Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act of 2013 -- Motion to Proceed -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, in beginning my remarks on these extenders, I want my colleague from Indiana to know that in the Finance Committee we have done everything we could--all 24 of us--to avoid the rancor and polarization that has so often accompanied the big economic debates, and we passed the bill out of the Finance Committee overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis.

Today the Senate is going to have the opportunity to vote against a big tax increase--actually, a bunch of big tax increases--that would slam our fragile economy hard and would punish innovators, punish our small businesses, punish homeowners who are underwater with their mortgages, punish returning veterans looking for jobs, and punish students and classroom teachers.

Colleagues, who here thinks it makes sense to tax innovation? That is what will happen if the tax extender bill fails to pass today. Who here thinks it makes sense to tax millions of hard-working homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages and were lucky enough to get a break from their lender? That is what will happen if the tax extender bill fails to pass today. Who here thinks it makes sense to make it more difficult for our employers to hire veterans? Colleagues, that is what will happen if the tax extender bill fails to pass today. And who here thinks it makes sense to sock college students already drowning in debt with even higher tuition bills? Once again, colleagues, that is what happens if the tax extender bill fails to pass today.

I am very much aware that this bill is not exactly what every Senator wants. Little secret: It is not my first choice either.

For years I have had the honor to work with my colleague from Indiana on comprehensive tax reform. We were joined by our former colleague Senator Gregg. Senator Begich has done good work. That has long been my first choice. When Chairman Baucus went to China, I realized it wouldn't be possible in the few months that remain in this session to enact comprehensive reform, and the Senate shouldn't hit our economy once again with immediate--I say, immediate--tax hikes as work goes forward on the broader reforms that Senator Coats and I feel so strongly about.

Senator Hatch and all the members of the Finance Committee worked cooperatively and helped produce a bipartisan tax extender bill. This is essentially the first piece of legislation on my watch as chair of the committee. The process was totally open. Every member of the Finance Committee had the opportunity to weigh in and offer proposals.

I want to just briefly describe some of the extraordinary bipartisanship that went into the bill that we will have an opportunity to vote on today. Senators SCHUMER and ROBERTS built on the good work of another bipartisan duo, Senator Moran and Senator Coons, and improved the research and development credit to make it available to those startups out there in garages who have a dream. The research and development credit is essentially the premiere part of this legislation because we saw a need for those innovation-driven jobs. We have four Senators--two of them Democrats, two of them Republicans--in effect coming together to improve significantly the research and development credit to ensure that it was available to even more of the startups--even more of those innovators--the ones just getting out of the gate. We know a lot of our big businesses started that way--the Microsofts, the Intels, and others.

Next Senator Cardin and Senator Portman added important provisions to help the long-term unemployed. We all understand that the nature of those who are unemployed has changed significantly in recent years. We have many more who are long-term unemployed Americans and we had two Senators--by the way, two Senators who started working in a bipartisan way when they were House members. I remember their good work on the Ways and Means Committee. They came up with a very promising approach to help the long-term unemployed. Senators HATCH, GRASSLEY, and ROBERTS--three Republicans--joined a whole host of Democrats in supporting conservation, which I know the distinguished Senator from Montana knows a great deal about. Senator Baucus had a long interest in it. What this measure does--again on a bipartisan basis--is protect open spaces and outdoor recreation businesses.

On the charity front, I heard my good friend from Indiana speak on this, and he has done wonderful work standing up for our charities. He and I and Senator Thune feel so strongly about making sure charities get a fair shake in tax policy. I would say to my good friend, I am very pleased that there is a provision in what we will vote on today that would allow retirees who choose to use some of their IRA savings and give those IRA savings to charity. This legislation today would give a break to those retirees. In effect, as my friend and I have talked about, it is the IRA rollover concept to help our charities. That too is in this legislation and has long had bipartisan support.

I could go even further, but I will simply wrap up by saying that today the Senate has a chance to push back hard against big tax increases--tax increases that I have indicated punish everyone from innovators to classroom teachers and would hit our small businesses hard when the economy is so fragile. The Senate would have the opportunity today to push back against those immediate--immediate--tax increases, as well as future tax increases and to support the bipartisan work of the 24 members of this body who serve on the Finance Committee.

So I hope that my colleagues will see that even though this bill is not everything each Senator wants--and it is very fitting that my good friend from Indiana is on the floor because he knows that I strongly prefer the idea of comprehensive reform--it became clear to me that it wouldn't be possible to do that in the few short months before the end of the year. So the question was, are we going to stop immediate tax hikes, which I hope the Senate will vote today to do, or are we just going to say we will sit by and watch Americans get hurt and in effect have a lot of Americans say, if the Senate can't do this, how are they possibly going to go on to the comprehensive tax reform that I and others would like to accomplish.

So I hope my colleagues will vote today to advance this bill, vote for cloture, vote to break the gridlock, vote to prevent a massive tax increase, and show that when a committee like the Senate Finance Committee comes together with almost a quarter of the Senate on an overwhelming basis, it can set an example for the Senate. I am so appreciative of Senator Hatch who has consistently met me half way. I, in effect, parachuted into this job as the new chair of the Finance Committee--when certainly I didn't expect it--and was fortunate to be received with the graciousness of Senator Hatch. This is essentially the first bill on my watch. We had an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, and I hope my colleagues later this afternoon will vote to advance it.

With that Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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Mr. WYDEN. First, I want to be clear on a couple of points. This idea that there really are not any immediate consequences--I know my friend from Indiana spends a lot of time talking to businesses, as I do, and these businesses are up in arms about the fact that the Senate cannot deal with this because it doesn't give them the certainty and predictability they need to go out and make those orders and hire those workers. As my friend knows, so many of those businesses make quarterly payments--April, June, et cetera.

I want my colleagues to understand that the idea that maybe this is going to get worked out at another time is not in anyone's best interest.

When you are home for this recess, walking down Main Street and talking to people who are going to pay those higher taxes and are not able to make those investments and hire those workers and make those decisions now, they are not going to be happy that the Senate said: Oh, we will see if maybe it will work out some other time or retroactive or something like that. They are making quarterly payments and decisions right now.

Second, the Senator from Indiana knows--because of our work--how much I want to do comprehensive reform. One of the reasons that Senator Hatch and I made the judgment together that we were going to focus on extenders is because these are provisions that have essentially already expired. I didn't get a chance to hear all of my friend's presentation, but I know, for example, that he cares a great deal about the medical device tax. I joined him in voting to repeal the medical device tax when we had a vote earlier. I think it has real implications, as I know my friend does, for innovation and for jobs.

It is not an extender. It is not in line with the framework that Senator Hatch and I agreed on a bipartisan basis to do now. We said: We are going to do extenders now. To tell you the truth, if we can get through the extenders, starting with a favorable vote today, it will give us even more time to do what my friend from Indiana is talking about both in terms of comprehensive reform and looking at other issues.

If, however, we can't deal with the extenders, the message is going to go out far and wide: How are they going to address comprehensive tax reform on the Senate floor when they couldn't even pass this legislation which got such overwhelming support in the Senate Finance Committee?

So I renew my pledge to work very closely with my colleague from Indiana and repeat that the idea that somehow everything is going to turn out fine down the road, I just don't buy that. In a fragile economy when businesses can't plan and don't have the certainty of knowing what the rules are going to be and when they are going to kick in, that affects business decisions today in a negative way. When people are making those quarterly payments, you better believe there are going to be small businesses, and others, very unhappy if we see a tax increase, which is what will happen today.

I have to apologize to my colleague from Indiana because I have to be somewhere else and I am late, but I will just close by saying that I know the sincerity of my colleague. That is why I mentioned that charitable provision that allows for the IRA rollover into charity. No one has done more good work advocating for charities during my time in public service than the distinguished Senator from Indiana. I simply wanted him to know that at least we were making a beginning in this legislation, and I am committed to working with him in the days ahead.

I yield the floor.

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