor of the House.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us this evening is an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It is also an insult to the over 7 million Americans who depend on an increase in the minimum wage to live from paycheck to paycheck. It is a political stunt. It isn't a sincere effort to give an increase in the minimum wage. Republicans boast that they have held out for 9 years to keep the minimum wage at $5.15 an hour. That is their proud boast. Don't take it from me. Look at the public record. And so for them to come to this floor to try to give the illusion that they are sincerely trying to raise the minimum wage when they know that this bill is dead on arrival at the United States Senate is, again, an insult to the intelligence of the American people and the hard work of the American people as well.
Just think of what it is to have a bill that says to minimum-wage workers, we'll raise your minimum wage, but only if we can give an estate tax cut to the 7,500 wealthiest families in America. This isn't about wealth. This is about super, superwealth. The only way you will get an increase in the minimum wage is if they can get a tax cut.
If there has ever been a values debate on the floor of the Congress, this certainly must be it. This should be part of the values agenda of Congress, to reward work, to pay a decent wage to people so that they can raise their families.
Democrats have a better idea. In our new direction for America, a new direction for all Americans, not just the privileged few, we make raising the minimum wage a key part of that. In addition to that, we also repeal what the Republicans have in place, which is an incentive for companies to send jobs overseas.
But back to the minimum wage. A working family, two wage-earners working full time making $5.15 an hour bring home the sum total of $20,000 a year. They are below the poverty line. I almost hope that no children are listening to this tonight, because we tell children about the work ethic, that it is important to work hard, it is important in their lives, it is important to our country's competitiveness, it is an important strength, that the middle class is a part of our democracy in our country and that the middle class must grow and be expanded instead of having a lid on what some people can aspire to in our country.
Our better idea also includes what the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) offered a few weeks ago on the floor of the House. He wasn't allowed to put it in motion here, they wouldn't even allow it to be heard, but we insisted on some of the debate, anyway. And that was a cut in the estate tax that affected 99.7 percent of all Americans who file the estate tax; 99.7 percent of all filers. This .3 percent, the 7,500 wealthiest families in America, must have done something quite wonderful for the Republicans that they wouldn't even allow that to be debated on the floor and that they hook it on to this increase in the minimum wage.
Again, it is a political ploy. It's a joke. It's a hoax. It's a sham. It doesn't even rise to the level of that, so low is it in its intention.
A couple of times in the past couple of months, I have quoted from the latest papal encyclical, ``God is Love.'' It was released April 2006 by Pope Benedict. I am just drawn to it all of the time because it talks about justice, and it talks about justice in a way that affects elected officials.
In this encyclical, Pope Benedict says: ``St. Augustine wrote, `A state which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves.''' That is a pope quoting a saint. A saint: ``A state which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves.''
The Pope goes on to write, and in this part of the encyclical he is talking about the responsibility of elected officials and those responsible for governing, he says, ``How do you define justice? What is justice?'' He warns of the danger, this is the Pope, warns of the danger of the ethical blindness caused by the dazzling effect of power and special interests. The dazzling effect of power and special interests and the ethical blindness that that causes.
Does that sound familiar, my colleagues? Can you relate to that in this body? Is that not at work here tonight? One of our colleagues said, this is about truth. I think many of our colleagues have. Yes, this is a moment of truth. With all of these votes of this kind, we define ourselves as a Congress. We define ourselves as a country. When the American people listen in to this debate, we are either relevant to their lives or we are not. And I think no place, well, the competition for this honor is so keen that it is hard to tell which is the worst piece of legislation the Republicans have brought to the floor, but this certainly ranks right up there, to prove how out of touch the Republicans are with the American people, how out of touch they are with people, the middle class, who are sweating it out this summer in more ways than one.
Sweating out the price of gasoline at the pump, a bill born of corruption in this body.
Seniors sweating it out in terms of paying for prescription drugs at the pharmacy where middle-income seniors are paying more for their prescription drugs.
Sweating it out in terms of the college tuition that they are going to have to paste together to send their children to college while the Republicans pass legislation that gives tax breaks to the 7,500 wealthiest families in America and freezes Pell Grants and also cuts billions of dollars out of the student loan program. Paycheck to paycheck, trying to make ends meet, to make the future better for their children. But this Congress proves over and over again it has no relationship to that challenge. None.
And so I hope my colleagues in this moment of truth will remember the words of His Holiness when he quoted a saint, St. Augustine, who many years ago said: ``Unless government promotes justice, you're just a bunch of thieves.'' I can't think of a more appropriate analogy than that for what is happening here today. We are robbing the future of America's families who are struggling for a better future for their children in order to give a tax cut of $800 billion. Not only is this a burden to these low-income families; they are saying to them, your children and future generations and everyone alive and paying taxes today will be paying for $800 billion added to our national debt.
Values? Foisting that onto our children and onto the American taxpayer. Values? Putting a sham bill together to give political cover for the cowards who won't stand up and bring a clean bill to this floor to see where the choice would be? I have no doubt that there are some right-thinking Republicans who would support a clean increase in the minimum wage. But we will soon find out when the motion to recommit is brought to the floor later this evening which will have a clean increase in the minimum wage and will also have the extenders.
Interesting about the extenders. The Republicans are using them as an excuse to get votes for their political ploy they have here tonight. They have been expired for 6 months. They have needed to be extended for 6 months. But the Republicans always want to wheel them out so they can attract votes to, as Mr. Rangel called, their stinkeroo of a bill.
But, my colleagues, this is deadly serious. We are here to get the job done for the American people. We are not here to give money, a transfer of wealth, a transfer of wealth, to the wealthiest people in America. And who pays the price? The middle class. Well, if we are going to survive as a democracy, a healthy democracy which is a model to the world, it is about time we understood that central to that democracy is a thriving, expanding middle class whose job we are here to do. Let us have tax cuts for them, not for the wealthiest people in the country and send the tax bill to the middle class.
Let us remember the words of His Holiness, ``promote justice.'' Oppose this rule. Oppose this bill. And let us get serious about helping the American people.
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