Taxation in europe, 76 labor mps voted at a different lobby then his. The party in this. The senate about to open todays session. We will take you to the floor in just a moment. Senators expected to recess after leaders give their opening remarks to break for a meeting as President Trump is the presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. O god, you are the source of life and peace. Praised be your name forever. We know it is you who can turn our thoughts toward peace and unity. Use your power to transform our minds and hearts. Lord, as our senators face the challenges of today and tomorrow, give them a faith that will find opportunities in every adversity. May they cast their burdens on you, trusting your loving kindness and tender mercies. Give them an understanding that puts an end to strife; mercy that quenches animosity, and forgiveness that overcomes resentment. May each day be for them a Building Block for making america a nation that glorifies you. We pray in your mighty name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington, d. C. , november 28, 2017. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i here by appoint the honorable steve danes to perform the duties of the chair. Signed orrin g. Hatch. President pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Mr. Daines mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from montana. Mr. Daines i understand there is a bill at the desk due for a second reading. The presiding officer the senator is correct. The clerk will read the title of the bill for the secretary timed. The clerk h. R. 1, an act for reconciliation for the budget for fiscal year 2018. Mr. Daines in order to place the bill on the calendar, i would object to further proceedings. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Daines mr. President , i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 343 submitted hell earlier today. Earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk to authorize testimony, document production in arizona via mark lewis prich adder. Pritchard. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, the senate will proceed. Mr. Daines i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Daines mr. President , i notice the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Durbin mr. President. The presiding officer the assistant democratic leader. Mr. Durbin i ask consent that the quorum call be suspended and to speak in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin mr. President , this week many things will happen in washington, but the focus of the Senate Chamber later on this week will be on the republican tax plan. It is a plan which has come upon us very quickly, in a matter of weeks, and it literally will affect the economy of the United States and virtually every taxpayer. Theres hardly a measure we could entertain that has such broad and farreaching impact on the future of this country and its economy. What we are trying to do now is to analyze this plan. It has been put on a fast schedule. I can guarantee you, as i stand here, that because of this hurryup approach on the tax reform, when it is all said and done, if it is all enacted into law, we look back with regret not having taken the time to do it correctly, not having to do it for changes on the family and the economy. So far we have a plan that was considered and passed by the house of representatives also on a fast schedule and one in the senate as well and the one in the senate will be up for consideration this week. Its going to be on a procedure that was established in the senate years ago called reconciliation. For the outsider, its a long word which by Senate Definition means that a simple majority vote is all thats necessary to pass this measure. It will not be subject to the traditional filibuster in the senate or the need for 60 votes in most instances. It was designed in its inception to reduce the deficit. Ironically what we will see with the proposed Senate Tax Plan is an increase in the debt rather than a deduction. That seems to be the intent of the sponsors and it is what we will consider. We took a look at some of the proposals in the Senate Republican plan. Its no secret that this plan would bankroll massive tax cuts for the wealthiest people in america and the largest corporations and it would raise taxes on middleincome families. If that seems like contrary thinking to what most americans were looking for, it is. Time p and time and again we were told that the average american needs a helping hand. I certainly understand that in oil know and a in illinois and across the nation. This tax plan will not help working families. At best it gives them a temporary tax cut which later ends up as a tax increase. However, if you happen to be among the wealthiest americans, good news in the republican plan, there will be substantial tax cuts in the permanent law. The work for the help for the working families is temporary, the help for corporations is permanent. To put it in perspective from the corporate point of view, we can understand those who argue that lowering taxes on business will incentivize them to expand their business, and yet there are a couple of things we have to acknowledge. As a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product, corporate profits in america have never been higher. As a percentage of Gross Domestic ProductCorporate Taxes paid have never been lower. Profits at their highest, taxes at their lowest, and the republicans come to us and say, well, clearly what we need to do is cut Corporate Taxes again. I disagree. When i asked secretary mnuchin at a hearing, shouldnt our goal be to not only have a growing economy, but to have more fairness in the economy for working families who continue to put in the hours and put in the work and watch their own income fall behind the expenses that they face . Well, he agreed with my conclusion, but he couldnt explain how the republican tax plan would meet that goal. I dont think it does. I do not exaggerate it when i say this is a tax cut for the republicans for the wealthiest. The nonpartisan joint committee on taxation shows that by 2027 as corporations are enjoying a huge tax cut, on average, taxpayers who earn less than 75,000 a year will see their taxes go up under the republican plan. You might think that is a press release from the Democratic National committee. No. It was an analysis on the committee on taxation. That is a group that measures the tax. It is not a few, on average taxpayers in every income bracket earning less than 75,000 would see their taxes increase under the republican plan. Well, how do the wealthy fair . Well, its no surprise under the republican plan the largest tax cuts under the bill go to the wealthiest households. I get a lot of letters and emails, telephone calls, there arent a lot of rich people calling me and saying, we need a tax break, senator. They are not asking for it. They dont have to ask for it when the republicans write a tax bill. As the republicans throw huge tax breaks to the wealthiest americans, they lower the top income tax bracket and they double the exemption for the estate tax. They go straight after a deduction that helps onethird of all their taxpayers lower their taxes, the state and local tax deduction, they cut that, but they give these tax breaks to people who are already millionaires, many times over. The republican plan would eliminate the state and local tax deduction, a deduction that helps millions of middleclass families avoid being taxed twice on their hardearned income, once at the state and local level, again at the federal level. The state of illinois is an example, and most other states, where you would pay a state income tax. Currently you can deduct that state income tax paid from any federal tax liability. The premise is simple. You shouldnt be taxed on a tax. The republicans turn that upside down, and they would tax the tax you paid at the state and local level. Eliminating this vital deduction makes it more expensive for families to fund local services, schools, police departments, fire departments, and local roads and bridges. And in my state, it has the fifth highest number of taxpayers claiming this deduction, nearly two million illinoisans would no longer be able to claim more than 22 billion in state and local Tax Deductions as they did in twist in 2015. So whats the republican motivation for eliminating this deduction thats so important for middleclass families . Thats how they pay for the tax cuts for those at the highest income telephones, and thats how they help the largest corporations cut their tax bills. This is wrong. If there was ever a question about who the republicans are writing this plan for, look no further than the changes made during the Committee Session when they decided they wouldnt stop merely raising taxes on millions of middleclass families in order to pay for permanent Corporate Tax cuts, they also were willing to raise Families Health insurance premiums. Not bad enough that your tax bill is going to go up for most middleclass families under the republican plan. They have deviced a way to increase devised a way to increase your Health Insurance premiums at the same time. What a breakthrough. Republicans cant help themselves. Even in the face of opposition from the American People, hospitals, patients, nurses, seniors, faith leaders, their tax bill would pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 by repealing part of the Affordable Care act. This change alone means that 13 million americans will lose their Health Insurance, and it means that the Health Insurance premiums paid by many others will increase by at least 10 a year. Perfect. Not only are they going to raise taxes on working families, theyre going to raise the cost of Health Insurance for those buying policies and eliminate Health Insurance protection for 13 million americans. 13 million americans lose their Health Insurance. Millions more see their premiums spike, all to give corporations and the wealthiest people in america a tax cut. To my republican colleagues, i ask when is it enough . Havent we helped the wealthy enough, at least for a day or two . Shouldnt we focus on middleclass families . Sadly, the threat to working families doesnt stop with a hike to their tax bill. In order to find even more money to fund tax cuts for corporations and the highest earners in america, republicans agree to add 1. 5 trillion to the national deficit. 1. 5 trillion. How many times have we heard members of congress, usually on the republican side of the aisle, come to the floor and pose for holy pictures when it comes to the National Debt . Well, they certainly have a lot of sermons to deliver when they have a democratic president , and they suffer from political amnesia when they have a republican president. Now theyre going to add 1. 5 trillion to the National Debt to give tax breaks to wealthy people and big corporations. Mr. President , i have served in this body for many years. I have heard lecture after lecture from republicans saying until they are red in the face about the importance of fiscal responsibility. I have listened to my republican colleagues speak at length about the need for spending offsets. They want spending offsets for food stamps for hungry americans. They wanted spending offsets for Hurricane Sandy victims when a hurricane hit the new yorknew jersey area. They wanted setoffs and relief for meals on wheels for seniors. Where are these deficit hawks now . The director of the office of management and budget, mr. Mulvaney, who made a name for himself while this congress, railing against increasing the debt ceiling is now advocating for the republican tax plan, saying we need to have new deficits. Spare me. And i have heard the calls from majority leader mcconnell who once asked, quote, at what point do we anticipate getting serious here about doing something about deficit and debt . The words of senator mcconnell to that senator and my republican colleagues, i say how about now . Socalled fiscally conservative republicans are hiding behind widely debunked Economic Growth projections and the socalled dynamic scoring, arguing that it looks like a 1. 5 trillion increase to the deficit. It wont actually be one. The appropriately named laffer curve suggested that if you cut taxes on the wealthy, everybody gets well. It didnt work then when he proposed it. It hasnt worked since, and it wont work now. And yet, the republicans find this as the only refuge for their increase to the deficit. Over the weekend, however, it was announced the joint committee on taxation wouldnt have the time to produce a socalled dynamic score for the bill before the senate. So let me understand this. Not only did republicans vote to explode the deficit, now they dont want to wait to see whether their weak defense for this fiscally irresponsible plan will actually work. This is hypocrisy. Maybe its because republicans know as well as the American People just how hollow their promises are on junk economics. Want a preview of what dynamic scoring will hold . Last week, an analysis was released that shows the senate bill would fail the republicans own test, even when using their socalled dynamic scoring. Make no mistake, once this happens, republicans will waste no time in making up the difference by calling for devastating cuts to americas vital programs. The republican budget even spells this out for us. Where theyre going to turn when their approach falls apart. Heres how they are going to do it. They are going to do it on the backs of hardworking americans with more than a trillion dollars in cuts in medicaid, and hang on tight, 470 billion worth of cuts in medicare. The harmful impact of seniors in low and middleclass families in some of the nations most vulnerable from these budgetary cuts apparently justify to them a 1. 5 trillion deficit hole that theyre going to create with this tax plan helping the wealthiest people in america. Under our current law, known as a payasyougo law, harmful cuts get started as soon as january if this bill is passed. Republicans are determined to have a, quote, win, close quote, before the end of the year. Thats because if you were suffering from insome knee a insomnia and following the Senate Business over the course of last year, you have to wonder why we were here. In the course of the year, two things happened of any moment. Number one, filling a vacancy on the supreme court, and ill save my analysis of that for another day, and secondly the passage of the Defense Authorization bill. Thats it. Two things. One year. And so the republicans before we leave for the socalled holiday recess want to have a feather in their cap. They want to be able to point to the fact they have actually passed something. And theyre saying to their members this is a lifeordeath proposal. Youve got to pass this or we wont be able to point to hardly anything that we did during the course of one year of republican control of the senate. Thats why theyre determined to do this and do it quickly. The republicans irresponsible deficit spending under this plan will trigger 150 billion of automatic cuts to mandatory spending each year for the next decade, regular cuts to medicare. To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, you just cant have it both ways. You cant claim to be fiscally responsible and then vote for a plan that includes billions of dollars in budget gimmicks that would explode the deficit by up to 1. 5 trillion over the first ten years and beyond, even with this Great Dynamic scoring theory which youre trying to sell. You cant claim to make a tax plan that prioritizes Small Business and then spend hundreds of billions of dollars giving huge multinational corporations already enjoying record profits a massive tax cut as well. And i might add, their bill, the republican tax bill, creates incentives, incentives for american corporations to move overseas, to make american jobs overseas. Why in the world would we create a tax code incentive for that to happen . You cant choose to make the Corporate Tax cuts permanent at the expense of protecting working americans and then still claim this plan is going to help those same families. Its based on nothing more than a wink and a promise to extend half a trillion dollars in middleclass tax cuts that no one wants to pay for. And you cant pretend to be above special interests and then include a provision in this tax bill, in the tax bill that will open drilling leases for 800,00c National Wildlife refuge. One of americas last pristine, untouched wilderness places, home to more than 200 wildlife species and deserving of preservation. Mr. President , i have come to the floor over the course of many years in debate about the arctic National Wildlife refuge. Senator ted stevens used to sit in that chair, and he couldnt wait until i finished the speech.