And a picture outside the hearing room taken a bit earlier, as protesters gathered in the hallway outside the Senate Budget committee. Many of them shouting kill the bill, dont kill us. The hearing was interrupted several times as police removed demonstrators from the hearing room. The Senate Budget committee met today, and approved legislation to reform the tax code, and open the Arctic National wildlife refuge to expanded oil and gas drilling. The 521page combined reconciliation bill contains three major pieces of legislation. Tax reform and the individual Health Insurance mandate repeal bill passed by the finance committee and the Energy Committees oil and gas Drilling Initiative in alaska. The measure passed the Budget Committee today on a 1211 Party Line Vote. Prohibits the Budget Committee from substantially changing the proposed legislation thats before us. Our work today is a ministerial nature. We are here to combine the legislative recommendations from the finance and the energy and Natural Resources committee, and to report the combined bill to the full senate. I remind my colleagues that section 310b of the budget act states, when more than one committee of the house or senate is directed to determine and recommend changes, each such committee so directed shall promptly make such determination and recommendations and submit recommendations to the committee on the budget of its house, which upon receiving all such recommendations shall report to the house its reconciliation legislation carrying out all such recommendations without any substantive revision. This is a different process from the markup of our budget resolution. Were operating under the constraints imposed by the statute. Consistent with past practice of this committee, when considering reconciliation bills, no amendments are in order for todays markup. Members who wish to amend this legislation will have that opportunity on the senate floor, where the bill will be open to an unlimited number of amendments. But today well vote only on whether to report the reconciliation package to the full senate. For the information of senators following my statement, ill recognize Ranking Member sanders to give remarks. Well then vote to report the legislation while we have a forum present. The members are advised we expect the vote to occur after we finish speaking. After the two of us finish speaking. Following the vote, i will recognize other members wishing to make a statement for up to six minutes each for the purpose of doing so, ill stay here to allow all members who want to speak an opportunity to do so. In addition, members will have until noon on friday, december 1st, to submit additional views for inclusion in the committee print. Before i recognize the Ranking Member, i would like to take a moment to express my appreciation for the work of the finance committee, especially chairman hatch and the energy committee, especially chairman murkowski. Both committees deserve praise for recommendations that comport with the fiscal year 2018 budget resolutions reconciliation instructions. House and Senate Passage of the budget marked an important first step toward tax relief for American Families and job creators that will jumpstart Economic Growth. Todays markup moves us one step closer to a simpler, fairer and more transparent tax system. This bill will provide a needed makeover for our outofdate tax code while advancing American Energy security. At this point, i would recognize Ranking Member sanders for an opening statement. Thank you, very much, mr. Chairman. As you know, this is one of the most important pieces of legislation to come before this committee in recent years. And i have to tell you that i am extremely disappointed that you have allocated only 15 minutes for debate. And that means that there are 11 republicans on your side, 10 democrats on my side, who will not have the opportunity to give their opinions about this bill before a vote is cast. That is wrong. And it is wrong that the Budget Committee has not yet held a single hearing on this tax bill, not one. But i have to say that i do understand why the Budget Committee and in fact the finance committee has been so reluctant to hold public hearings, to engage the American People in this debate. And that is because this legislation is a disastrous and unfair piece of legislation which gives huge tax breaks to the people who need it the least, the very, very wealthy. It raises taxes on millions of middle class families at a time when the middle class is struggling. It leaves 13 million more americans without Health Insurance while raising premiums 10 a year when we are already paying far higher prices for health care than any other country on earth. It raises the deficit by 1. 4 trillion. You know how many hours have i sat here and have you sat there and we have seen all the charts and all of the discussions about how terrible the deficit is, what it means. Leaving this burden to our kids and our grandchildren. We heard all of that rhetoric year after year, and now we have a bill that raises the deficit by 1. 4 trillion. And let me be very clear. In my view, i have not the slightest doubt that if this bill, god forbid, is passed, as soon as it is passed, the Republican Leadership will come back and say, my god, we have to deal with the deficit, and thats why were going to cut Social Security, medicare, medicaid and education. Unfortunately, mr. Chairman, what the lrhetoric that we have been hearing from the president and Republican Leadership is very much opposite to what is true. President , Republican Leadership, have said this is a tax program to benefit the middle class. Yet 87 million more middle class households will see their taxes go up. While 62 of the benefits flow to the top 1 . Top 1 , 62 of the benefits. 87 million middle class families pay more in taxes. Further, in order to pay for a permanent tax cut for corporations, companies that are today today making recordbreaking profits, the middle class tax cuts of the senate bill would expire by the end of 2025. Permanent tax cuts for corporate america, temporary tax cuts for working families. Adding insult to injury, this legislation provides a huge tax break to corporations that are shifting jobs to china and profits to the Cayman Islands by exempting offshore profits from u. S. Taxation, which is known as territorial tax schemes. Now, mr. Chairman, senator ron johnson and i do not agree on very much. Thats for sure. But i do agree with him when he said, and i quote, with a territorial system, there will be a real incentive to keep manufacturing overseas. Overseas. End of quote. Mr. Chairman, it is not surprising that my republican colleagues would be pushing legislation to give tax breaks to the very rich but. But i really do have a hard time understanding how they are prepared to vote for legislation that would increase the deficit by some 1. 4 trillion. Mr. Chairman, the overwhelming majority of the American People do not want to see tax breaks for billionaires and raising taxes for the middle class and laying the ground work for cuts to Social Security, medicare and medicaid. I would hope very much that my republican colleagues who for so long have talked about the dangers of the deficit would, in fact, join us in voting no for this incredibly horrific and unfair piece of legislation. Thank you. I thank the Ranking Member for his comments. My name is megan anderson. My name is megan anderson. [ banging gavel ] i am running with [ banging gavel ] i am there is a disturbance in the hearing room. The committee will recess to allow the Capitol Police to restore order. The committee will recess subject to the call of the chair. [ banging gavel ] do not kill me. Do not kill me. Do not kill me do not kill people like me do not kill people like me kill this bill kill this bill [ chanting ] do not kill me do not kill me kill this bill [ chanting ] name is [ inaudibl ive been a nurse for 30 years. [ chanting ] [ inaudible ] [ inaudible ] [ chanting ] i will call the meeting back to order. I said that we would vote and i have looked up the history of the previous all of the previous reconciliations, this is a normal practice where the chair speaks, the Ranking Member speaks, the vote is taken. No amendments is in order. Anyone who wishes to make a statement, can make a statement. With that i move the Committee Report the reconciliation bill. Is there a second . Seconded. All in favor, say clerk will call the role. Grassley votes aye. Mr. Crapo . Mr. Graham . [ yelling ] mr. Johnson . Mr. Gardener . [ yelling ] mr. Perdue. [ yelling ] mr. Gardener . Mr. Kennedy . Mr. Bozeman . Mr. Sanders . No. Ms. Murray . No. Mr. Widen . No. Ms. Stabenow . No mr. Whitehouse. Nope. Mr. Warner. No. Mr. Barkley. No. Mr. Kaine . No. Mr. King . No mr. Van hollen . No. Ms. Harris . No. Mr. Chairman . Aye. Report the bill. Mr. Chairman the ayes are 12 and the nays are 11. The bill is reported out. [ chanting ] well recess momentarily. [ chanting ] [ chanting ] kill the bill dont kill us kill the bill [ chanting ] dont kill us kill the bill dont kill us kill the bill [ chanting ] since the vote has been completed, those in attendance do not want anyone else to speak if this continues, i will close out the meeting. [ chanting ] [ chanting ] again, following the precedent of the committee, most people have submitted their comments. I think that most of the republicans will be submitting theirs for the record. So senator sanders spoke last. Go to this side. Pass at this point. Thank you. Senator murray. Thank you, mr. Chairman and Ranking Member sanders. Before i start, i want to make some quick clarifications. Since it sounds like some of my republican colleagues are confused and may have actually been at the wrong hearing. If anyone was here to mark up a bill that cuts taxes for the middle class, this was the wrong room. If anybody was here to mark up a bill that actually creates jobs and invests in our work force and doesnt just Pay Lip Service to it, this is not the right place. If anyone was here because they care about the deficit and the debt and want to vote for a bill that reduces it, wrong room. Im not sure where they should have been, but i can tell you, it wasnt here. And it certainly wasnt this bill. But if anybody was looking for a mark of a bill that raises taxes on the middle class, hands another massive tax cut to the richest americans and increases Health Care Premiums for millions of patients, makes a backdoor attempt to drill for oil in one of our planets most pristine region and blasts a hole in our deficit that puts medicare and medicaid and Social Security in grave danger, you were in the right place. Chairman enzi, i know i shouldnt be shocked any more, but i have to admit i am. I have sat next to so many republicans over the years who have told me with straight faces they care passionately about the deficit and the debt. Who have sat here in this room and gone to the senate floor with charts and graphs, big arrows pointing to the sky, about how much the deficit will increase under democratic proposals to invest in the middle class. Present this as not just a budget issue, but a moral issue. Its about our children and grandchildren, they said. Its about the future of the country, they insist. Where are all those deficit hawks now. Where are those charts and graphs . Id like to see them now today. Where is the moral outrage . Where is the concern now for our children and our grandchildren and the Fiscal Health of this nation . When democrats wanted to increase investments in education and health care and the middle class and tax cuts, deficit hawks were front and center, leading the opposition. But now that Republican Leaders are trying to jam through this massive tax cut for the rich, which every analysis has shown would blast an historic hole in our deficit, the silence so far is deafening. So once again, i shouldnt be shocked any more. But i really am. This issue should not be this issue should be bipartisan. Theres absolutely no reason Republican Leaders have jammed through this partisan bill. Theres no reason this had to be such a massive giveaway to the rich. Theres reason absolutely no reason this has to include a Health Care Provision that would lead to 13 million more people without insurance, showing up in Emergency Rooms and increasing premiums for everyone else. There is no reason for this, because democrats have made it very clear. If republicans want to work with us to cut taxes for the middle class, we stand ready to get to work. If they want to work with us to actually deliver on the promises President Trump made on the campaign trail to put workers and middle class first, we will be there. Its not too late. This is a bad bill. Now, its not if youre a millionaire or billionaire. Then its pretty good. But for workers and patients and the middle class and those who go to work every day just trying to join the middle class, its awful. If you truly care about the deficit and the debt, this is a disaster. And there are republicans on this committee who have the power to stand up, do the right thing and go to work in a bipartisan way on a bill they can be truly proud. I know it isnt easy to buck leadership of your own party. But i am really hopeful this can happen, and i will tell you were all ready to go to work if they can. Thank you. Senator wyden. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. And i thought, mr. Chairman and colleagues, i had seen just about everything. But this committee has just completed a key discussion on the Budget Foundation for 10 trillion worth of tax policy changes in less time than it takes to wash a car. That is what has just happened, and the tax plan is now going to hitch a ride to the senate floor on the budget thats about to get a vote. And the heart of this proposal, colleagues, is it would write into blackletter law a double standard for the American Economy. Folks, in the middle, the working class families that walk an economic tight rope day in and day out, balancing food against fuel and food against housing, their tax relief, socalled, is temporary. It vanishes in a few years. The multinational corporations get permanent tax relief. Its written in the blackletter law. And when i think about the multinationals, i think about the fact that i have actually written two bipartisan full income tax reform bills and the republicans who signed on didnt insist that the multinationals get a 20 tax rate. 20 we heard moderates talk this morning about how they hadnt even seen any businesses say that they needed something less than 25. That alone would save colleagues 500 billion. Thats the kind of money that we could have gotten to actually help middle class families. Now senator murray touched on health care. But i want to be blunt. And i dont think we ought to be kidding around here. When you talk about a mandate, its really a coverage requirement. What this is not another garden variety hit on American Health care. This is a repeal of the Affordable Care act. Because when you unravel the purchase requirement, right away you make it very hard to protect those with preexisting conditions. And the reality, colleagues, when this bill passes, and were going to fight it with everything we have. Were going to do everything we can to derail it. Make no mistake about it. This provides an opportunity to go back to the days in america when health care was for the healthy and wealthy. Because thats what you have when you discriminate against people with a preexisting condition. If youre healthy, no sweat. If youre wealthy, you pay for it. So senator murray has touched on health care. And i want to make it clear what the implications for this are. It is to turn back the clock on the days in america when health care was for the healthy and wealthy. Now with respect to the budget deficit, ive heard my colleagues touch on it. I was pretty amazed when the deficit hawks in the Republican Party flew away after they saw a budget that would allow for a 1. 5 trillion net deficit. But now they seem to be flying back, i guess because of the size of the multinational tax cuts. But even more importantly, the speaker of the house has basically indicated that the next bill after [ chanting ] the next bill after the tax bill will be, quote, entitlement reform. Lets make no mistake about what that means. That means that the majority, because they have announced it, will be coming after medicaid. Theyll be coming after anti hunger programs. Theyll be coming after the whole domestic array of the budget. And theyll say, oh, my goodness weve got big deficits. Now, colleagues, we have seen this movie before. I see senator van holland there. How many times has he seen this . You see something that masquerades as reform. Its not really reform. Its a tax cut. You get big deficits. You dont get the jobs. And everybody says, oh, my goodness. Weve got deficits. And who do they come for . Senator van holland saw it when he was chairman of the house Budget Committee. They come after the most vulnerable. The people who are walking on that economic tight rope. Day in and day out. So colleagues, theres more id say, but im very pleased that senator sanders has mentioned the inequity of the territorial tax system. And, by the way, this too, senator sanders, was something that we got republicans to say, hey, we dont need this. We need something that rewards red, white and blue jobs, creating jobs in this country. Rather than creating new incentives to do business overseas. You have a town meeting anywhere in america. Senator merkley and i have plenty. Come visit. Everybody says stop the tax breaks from doing business overseas. Senator sanders pointed out, territorial taxation, says, hey, if you do business outside the United States, a whole new array of tax breaks that arent red, white and blue. So well have more to say, but im just going to close, mr. Chairman. I never, ever, ever thought that i would see a key discussion on the Budget Foundation for 10 trillion worth of tax policy changes be completed in less time than it takes to wash a car. Senator whitehouse. Mr. Chairman, because the coverage of this wont show it, let me just say for the record that every single republican senator has left, except for the chairman, like folks running away from the scene of a crime. Mr. Chairman, back in 2009, before you voted against the Senate Passage of the recovery act, as the economy was teetering into disaster and we tried to hold things together, you said then, the American People are telling me and my colleagues to stop spending money we dont have for programs we dont need. The u. S. Government, the big credit card in the sky, has already maxed out its credit card, but the bank hasnt noticed and the government is now applying for another card with a higher spending limit. End quote. That was then. This is now. Here we are. Eight years later. And the National Debt has fully doubled since the chairman declared that our National Credit card was then maxed out. Instead of doing our job as a Budget Committee, and recommending policies to address the 20 trillion National Debt, todays exercise was to rubber stamp partisan legislation that the cbo has warned would grow our National Debt by 2 trillion in the first decade alone, including borrowing costs. And after years of republicans advocating for congress to change budget rules to require socalled dynamic scoring, republicans arent even waiting for the joint committee on taxation to produce such an analysis. I suspect thats because the outside groups that have done this modeling confirm what we already knew. Even with rosey growth assumptions, the republican bill will explode the National Debt. Its clear republicans want to ram through this tax bill. But why . While Congress Passed the recovery act during the low point of the recession, theres no pressing reason to pass Corporate Tax cuts today. The current economic expansion at over 100 months is on track to be the longest in u. S. History. And corporate profits are near record highs. Many major corporations pay little or no tax at all. If republicans are looking to cause another recession, this bill might do the trick. It would raise taxes on millions of middle class families. And by reducing incentives for home ownership, could cause housing prices to fall 10 , according to analysis by pricewaterhousecoopers. It would also hurt state budgets by reducing state tax revenues to many states. Repealing the deduction for state and local taxes. Reducing the value of credits that fund local affordable housing, and raising costs for our states universities. The American People are squarely against this bill. According to one recent poll by a 5225 margin. With 61 saying that, quote, the republican tax plan favors the rich at the expense of the middle class. The public gets what is going on here. The u. S. Conference of catholic bishops said this bill is fundamentally flawed and will raise income taxes on the working poor while simultaneously providing a large tax cut for the wealthy. So why, again, are we meeting today in this bizarre procedure to ram through this terrible bill . As one republican member of the house put it, and im quoting here, my donors are basically saying get it done or dont ever call me again. Its as simple as that. Republicans are pushing a tax bill that will hurt our economy, hurt middle class families and explode the National Debt. For the sake of big donors. Were technically here today for the ministerial purpose of combining the tax bill with a provision to allow drilling in the alaskan National Wildlife refuge, which has nothing to do with taxes or the budget. But will help round up a Republican Senate vote. This whole process confirms once again that our budget process is completely broken. And has become a vehicle for partisan attacks, donordriven partisan attacks. I urge my colleagues to reject this bill, and i urge that this committee find a way to work instead on the bipartisan Budget Solutions our country actually needs. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Senator merkley. If you are a fan of a bill that gives Foreign Corporations a big advantage over american corporations, then this tax scam bill is for you. If youre a fan of hired deficits, imposed on our children and grandchildren, then this tax scam bill is for you. If you are in favor of despoiling the Arctic National wildlife refuge, anwar, then this bill is for you. If you like the idea of taxes going up on 87 million middle class americans, then this bill is for you. If you like double taxation on what you already pay in your state and local taxes, then this bill is one you will really like. If you enjoy the idea of throwing 13 Million People off of health care, then you will really like this bill. And if you are determined to make it harder for everyone else to buy health care by driving premiums up, then this bill is yours. If you think it really makes sense to spend twothirds of the benefits, trillions of dollars, the top 1 , then this is a bill that is just your best friend. This bill is not a bill about helping the middle class. Its about one simple thing. How to raid the federal treasury. How to engage in a massive bank heist to help the very richest americans. This is not the art of the deal. This is the art of the steal. Stealing our funds, our american funds, to enrich the already richest. It is the product of a vast cycle of corruption. Corruption enabled by citizens united, vast funds flowing through our election system to elect individuals elected by millionaires and billionaires to get this bill passed to raid the National Treasury to deliver millions to the billionaires. This corruption has to end. This is a nation constitutionally laid out with the mission of we the people. Not we the powerful, not we the privileged, but we the people. This bill has been seen historically as the ultimate example of the corruption were currently living in. We should defeat this bill. America should rise up and make sure this bill dies. Senator king is next. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Im a great believer that we can learn from history, even ancient history, and the ancient roman historian tacitus said truth is confirmed by inspection and delay. Falsehood by haste and uncertainty. This is a prime example of exactly what that ancient man was talking about. This is a very complicated piece of legislation. It has enormous ramifications. In fact, i would go so far as to say it may be the most important bill any of us will ever vote on, because it will affect every american, every business and the entire United States economy for probably the next 20 to 30 years. To me, that means that we should take the utmost care in what were doing. That we have a responsibility, because the stakes are high to make the process have a high standard. So that we understand the implication, so we understand the impacts. So that we fully can appreciate how this will affect americans for the next two generations. Instead, where we have the highest possible stakes, weve had the worst possible process. In my experience in public life, i have never, ever seen a process like this. Where youve got an incredibly complicated and important piece of legislation with zero hearings. Zero input from citizens. Zero input from experts. This has been done in a matter of weeks. When this process was undertaken in 1986, which, by the way, was a bipartisan process involving Ronald Reagan and tip oneill, as i recall, i think that process took Something Like 14 months and involved hundreds of hours of hearings, debate, discussion and i think that bill got Something Like 90 votes in the senate. Thats the way this should be done. And i think the main point i want to make is, we could do it that way again. I dont understand why we had to do it in this very rushed way, where many members of this side i stood on a platform of 17 of them this morning. Are willing and able and, in fact, anxious to discuss tax reform. I think Corporate Tax rates should be cut. I think we need to do something about off shore profits. I think we need to do something to make our economy more competitive. But i would point out, by the way, that twothirds of the American Economy is driven by consumer spending. So that tells me that we should be focusing the cuts on those people who do that spending, and that is the middle class. But in any case, we could get 70 votes. Or 80 votes. For a tax reform proposal that was less damaging to the deficit, more stimulative to the economy and more fairly distributed. It doesnt have to be this way. And as my colleague, senator kaine, pointed out this morning, the republican members can test us on this proposition by taking a deep breath, postponing the vote this week, and trying to work something out on a bipartisan basis. If it doesnt work, this process, such as it is, can be resurrected, and you can have your Party Line Vote in late january or early february. But were racing to meet an arbitrary deadline that has no real meaning in terms of the impact of the law, when we could take some time and improve the bill. Now, we might not be able to reach some kind of consensus of 70 or 80 or 90 votes. But it seems to me, we owe the American People the opportunity to try that. And then and then we will have i think almost certainly a better bill. And if i were on your side, i would be very nervous about voting for this bill, because i think its full of traps. I think its full of items that are going to come back in the light of day, and people are going to say, why did you do this . What was the purpose . The house bill, for example, eliminates the deduction for teachers to buy School Supplies for their students. And there may be and i suspect there are, similar kinds of, as i say, traps in this bill that were rushing through today. There is really no reason it has to be this way. I also am concerned about the deficit. And ive been concerned about it for some time. And it bothers me that those who have been most concerned about it suddenly dont seem to think its a problem. I predict that it will be a problem within four to five years, particularly if Interest Rates start to rise. And then were in real trouble. If Interest Rates return to their normal level of 5, 5. 5 or 6 , the interest on the federal deficit is very easy to calculate. 20 trillion times 1 is 100 billion a year. 5. 5 , 1. 1 trillion a year, just in interest. That number should ring a bell with everyone around this table. Thats the size of the entire current federal discretionary budget. Defense, nondefense, everything else. If we have to spend that much on interest, which is entirely i wouldnt say possible, i would say its likely. Were going to be in a real fiscal crisis in this country. And were not going to be able to do our National Security that we want, and were not going to be able to take care of needs of our citizens. So, again, my plea is theres no reason this has to be done in the next three days. Lets slow down, have a real process, get the input of people all across the country, find out what this bill would actually do, change it, improve it, and then come out with a product that can be passed on a bipartisan basis, will be much more consistent with the needs and desires of the American People, and will make, i believe, a difference for the next generation instead of being a mill stone, it will be an opportunity. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Senator harris. Thank you. You know, mr. Chairman, im sure i believe there is bipartisan consensus that the american tax system does need reform. But unfortunately, thats where the consensus in this process has ended. What we are witnessing is a process that is not thoughtful, it is not responsible, and it is not fair. And that is troubling. Senator king mentioned before the historic 1986 tax reform, the Senate Finance Committee Held 33 days of hearings. On this bill, the Senate Finance committee has not held a single hearing to consider the merits of these policies. This bill is being rushed through with no attempt at bipartisanship. And if we held hearings, the American People would learn that this tax plan cuts taxes to corporations and the top 1 of americans, and it pays for those tax cuts in two ways. By adding to the deficit and by raising taxes on middle class families. So lets unpack the elements that have been proposed in the house and senate plan. And lets ask the question, who does this tax plan help . And who does it hurt . Under this bill, if youre a middle class family, you could be one of the 50 million american households who will see a tax increase within a decade. Thats 5. 8 million california households. Under this bill, 572,000 taxpayers, who make over 1 million a year, will get 34 billion in tax cuts in a single year. Under this bill, if youre a firefighter or a police officer, this tax plan would risk the funding to your station by taking away the state and local tax deduction. If you care about Public Schools where you live, this tax plan will risk millions of dollars for Public Education in your state by taking away the state and local deduction. If youre a senior relying on medicare, the tax plan would slash medicare by up to 410 billion over a decade, over 45 billion of those tax cuts would hit california. And because Senate Republicans couldnt repeal the Affordable Care act, theyre trying to turn this tax bill into a Health Care Bill by repealing the individual mandate. So that means if you have Health Insurance, you could be one of 13 Million People to become uninsured in the next decade. Or face premium increases of up to 10 . And if you worry about burdening your children with debt, like i know certainly most democrats and many of our republican friends do care about, be clear, this tax plan would increase the deficit by 1. 4 trillion by the year 2027. And the house tax plan, which will be conferenced with the senate bill, does even more harm to everyday americans. If youre a teacher, the gop tax plan takes away your deduction to buy your students School Supplies. If youre a veteran, it takes away a tax incentive to hire you and others who have defended our country. If you have student loans, the plan would eliminate the benefit that allows you to deduct the interest on your loans from the taxes you pay. If you lost everything in the california wildfires, this tax plan takes away your ability to write off losses to your property. Now lets talk about who this tax bill helps. If your state is worth more than 5. 5 million, under it tax plan, you would pay a lot less taxes on that estate. If youre the top 0. 1 of americans, you would get almost 100,000 in tax cuts per year. If you run a corporation, this plan permanently cuts Corporate Tax rates from 35 to 20 . Even though corporate profits have gone up, and while wages for working americans stagnated. And i want to be clear. In this great country, we celebrate success. We dont want to penalize those who have done well. But we also believe that folks who have been blessed can contribute a bit more to paying for the things that benefit us all. And i dont think its fair to jack up the deficit or pull the rug out from the middle class to give a bit more to those who already have so much. So heres my suggestion. Instead of giving corporations a big tax cut, lets give the middle class a real tax cut. Instead of giving americans most fortunate more tax breaks, lets ask them to make a contribution a little more to invest in infrastructure and job training and making college affordable. Instead of playing politics with peoples lives, lets listen to the American People who have spoken loud and clear. Lets listen to americans like the teacher from irvine who wrote me and said, quote, the 1 do not need this tax benefit. They need to pay more of their fair share. We need to preserve whats left of the middle class and make it possible for others to achieve that status. Its regrettable that our colleagues have not voted to reject this bill. I truly believe this does not reflect the best of who we are as a country. Thank you. Thank you. Senator van hollen. Thank you, mr. Chairman. If you look around this committee room, it really is a reflection of whats been broken about this process. Vote first, debate although obviously thats not what were having, a debate later. People who dont want to have their ideas tested against one another. I can tell you, lots of my republican colleagues are quietly telling us that they understand the great damage that parts of this bill can do. And yet theres this mad rush to get it done, simply for political purposes. And as my colleagues say, and we say this in good faith, i believe theres going to be grave damage throughout the country for years to come if this bill actually passes. Now, the core of the house and the Senate Tax Bills are a major cut in the Corporate Tax rate. From 35 to 20 . We could have a good discussion about reforming the Corporate Tax code, because right now we know some corporations pay near the high end of that, and some pay virtually zero. And theres a great discussion to be had about how you make that more fair among corporations without asking middle class taxpayers to pay for that tax cut and without increasing the debt. And whats the theory behind this big drop in the Corporate Tax rate . Its a trickledown theory. The idea that corporations are going to have all this new money, and theyre going to give their workers a pay raise. Its a big problem with that. Weve tried that in the past in one form or another. Weve tried trickledown economics. It ran aground in the real world in the early 2000s. What went up were the incomes of the already wealthy. Everybody else was stuck running in place or falling behind. And the deficits went way up, as well. And the notion that corporations who right now are making record profits but not passing those profits on to their employees in the form of higher wages, the idea that giving them another windfall tax break is all of a sudden going to make them say, okay, now were going to give our employees a wage increase is belied by whats happening right now in america. And if you also look at the reporting from reuters and others, ceos are telling us that thats not what theyre going to do with the money. Theyre going to use that money for stock paybacks. Theyre going to use that money for some dividends. And, by the way, onethird of the stockholders of these corporations onethird in fact, more than that, 35 , are foreigners. Foreign stockholders are going to get a 31 billion tax cut in 2019 alone. Thats money going right out of the country into the pockets of very wealthy foreigners. On top of all that, its going to make a bad situation even worse. It is going to incentivize more american businesses to move their jobs overseas. Mr. Chairman, i really ask you to look at this part of the tax plan. Because when previous territorial plans were reviewed, there was at least some attempt to prevent the perverse effect of having more american businesses move overseas by applying a minimum tax, at least on a countrybycountry basis. Dont do that in this bill. There is a new incentive to move jobs, american jobs, from baltimore, from your state, to places around the world. Thats insane. So who is going to pay for it . As my colleagues have said, there are three big sources. One are middle class taxpayers. In my state of maryland, one quarter one quarter of marylanders, are going to see their taxes go up. Middle class families. Youre going to see a bunch that get a small tax break for a couple years. Then its going to go up, because as has been said, permanent tax rates for corporations and very small tax breaks for some americans. But in my state of maryland, one quarter of our taxpayers are going to immediately see a tax increase. In a bill thats been sold as a middle class tax break. How does that compute . Were also going to see our children and grandchildren paying more through the National Debt. 1. 5 trillion. I sat next to paul ryan for years. One of the things we actually agreed on was the risks over time of an escalating National Debt. Its bad for the economy. Weve heard from former fed chairs bernanke, yellen. We had the nominee, powell in banking this morning. He agreed. You have longterm debts, youre going to actually slow down Economic Growth in the long run. And its our kids who are going to pay for it, both ways. And then finally is Ranking Members sanders and others have pointed out repeatedly, once those debts start going way up, we know our republican colleagues are going to somehow rediscover the religion of the problem of escalating debts. And then theyre going to come right around and go, oh, my god. Weve got to cut medicare, weve got to cut medicaid, weve got to cut education. And thats not speculation. Its right there in the budget that came out of this committee. Earlier. A 1 trillion cut to medicaid over ten years in the budget. Were not doing that part of the budget now. This is the old twostep. 473 billion cut to medicare in the budget. Cuts to education in the budget. So its not speculation that once the debt goes way through the roof by another 1. 5 trillion, our republican colleagues are going to rediscover religion and come after those programs, even though they say theyre not now. So, mr. Chairman, i really ask you in the coming days, lets get back to a conversation we may not agree on everything at the end of the day. But lets at least have a debate and not speak to empty rooms all day long. Thank you. Thank you. Senator kaine. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chair, you and the Ranking Member and senator corcoran and i share an experience. We were mayors. And i want to just tell you a mayor of richmond story. Once when i was mayor, a city councilman introduced a resolution to limit the number of dogs and cats that people could have at their house. Now, pursuant to the city rules, we had to publish that in the paper. In advance. So that everyone in the city, Council Members and citizens, would know what was in it. And then we had a hearing, and at the hearing, any citizen got to stand up and say what they liked and didnt like about it. And then the nine Council Members debated, and then we voted. That hearing in the Richmond City council was more deliberative, was more inclusive, was more fair, was more transparent, than a tax bill that is going to fundamentally reorient the entire American Economy for the next 20 years. This minor little debate about the number of pets you could have at your home. The Richmond City council gave that more attention and allowed more respect to the public and to the members of the city council than we as Budget Committee members or senators or finance Committee Members or the American Public are being accorded in this. I i hate to see hearings disrupted by citizens. I hate that. I cringe when it happens. But what choice do they have . What choice do they have . When a finance committee refuses to allow a single hearing to hear from people about the rewriting of the american tax code for the first time in 32 years, when the Budget Committee we have a vote before we even allow members of the senate on the committee to talk to each other . What choice do people have when the door is shut in their face . The stakes could not be higher. This is about every american family. This is about every american business. This is about the strength of the American Economy. Its about the competitiveness of the American Economy in the world. We only do this once every 20 or 30 years. So we will live with the down side consequences if we rush and get it wrong. Or we can work better to try to get it right. And a bad process starting with were going to do it with reconciliation just with republican votes, has led to a bad result. The result has been described accurately by my colleagues. The benefits of this overwhelmingly accrue to folks at the top end. Millions of middle class people are hurt. The poor are especially hurt, according to the analysis done by the congressional budget office, which is headed by a conservative economist from George Mason University in virginia. Its not a liberal bunch, the cbo. The cbo has said this bill is particularly hard on the poor. It dramatically increases the deficit. It will lead to millions of people falling into the ranks of the uninsured. It has a number of provisions that are particularly harmful to virginia. Why are we doing it this way . Why . We had a press conference this morning. 16 democrats and one republican. We stood up together. There were former governors, former tax commissioners, former insurance commissioners. Every one of us every one of us have worked significantly on bipartisan reforms. Ive done nonpartisan tax reform as a mayor in a nonpartisan city council. Ive done bipartisan tax reform as a governor with two republican legislatures. My colleagues are in the same position. We stood up and we said theres no room for us here. Weve not been consulted. Our ideas to the extent weve offered them have been ignored. What are you afraid of . That well make it better . The committees are chaired by republicans. Any of our ideas offered by democrats, the only way they get accepted is if some republicans think this actually may make it better. So what are people afraid of . And i challenged my colleagues today, my republican colleagues, test us out on our good faith that we want to try to work and make this better. Youve got a reconciliation product that you can vote on when you want. But let us have an opportunity to work as was done in 1986 to see if we can come up with something thats bipartisan. And if by the end of january you dont think there is a way to do this in a way that will help the economy, will help the middle class, wont increase the deficit, you can always vote on your reconciliation bad product. Nothing is to stop you. But test this out. And ill just conclude and say this. It is notable that the last time this was done under president reagan, it got 90 votes. 90plus votes in the senate. I have a lot of Senate Republican colleagues who view Ronald Reagan as their political hero. Its Ronald Reagan whose picture they have on the wall or who they talk about as exemplifying the virtues of the gop. Ronald reagan is knocked off the pedestal. Ronald reagan knew that tax reform was important enough to try to make it bipartisan. The gop is not measured by who it says its hero is. The gop is measured by who it acts like. And this is a President Trump bill. Say one thing, and do another. Not worry about bringing people together, but instead be willing to divide people. Be completely concerned about my shortterm popularity at the expense of the longterm good of this country . Im not surprised at this by the president. But i am surprised at this im very, very surprised at this by colleagues who would vote for it without giving it an opportunity to see if we could find something that would be bipartisan, lasting, permanent and much better for the nation. I hope my colleagues my reconsider this on the floor and test us on our good faith. Because we know some things over here. And we can make this bill better if youll give us the chance, we will. If you dont, the consequences, i think, will be devastating for the country. Thank you. There are a number of things i could say at this point. But the only one that i really want to say is that we have just set a new record for length of time for a reconciliation vote in the Budget Committee. In the history of the use of the budget, we have never had to take this long. Theres been a little bit of discussion about whether amendments could be done or not. And following that, theres been a vote, and then as we have done today, if people wanted to speak, they could. According to my records, the people then submitted their comments and went on. This is not where the bill is drafted. Mr. Chair our only charge is to take the two Committee Bills and put them together. And vote on whether they get to go to the floor or not. Which is where there are unlimited amendments. Mr. Chair, could i ask you a historical question . No more discussion at this point. Ive listened to all of the comments by everybody over here. Everybody had their turn for their six minutes. And i appreciate their comments. I made a lot of notes. And well have a good debate on the floor. Which is where i can cover some of the misinformation thats been given out today. So with no further business, i remind members wishing to file additional and minority views that hard copies must be signed and filed with the Committee Clerk in dirksen 624 by no later than noon on friday, december 1st. I also ask unanimous consent the staff be permitted to make necessary technical and confirming changes to the reported bill. Without objection, i thank my colleagues for all their time and dedication today. Our business is concluded. And the committee is adjourned. Join us on cspan3 this weekend for American History tv. Here a few highlights. Saturday at 3 00 p. M. Eastern, in honor of the 1967 public broadcasting act. They discussed the Public Affairs programming with jim lour. University of kits professor randall jelts on the role of africanamerican ministers and politi politics. Sunday at 8 00 a. M. Eastern, took part in the battle and sunday at 4 00 p. M. Eastern, reel america, dreams of equality featuring the 1848 womens right convention. All weekend, every weekend, only on cspan3. Next, former Clinton Administration treasury secretary Larry Summers who also served in the Obama Administration speaks to the the wall street journal ceo council about the Trumps Administration trade policy and the gop tax reform plan being considered by congress. Thank you, larry. Were going to start off, by the way, with a question like in the other session, so can you please put the question up on to the smartphones for our guests. Were going to ask you what you think Economic Growth is going to be over the balance of this and the next trump term and then were going to come back and compare t
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.