Disclose Act --Motion to Proceed--Resumed

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I thank the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Baucus, who has been a true champion in helping us get some critical tax extenders passed. I am deeply disappointed that the Republicans have again objected to us moving forward.

Middle-class families in my home State of Washington are struggling. I have heard from so many of them who have lost their jobs, who have seen their life savings disappear, who told me they were doing everything they can to pay their bills and keep their homes and get their lives back on track. And they are asking for just a little bit of help. So it is for these families and many others across Washington State that I come to the floor today.

Over the last few months, we have tried to pass legislation that would extend critical tax cuts for our middle-class families across the country who are struggling today and need some support. But every time we try to pass this bill, as we just tried to do, Senate Republicans block it.

They said no to a commonsense proposal that will cut taxes for innovative companies that expand and create jobs. They just said no to a bill that will help our clean energy companies compete and expand. They said no to our plan to extend the critical sales tax deduction that would put more money into the pockets of families in States such as Washington. They said no despite the fact that these tax cuts are fully paid for.

So, Madam President, I want to focus on a few pieces of this legislation that middle-class families and small businesses in my home State of Washington are counting on us to pass.

First of all, I want to spend a few minutes on one of the tax credits that has just been blocked that is truly a matter of fundamental fairness for families in my home State of Washington. As all of my colleagues know, State and local governments across the country use a number of different tools to raise revenue. Some have income taxes, some use the sales tax, others use a combination of both. Families who pay State and local income taxes have long been able to offset some of what they pay for by receiving a deduction on their Federal taxes. But until 2004, taxpayers didn't have the ability to deduct their State sales tax, which meant families and small businesses in States where that was their main revenue source were paying more than their fair share. That was wrong. Back in 2004, I fought hard, along with Senator Cantwell and others, to change that provision and finally level the playing field for Washington State.

I am proud to say that change saved families and small businesses in my State hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Unfortunately, however, the State sales tax deduction is due to expire this year. Unless we act--and we were just blocked from doing so--families across my State are going to suffer. They are going to have less money in their pockets, and they are going to have more uncertainty in the Tax Code.

I have heard from a lot of my constituents who have told me they are now holding off making major purchases simply because they are not sure if that tax deduction will be there for them. They are putting off the purchase of cars, of home appliances, and that is hurting our State's business climate, just as our small businesses are struggling to recover.

So this is not just about removing a bias in the Tax Code that is fundamentally unfair to States such as mine, it is also about encouraging spending and boosting our economy, helping our small business owners, and providing some long-awaited certainty so taxpayers in my State can plan for their financial future. In other words, it is about helping middle-class families and supporting Main Street businesses.

I also want to talk about another tax credit that just got blocked. I recently visited a clean energy company in Seattle, WA, called Propel Fuels. This business has been fighting to market domestically produced--domestically produced, right here--low-carbon biodiesel, but they depend on a critical biofuels tax that expired. The bill I just attempted to pass--blocked by Republicans--would extend that critical provision.

Propel Fuels represents the future of our economy. They are the kind of company that will help make sure our country remains at the forefront of innovation and growth. It is a company working to drive our economy forward and create new 21st-century careers. But they can't do it alone. After years and years of subsidies and tax breaks for the oil industry, companies such as Propel Fuels depend on the clean energy tax credits in this bill to be able to compete on a level playing field. These credits support companies that are working on new, innovative, and renewable energy sources, and they will help them continue their work to unshackle this economy, tap the creative energy of our workers, and create good, high-paying jobs in my home State of Washington and across the entire country.

This is exactly what our economy needs right now--jobs right away and a strong investment for the future. That is why it is so important the biodiesel tax credit be extended, along with the R&D tax credit and other tax cut extensions that are in the bill I just offered to move and which was blocked, once again, by Republicans. These companies want to expand, they want to create jobs, and they were just told no.

This should not be a partisan issue. It is common sense. We put together a bill that would extend tax credits to individuals and to small businesses--tax credits that have been supported in the past by Democrats and Republicans alike. It is a bill that will provide incentives for clean energy companies to expand and create jobs, and we need that badly now. It would allow families in my home State of Washington to deduct their local sales tax from their Federal returns, and that would support companies that are innovative and creative and helping our economy get back on track.

It is fully paid for, as this country has told us we must do. It is responsible, and it is the right thing to do.

In my home State of Washington, families are hurting. Many of them are fighting every day just to stay on their feet. This bill isn't going to solve every problem overnight, but it will put money back in their pockets and help our local businesses expand and create jobs so we have hope for the future. It pays for those tax-cut extensions responsibly by closing corporate loopholes.

So Senate Republicans have again opposed this, as they have in the past, and the question is, Are they going to stand with middle-class families and innovative businesses such as Propel Fuels to cut their taxes; or are they going to continue to stand with large corporations to protect their unfair tax loopholes?

Mr. President, I hope Senate Republicans have a moment to pause and think about the impact they are having on jobs and families--middle-class families and businesses that are trying to create new jobs and expand for the future. I hope they remind themselves before we head home this is good politics. It is good politics to help our families and our small businesses. It is good politics to help our clean energy companies.

Right now, when our economy is trying to recover, we should not go home without extending these tax cuts, and I am going to keep working to stand up for our middle-class families and our Main Street businesses and keep working to try and pass this bill.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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