Down Payment to Protect National Security Act of 2011

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in great agreement with my colleague from California on the other side of the aisle. What she has articulated before us in this Chamber, Mr. Speaker, is an instruction to the conferees, of which I am one, to get our job done. I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

Also, there is a tremendous amount of agreement when it comes to the payroll tax extension to get an extension for at least a year, to extend unemployment benefits, and also to do what we have to do in Washington, D.C., in regards to our providers under Medicare with our doc fix.

We have proposed and passed in this Chamber before the end of the year a 1-year proposal on the payroll tax extension fully paid for, a 2-year proposal on our doc fix fully paid for. Those are long-term solutions that have been offered by our side of the aisle, adopted in a bipartisan fashion before the end of the year, and sent to the Senate to act upon.

The reality of the situation finds us in a position where the Senate has not done its job. And my colleague from California is correct. A lot of it had to do with the fact that the Senate ran out of time, and they reverted to classic, old political ways of doing business: passing legislation at 3 o'clock, 2 o'clock in the morning, waiting until the last minute, and putting forth a product that only allowed us to kick the can 2 months down the road.

We can do better. We need to do better. The proposal that came out of this Chamber was a start in that right direction. It is time that we join together and we hit this long-term solution put forth for the American people because they deserve no less.

I would be remiss if we did not identify the fact that we as conferees were here over the Christmas break. We were here trying to champion the cause for making sure we put policy into law, not achieve political gamesmanship or wins. It is time for us to focus on policy and put politics aside. Hardworking taxpayers deserve that today in America.

I, for one, will join my colleague on the other side of the aisle in the tremendous amount of agreement that I think we have going into this conference and the sentiment of getting the job done in time, not waiting until the last minute, coming up with a long-term solution of at least a year on our payroll tax extension, at least 2 years for our doctors who are getting reimbursed under Medicare, and take care of the unemployment situation.

But I would have to disagree with my colleague on the other side of the aisle when she says that unemployment benefits are some sort of economic stimulus that should be expanded. I understand, and I have read what the economists have said on the economic impact of unemployment benefits.

My point would be, if that logic were true, then why don't we just extend unemployment benefits to every American and sit back and watch the economy blossom. The fundamental truth is--and it's time to be open and honest with the American people about it--that the economy is not going to strengthen based on government expansion, government spending. It's going to strengthen on a commitment to small-business America laying the foundation upon which the private sector knows that there is certainty, there is confidence in the market, and they have the ability to know what the rules are going to be for years to come, not on a month-by-month basis.

I urge my colleagues in the other Chamber, in the U.S. Senate, to heed that fundamental message. We can no longer, in Washington, D.C., believe that short-term policy is the best we can do for America. Hardworking taxpayers deserve better than that, and small business owners across America need to know what the rules are with certainty and for years so that they can make the investments to put our hardworking taxpayer Americans back to work.

That's what we stand for on this side of the aisle; and that is what I am hopeful, going into this conference, we will be able to produce out of this payroll bill, unemployment extension, and our doc fix.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to respond to my colleague on the other side of the aisle who just spoke in regard to when it comes to unemployment benefit extensions.

What we have to do, in my opinion, is set the framework upon which jobs in America could be created. We just had an example of this last week. I so hope our President tonight in this very Chamber comes and explains his decision to reject American jobs being created through the Keystone pipeline, because there is a project that has been identified; and it will be implemented in a way that would create an immediate 20,000 new jobs for men and women in America.

That will go a long way to solving our unemployment problems in the United States, not just extending unemployment benefits. But as we take up the issue of extending unemployment benefits, we need to do better. We owe it to hardworking taxpayers of America to come up with solutions and reforms in our unemployment benefits programs that give them the tools, the resources to be reemployed.

I agree wholeheartedly with my colleague on the other side of the aisle that I don't believe the majority of Americans wants to be unemployed. They want to get back to work.

So in our reforms that were passed in this Chamber before the end of the year, we talk about such things as requiring GEDs, high school education equivalency diplomas, high school degrees so that people could have that basic educational benefit that will give them the tools to get back to work. We should be focusing together in a bipartisan manner, Democrat and Republican, on reforms that are going to give those tools to our unemployed Americans rather than just giving a check.

There is an old adage that I grew up with, being the youngest of 12 children, that was passed on for generations in our family, which was: You give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. You teach a man or woman to fish, you feed him and her and their entire family for a lifetime.

That is the mantra. That is the foundation upon which we should take up unemployment extension in this conference and join hands to implement going forward.

Again, I have to highlight the fact that what we see out of the other Chamber in the United States Senate is a willingness to just achieve what is politically possible, to only achieve what could be called a political win. It is time to stop focusing on politics. Hardworking taxpayers in America deserve us to focus on good policy.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again I'm heartened because, as the gentlelady spoke, I came to the conclusion we're in full agreement. House Republicans are in full agreement, so that gives us hope, ladies and gentlemen. That gives us hope going into this conference that what we're going to be able to put together with the doc fix and how our providers are paid under Medicare is a solution that will be a long- term solution to this situation that politically is required to go through all the time because of this doc fix situation we find ourselves in.

But I would remind this Chamber and I would remind all of my colleagues that we are in the midst of a fiscal crisis in this Nation that needs to be respected. And as we talk about making

sure that our providers under Medicare are taken care of on a long-term basis, we need to go into this discussion with our eyes wide open, and that is that fiscal crisis forces us to cover these costs, for us to be responsible in Washington, DC, for one time and pay for what we are doing and live within our means.

That's what our proposal for 2 years out of the House Chamber before the end of year passed by a bipartisan fashion did--took care of 2 years of the doc fix, fully paid for and offset. What we need to do is bring that attitude into the conference to get it taken care of.

I so heartily agree with my colleague, the esteemed lady, and her position in coming up with a long-term solution for our doctors under Medicare. But we do need to be responsible and we have to offset and make sure that it is paid for. That is the reality of the situation we find ourselves in in America in the fiscal crisis we now face, and it will be the reality of our Nation's fiscal prosperity going forward if we so choose to honor it.

With that, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I do have to remind my good friend on the other side of the aisle that, on December 22, House Republicans were here. We were sitting in the conference ready to get to work, and conferees on their side of the aisle had not even been named by that point in time.

I was here over the New Year's break, Thursday, Friday, working on this issue in preparation for the conference. Where was the Senate? Nowhere to be found. So let us be straight with the American people. Let's be open and honest with the American people that who's ready to do the work is us in the House Chamber on the House Republican side. We demonstrated it at the end of 2011 by staying here. We may have been hurt politically or lost that political battle. But you know what? The American people want us to do not what is politically the winning strategy, but what is the best policy for the American people. And that's what we stood up for.

Maybe that message didn't get home to the men and women back in our districts immediately. But I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, when I went back in my district and I had the question presented to me at my local church, local grocery store, why were you still down there? What was the problem? What were you fighting for? And we went through the details of the policy that we're talking about here with the payroll tax rate, the unemployment extension, and the Medicare reimbursement for our providers under Medicare, and they said: Well, obviously, you needed to stay there to get it done. And that's what we have to do. We have to adopt the attitude of, we have been sent here to do the people's work. It's time not for us to wait until the last minute, I wholeheartedly agree. But it's also time that we just do not leave town because we've accomplished what was politically possible or what was in our political interest. I wholeheartedly am committed to finding the real solutions, the real policy initiatives, and that's what we are standing for on this side of the aisle.

With that, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I so appreciate my colleague reminding me of the offsets on the doc fix bill. And I would just like to remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and this entire Chamber that in the House-passed bill that was sent to the Senate, 90 percent--90 percent--of those offsets were recommended and

supported by the President of the United States, President Obama.

Now, I'm not saying that that's the final thing that we can agree to. By no means am I saying that. But what I will say is that we did our work. We found common ground with the President's own recommendations and policies that he supported and sent it to the Senate. At this point in time, I still remind the American people who is at the table: the House. Where is the United States Senate? And may I remind the Speaker and the American people, I say the entire Senate but, in particular, those on the other side of the aisle.

With that, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to my good friend from Missouri (Mr. Long).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan).

Mr. Speaker, I'd just remind my good colleague on the other side of the aisle that we were here. The House Republicans were here December 22. December 26, conferees weren't even named yet. I was here Thursday and Friday of New Year's working on the issue.

We're ready to do the work. But there is one thing that we will not yield on, that we have demonstrated years in Washington, DC, of fiscal irresponsibility. And until we came in, this freshman class in November 2010, there was an attitude of, Don't worry about how we're going to cover it; don't worry about how we're going to pay for it.

That attitude has changed, and that's why I'm proud to yield 2 minutes to a fellow freshman Member from North Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers).

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would just like to say simply this, that we wholeheartedly agree with the general sentiment that has been brought to the House Chamber today, with the motion that is before this body, that we need to do our work in the conference. We cannot wait until the last minute. We wholeheartedly join in that sentiment, and we have demonstrated that commitment by what we have already done. Our actions should speak louder than our words.

The House Republicans were here on December 22, asking the Senate to come back to the table and do the people's work. And we are ready to do that work now. We need the Senate to come to the table in good faith, finalize this package on a long-term basis, bring certainty to our payroll tax rates, bring certainty to our providers, how they get paid under Medicare, and take care of the unemployment extension situation. But we must go into this conference with our eyes wide open.

We were sent to Washington in November 2010 because the American people recognized the fiscal crisis that is coming to our shores in America if we don't get our debt under control, and the habit that creates it; the spending problem of Washington, D.C., corrected once and for all, or we will not have a future in America. And that is unacceptable to me, as a father of two, and as the father of three, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) on the other side of the aisle, also indicated. We are fighting for our children and our grandchildren who have yet to see the face of this Earth.

So I join with my colleagues in sending a message that we will do the work. The hardworking taxpayers in America deserve no less. The U.S. Senate should come to the table, find a solution to these issues, and we will wholeheartedly join hands on our side of the aisle when we do it in a responsible way that will take care of this situation in a long-term fashion, not the short-term Band-Aid that Washington, D.C., for so long has thought is good policy at the expense of the hardworking taxpayers of America.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to instruct conferees at the desk.

I yield myself 5 minutes.

I rise today to offer a straightforward motion to provide certainty to American families and businesses.

As we all know, late last month, after a lot of drawn-out drama, we enacted a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut, of unemployment insurance, and the so-called doc fix. All of these provisions were set to expire at the end of last year. Payroll taxes would have gone up on 160 million American workers. Millions of unemployed people would have had their benefits cut off even though they still can't find work, and doctors would have faced huge cuts in their reimbursement from Medicare, making it harder for seniors to see a doctor. The 2-month extension was not ideal, but differences could not be resolved before the clock ran out.

Now, with this short-term extension set to expire in just a few weeks, we must find a way to bridge our differences and enact a full- year extension of these provisions, and we need to do it as soon as possible, and that's what this motion is about.

It simply directs the conferees to finish their work by February 17 so both the House and Senate will have time to vote on the final package before the clock runs out on the 29th; just a date certain to ensure that we get our work done without yet another last-minute scramble. We have a habit in this Congress of leaving our work to the last minute, something we should have learned when we were kids when our parents warned us about this long ago.

Last year, for example, was filled with manufactured crises and last- minute deals. It led to a great deal of uncertainty about everything from tax policy to whether or not America will pay its debts. This uncertainty has affected our economy and our efforts to create jobs. I know we can do better. I know we must do better

Our economy is still in a fragile state, and we must not add to its precarious nature with yet another unnecessary dustup here in Washington and especially not about provisions we generally agree upon. For example, extending the payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans will put a thousand dollars more in their paychecks for a worker in this coming year. In my home State alone, that would put $21 billion into the pockets of 17 million Californians. That's real money for consumers to spend quickly at small businesses across the country, stimulating demand and growing our economy.

Now, economists from both sides from every perspective agree that this

payroll extension is critical to maintaining our recovery and critical to extending new jobs.

In addition, there is a general agreement about the need to extend unemployment benefits. This affects about 4\1/2\ million Americans who would lose their unemployment benefits if we don't get our work done in time. Never before have we allowed emergency unemployment benefits to expire while unemployment remains so high. Millions of middle class workers and their families depend upon emergency unemployment benefits to feed their families, to put gas in their cars, to keep their houses warm.

Once again, extending these benefits helps create jobs, helps to grow our economy. According to Mark Zandi, every dollar of unemployment benefits creates $1.65 in economic demand. It's not rhetoric. It's a fact.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we all agree on the need to ensure our doctors don't see a draconian cut in their Medicare reimbursements. Such a cut would affect the health care of nearly 50 million seniors who could lose access to their doctors if we don't complete our work on time. Without an extension, Medicare physicians will see nearly a 30-percent reimbursement cut at the end of this month, and of course this is something we face every year, which is why I have always supported a permanent fix to the SGR. But at a minimum, we must include a full-year fix for this program. Failure to do so will harm not only our doctors and their employees but our seniors as well.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are rightfully tired of the political games and needless brinksmanship that has become all too common in this body. I say it's time to change course.

Let's begin this new year on a better note. Let's begin the year by putting aside our differences and working together. Let's begin the new year by completing the work that we all were sent here to do, and let's do it on time and without unnecessary drama.

Let's begin the new year by helping middle class families and small businesses stay afloat in these tough times. It's way too important to wait until the last minute. Millions of American workers, business owners, and families are depending on us. The time to act is now.

I urge my colleagues to support this motion to ensure that we get our work done on time.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on each side?

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).

I am pleased to yield, Mr. Speaker, 2 minutes to our colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from North Carolina, David Price.

I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from New York (Mr. Crowley).

I yield 30 seconds to our colleague.

Mr. Speaker, may I ask, please, how much time I have remaining?

With that, may I just remind our colleagues that we went lurching from one crisis to another during the past year, first about our debt ceiling default crisis, then whether or not we could even continue the government. Then we spent some time shutting down the FAA. So that's the reason behind this motion to instruct conferees in terms of getting on time.

Now I would like to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from New York (Mr. Engel).

Before I yield time, I just want to congratulate the conferees for finally meeting today for the very first time, at least 5 weeks after they were appointed. So that's the point.

I am pleased now to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from Texas, Sheila Jackson Lee.

I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to our colleague from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

I yield myself the remainder of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will say to my colleague from New York, being here in December, as you mentioned a few times, it was December 22 that Senator McConnell--actually several Senators said to us, Don't just be here, but get to work. Again, I acknowledge that, today, the conferees are meeting for the first time.

In closing, I just want to make a few quick points: first, to remind our colleagues what is in this motion. It simply says that the conference should finish its work and report it back to the House by February 17. It doesn't speak to specific outcomes, just that we get our work done and do it in a timely fashion. It is very clear that we need to come together and work on the problems that the American people have sent us here to address. They are rightfully tired of the endless drama and the political posturing in Washington, D.C. They know we can do better, and we know it too.

Second of all, we pretty much agree on the need for the basic provisions of this bill--the extension of the payroll tax cut, a tax cut for middle class, hardworking families, an extension of unemployment benefits, and a doc fix for Medicare providers for the rest of the year.

Third, it sounds like we all want to get these issues resolved as quickly as possible. There was a lot of agreement here on the floor during the past hour. So I hope we can all agree now to pass this simple and commonsense motion to instruct the conferees to get their work done over the next 3 weeks so that we can get our work done here on the floor and get moving to the agenda that we know lies before us.

I urge my colleagues to support this motion, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding and also for her tremendous leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to encourage all the conferees on H.R. 3630 to fully consider the chilling effect on the economy of any failure to fully extend unemployment benefits.

While we are all pleased to see the economy slowly improving, unemployment rates continue to be unacceptably high; and, yes, there are four individuals looking for every one job. This job recovery still has not created enough jobs in our country.

I have participated in many job fairs in my district, along with the Congressional Black Caucus; and we have witnessed thousands and thousands and thousands of people lining up for the jobs that existed. People want to work. It's not that people are sitting around waiting for their unemployment benefits. If there were jobs, people would work. So we need this bridge over troubled waters until we find out a way to create the jobs that people deserve.

We must immediately extend all expiring unemployment benefits. The conferees should also strongly consider adding an additional 14 weeks of tier 1 unemployment benefits for the millions of 99ers who have completely exhausted their benefits. We don't remember that even with the extension of unemployment, there are between 2 and 3 million people who will not be eligible because 99 weeks is the limit.

So we can't abandon those individuals. We have to pass, and we're asking for Congressman Scott's bill and my bill, H.R. 589, to be included in any final legislative agreement.

So, Mr. Speaker, I am pleading for this body to really understand that until we figure out a way to create jobs, people want to work. It is our

moral responsibility to create this extension of unemployment benefits to include an additional 14 weeks for people who have hit the 99-week mark. That's our duty and our responsibility, and I hope that you'll put this in our package.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, January 23, 2012.

Hon. Dave Camp,

Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of

Representatives, Longworth HOB, Washington, DC.

Hon. Max Baucus,

Chairman, Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate, Dirksen SOB,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Camp and Chairman Baucus: As you and your

colleagues on the conference committee address the extension

of payroll tax relief and unemployment compensation benefits,

restoration of Medicare payments to physicians, and other

matter, I urge you to fully consider the ongoing impacts of

the crisis in unemployment and long term unemployment, not

only on the millions of affected individuals and families who

are living life on the edge, but to also consider the impact

on our nation's struggling economy.

While we see some slow improvements in the jobs numbers,

unemployment rates continue to be unacceptably high and the

rates of long term unemployment as well the length of time

that the unemployed are out of work are both at record highs.

We must immediately extend the expiring emergency

unemployment benefits to the maximum authorized levels and we

should also immediately add an additional 14 weeks of tier I

unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who have

completely exhausted their benefits while struggling to find

work.

Far too many Americans have exhausted all of their

unemployment benefits and are still unable to find work.

Abandoning these job seekers will only further depress the

economy and will fail to reduce our deficits as these so

called 99er's will begin to fall into poverty and begin to be

eligible for other needs based federal benefits.

With nearly 50 million Americans in poverty and half of all

Americans in low income households, we must take bold action

now. It is only by providing these millions of struggling

American families with adequate and immediate relief and a

genuine long term pathway out of poverty that we can put

America back on track to prosperity and economic growth for

all.

I strongly urge the members of the conference committee to

consider my legislation, H.R. 589 for inclusion in any final

legislative agreement.

Sincerely,

Barbara Lee,

Member of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Mrs. Capps, for yielding this time and for spearheading this resolution which will simply end the ``dog ate my homework'' excuse my Republican colleagues have repeatedly used when refusing to do more than the bare minimum that our job requires.

I'm a father of three children all under the age of 13. My kids are the best. I love them dearly. But they are like most: they don't like doing their homework, and they often wait until the last minute to get it done, despite my wife's and my best efforts to see otherwise. While this behavior is common in households across America, it is not acceptable in the workforce, and it ought not be acceptable here in the Halls of Congress. Yet, this is how the Republican leadership has gone about our business here in Congress.

This Congress almost let the United States of America default on its bills. This Congress almost prevented Social Security checks from going out to every American senior because they wanted their way or the highway. This Congress almost refused to pass a middle class tax cut for Americans before the holidays because they didn't believe middle class Americans deserve one.

And here we are today. The majority has refused for weeks to even begin discussions on the payroll tax even though Democrats named their conferees several weeks ago and have been ready to talk ever since.

President Obama has been waiting for any word from my Republican colleagues. He's made clear he wants to talk, negotiate, and get this done. But the Republicans have clearly been in no rush to get a tax cut passed for the middle class.

Today, with the passage of Mrs. Capps' resolution, that will all come to an end. The middle class will go to the front and center of this Congress, and it's about time. We cannot wait until the last second once again. We have the chance to pass a bill that will provide the typical American family earning $50,000 a year over $1,000 in tax cuts--tax cuts they will see in every paycheck.

We have the chance to ensure the doctors treating seniors on Medicare can continue to do so without having to charge them higher fees for medical care. We have the chance to continue unemployment benefits for those who lost their jobs by no fault of their own and are actively looking for work.

The majority has a simple choice today: pass this resolution and make it clear it's our shared goal--Republicans and Democrats alike--to help hardworking Americans who are struggling in this economy; or reject this bill and continue playing the same games that have become the hallmark of this do-nothing Congress.

The fact is the American people don't have time for these games anymore. Stop the games. Pass this motion to instruct conferees.

I thank the gentlelady from California for the recognition and also for the leadership.

I might say to my colleagues that whenever we come to the floor of the House to do the people's business it is an important effort, and this motion to instruct is truly the people's business. I want to applaud you for framing the urgency of answering the call of doing what we need to do with respect to 160 million Americans who need payroll tax relief--again, tax cuts for middle class and working Americans, not a discriminatory treatment of only the top 1 percent being able to sing the song ``Oh Happy Day,'' but to allow those who get up every day, some working with their hands, some working with the genius of their minds, and being able to get tax relief from this Congress.

I also know that the American people are looking for immediate relief as it relates to jobs. And I join with my colleague, Chairman Larson of the Democratic Caucus, about the American Jobs Act and the President's initiative on putting teachers and firefighters, police and construction workers to work, creating jobs and cutting taxes to put in the American people's pockets, and, as well, to provide job training and extended unemployment incentives.

But I do raise this question as we look to protect Medicare and, yes, to provide the doctor fix, which is so important to Houston, with the large Texas Medical Center and the large population of seniors. I join with my colleagues to urgently move toward that. But may I make it very clear that unemployment benefits are not a handout. It is not given to people who have not worked. It is given to blue collar workers. It's given to white collar workers. It's given to people who have worked and contributed to this economy. For my friends on the other side of the aisle to suggest in the most

insulting way to give drug tests and to suggest that people need a GED, I can assure you people want to get a GED. But when you talk of the body politic of unemployed workers, 14 million people can't find jobs because there are no jobs to be found, and we are working to create jobs.

So the issue is: Help us pass the American Jobs Act, and help recognize that those who get unemployment benefits, Mr. Speaker, are Americans who have worked, who deserve this kind of insurance.

I join in passing the payroll tax motion to instruct and the unemployment benefits. Let's do it now.