*End of Year Extenders
This is not in fact a partisan issue. Thirty-nine Republicans, 83 percent of Republicans in the United States Senate voted for this and the American people are saying if 83 percent of the Republicans and almost 100 percent of Democrats are for something, why can’t you come to agreement in Washington, DC? That’s the question we ought to be asking Speaker Boehner – why can’t you take yes for an answer? Why can’t we give the American people the assurance that they need to have, particularly at this holiday time?
This evening, House Republicans are expected to oppose a bipartisan Senate bill to extend year-end items. Their opposition is risking a tax hike on middle class families, cutting off assistance to unemployed Americans, and seniors losing access to their doctors. Republicans should work with Democrats to pass the bipartisan Senate plan that extends these critical policies as we work on a full-year extension.
The extreme, Tea Party faction of the House Republican conference has once again walked away from a legislative compromise which addresses critical challenges confronting the American people. This action again emphasizes the extreme views and rigidity of the House Republicans even though 80% of the Republican members of the U.S. Senate supported this compromise.
I’m disappointed that Senate Republicans would not agree to a longer-term extension of critical policies and insisted on unrelated provisions that do not belong in this package. But the House must return and take action on this bill so that middle class families do not see a tax increase, people who lost their job through no fault of their own do not lose unemployment insurance benefits, and seniors do not lose access to their doctors. And when the next session of this Congress resumes in January, we must begin work immediately on longer extensions of these policies to provide certainty for families and seniors. I hope Republicans join us in that effort, rather than taking this to the brink once again and waiting until the deadline is upon us.
I thank the Gentle-lady for yielding. I want to join her in saying that there were some minuses in this bill. The minuses in this bill historically has been as it relates to the District of Columbia that the Congress has treated the District of Columbia as its own possession as opposed to an independent political jurisdiction and has been granted home rule. And the Congress ought to honor that home rule. And as we urge democracies around the world or dictatorships in the world to honor the views of their people , the Congress of the United States ought to honor the wishes of the people of the District of Columbia. And I always lament when we put in these individual provisions.
As we get deeper into December after a year of the Republicans’ do-nothing Congress and with much work left to do before adjourning, we hope you will enjoy our adaptation of a classic Christmas story.
The Democrats in the Senate have continuously offered a small percentage surtax on those with a net income of a million dollars or more. We could easily pay for what is needed here with a small percentage, less than three percent, or in that neighborhood, surtax on the wealthiest in our nation. The Republicans have consistently opposed that contribution to this effort by our wealthiest citizens.
We must not leave this city and our responsibilities without extending unemployment insurance. We must not leave Washington, DC, for this holiday season to deliver a block of coal in the stockings of our constituents by failing to continue the tax cut from their payroll taxes. And we must not leave Washington, DC, without affecting a continuation of the proper reimbursement of doctors to ensure that Medicare patients will be able to get their doctors' services. So we have three items to focus on to get done and nine appropriation bills.
We cannot leave for the holidays until we ensure that the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits are extended and the Medicare physician payment rate is fixed. We should not risk raising taxes on middle class families, dropping unemployment benefits for those out of work, or preventing seniors from accessing their doctors through Medicare by including unrelated and controversial provisions. Democrats remain willing to work with Republicans to extend these critical measures before Congress adjourns for the year, but I do not believe that the plan Republican leaders proposed this morning would be the best path forward to do so. I hope they will work with us to find common ground quickly on a deal that can pass both chambers and be signed into law by the President.
This Congress should not leave for the holidays without extending the payroll tax holiday, extending unemployment insurance benefits, and fixing the Medicare physician payment rate. I am disappointed that Republicans insist on playing political games with these critical policies. I have said repeatedly that Democrats are willing to work with Republicans to move these policies forward as long as unrelated, controversial policies are not attached, and President Obama said yesterday that he would reject a package that includes the Keystone pipeline. With so little time left before the end of the year, I hope Republicans reconsider their position and work with us to address these issues.