Tax Extenders Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I rise to address the Republican filibuster attacking the American worker and the Republican filibuster attacking America's small businesses.

I had the chance to go home this weekend. I started my trip home in Deschutes County where there is 14 percent unemployment. Next door to Deschutes, Crook County has 16.8 percent unemployment. That is only counting workers officially unemployed as opposed to those who have given up on finding jobs. I went down to Klamath County to the south, with 12.6 percent unemployment. I went to Hood River and Columbia Gorge, Washington County, the Portland metropolitan area. Everywhere I went in Oregon, whether it be eastern or western or north or south--because I was in every quarter this weekend--citizens wanted to know why are the Republicans attacking the American worker and American small business?

Across this country, our working families are in trouble. They are looking to this body for help. They want to know when are we going to get it done. And by ``it,'' they mean extension of unemployment benefits. They want to know when are we going to get extended the COBRA health benefits. They want to know when we are going to fix the Medicare rates that changed today and dropped more than 20 percent so that it is that much harder to get into the door of a doctor if you are a senior. They want to know why transportation projects are grinding to a halt, even though we need those jobs.

The answer lies in this Chamber. This attack on the American worker by the Republican filibuster is unacceptable. This attack on the American senior is unacceptable. This attack on American small business is unacceptable.

Not only does this directly impact working Americans and retired Americans, it also affects the economy. Unemployment insurance, COBRA extensions are good for the economy. They help put food on the table. They help pay the rent. All of that money stays in our economy. All of it goes for most families, because they have bills to pay to businesses in the communities. Those businesses can then pay their workers and pay their contractors. One of the best bangs for the buck in terms of economic growth is right before us in unemployment insurance and a COBRA extension.

I have puzzled over this challenge. Because what I have observed is this: When it comes to giving away money out of the Treasury to the wealthiest Americans, my colleagues across the aisle are delivering it on a silver platter to the wealthiest and best off. But when it comes to a plan to assist working Americans and seniors and small businesses, my colleagues across the aisle, through this Republican filibuster, are taking the hatchet to them. They are saying: Working Americans don't count. We only want to have benefits on the silver platter for the wealthiest.

It is working Americans who made this Nation great. It is the American middle class that created the strongest economy in the world. It is the American public school system and our working families that have come up with the industriousness and the ingenuity to take this Nation forward.

When I am talking about the silver platter the Republicans have for the wealthiest in America, let's examine the details. Unfunded Republican program, 2001 tax cuts, a $1.35 trillion giveaway, borrowed from the next generation, from our children. That is quite a gift. That is quite a silver platter. The 2003 tax cuts, $350 billion delivered on a silver platter for the wealthiest Americans.

Medicare Part D, an unfunded program, $400 billion on a silver platter; the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, almost $1 trillion--$944 billion--through June of 2009. The total this year will exceed $1 trillion, unpaid for, unfunded, borrowed from our children.

There have been some colleagues rising to say how this is a matter of being consistent in paying for American programs. But when you check the record, they voted time and time again for unfunded giveaways to the wealthiest Americans--the 2001 tax cuts, the 2003 tax cuts. And they voted for other programs I like but they were not funded, and I include in that Medicare Part D.

When I hear a colleague talking about fiscal responsibility, it is a little like listening to Bernie Madoff talking about tough accounting rules; it is a little bit like hearing from Brett Favre about promising he will retire; it is a little bit like listening to Simon Cowell delivering a lecture that people should not utilize sarcasm. Because after these trillions of dollars of unfunded giveaways, my colleagues have put together a Republican filibuster to attack the American worker in a completely inconsistent manner.

I have a different outlook. I think many of my colleagues here have a different outlook. We should be here to make America work for working Americans. That means when they are hurting, we are going to assist them with unemployment insurance, we are going to help with the COBRA extension, we are going to help with these loans to small businesses, and we are going to help our seniors by fixing that Medicare provision. We are not going to take the hammer to those programs. We are going to assist our working families.

Because of this Republican filibuster, nearly 1.2 million Americans will lose their benefits, and by June this number will grow to 5 million unemployed workers who will be left without vital benefits if Congress does not act.

Let's talk about that small business provision. Small business owners have been hurt because the Small Business Administration's general business loan program expired yesterday, making it more difficult for our small businesses to access loans in an already difficult business climate.

My colleague from South Dakota was just on the floor speaking about the importance of helping small businesses. But I say to him and the Republican filibuster attacking small business in America: Come to this floor and say enough is enough; I am going to stand with our workers and our seniors and our small businesses.

It is time to end the political posturing, take our eyes off November and put our eyes on the challenge of American families, and pass this legislation right away.

I thank the Chair.

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