Senate Proceeding 11-10-09 on Nov 10th, 2009 :: 2:09:30 to 2:24:20
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2:09:21 to 2:09:41( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: quorum call: mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senato mr. grassley: i ask that the call suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley ask to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection.

2:09:30 to 2:24:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Chuck Grassley

2:09:42 to 2:10:02( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: last week we learned nation's unemployment rate has risen that's one out of every 10 working americans being out of a job. but the real number is even higher than that. it's really closer to one

2:10:03 to 2:10:26( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: workers. when you add in people who are underemployed or stopp looking for work, number is almost 17%. according to a weekend article in "the new york times", that's the highest this country has

2:10:27 to 2:10:50( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: seen in unemployment since 1986. th "times" also noted and i quote -- "if statistics went back so far, the measure would almost certainly be the highest level since the great depression." the great depression 80 years ago.

2:10:51 to 2:11:12( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: after all the bailouts and a $1 trillion stimulus bill, there are still 16 million of our constituents who wt work, but are unemployed. in fact, despite the white house's fuzzy math, the real?? statistics show that the

2:11:13 to 2:11:34( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: unemployment rate has more than doubled since the president signed the stimulus bill in february. and you remember that bill was supposed to be passed very quickly so the unemployment rate would not exceed 8%. and here we are today

2:11:35 to 2:11:55( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: the way it's officially reported people into so people kind of wonder why there's some question about all the debt that we're piling on. -- piling on our future generations through the national debt.

2:11:56 to 2:12:17( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: and particularly it's a legitimate question when people were told that the stimulus bill d to be passed right now or unemployment then under 8% might exceed 8%. so there's a lot of questions out there and some of it carries over into the health care reform

2:12:18 to 2:12:38( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: issues before congress because it's kind of like people weren't really concerned about health care debate in the congress of the united state even costing $1 trillion or more until they found out all these other trillions of dollars that were being spent to get us out

2:12:39 to 2:13:03( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: of a recession were not and then it's kind of like the health care reform was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back to cause people to lose confidence in congress using its own good judgment to solve this problem of the recession.

2:13:04 to 2:13:24( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: so we officially. more otherwise. that equates million lost jobs since the stimulus bill was passed. and despite the stimulus bill's

2:13:25 to 2:13:45( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: fails, the white house is pinning its hope on another trillion dolr effort. now they're using the back of the envelope calculations to say that health care reform is going to save the economy. this pickedp about six months ago back in march when the white house chose to focus on health

2:13:46 to 2:14:10( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: reform rather than the economic cris. and i'd like to quote president obama. quote -- "health care reform is a fcal if we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy, then we must address the crushing cost

2:14:11 to 2:14:31( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: of health care this year in administration." that's a quote from president obama. now, i want to say to some extent i agree with it is true, health care costs are rising at twice the rate inflation -- inflation straining family budgets and making it

2:14:32 to 2:14:52( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: difficult for american businesses to remain competitive. congress should absolutely enact legislation that addresses these issues, but unfortunately the pending health care reform proposals in the house and senate not only ignore the primary issue of cost, they also

2:14:53 to 2:15:15( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: put in place policies that are going to cause more americans to lose their jobs and further damage our struggling economy. and so now the main poi coming to the floor to discuss the $500 blion in tax

2:15:16 to 2:15:36( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: increases or the growing list o federal mandates in these pending health care reform bills, the pending bills will take our economy in the wrong president said in that speech several months ago when he said that if you want to -- if you

2:15:37 to 2:16:00( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: want to got to do something about health care reform. now, maybe if the president had proposed his own bill, maybe he would have proposed something that did it, but what we see evolving here in the congress of the united states is not going to solve that problem. back in march again when the president turned his attention

2:16:01 to 2:16:22( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: to health reform, the head of his council of economic advisors christina r know that small businesses are the engines of growth in the economy, and we absolutely want to do things to help them."

2:16:23 to 2:16:44( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: meaning small business, quote. well, i'm not sure how the white house defines the word "help" when it comes to getting small businesses back on track and turning the economy around, but i do know that president obama came up to capitol hill just this past weekend to pressure

2:16:45 to 2:17:09( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: house members to vote for a bill that will have a devastating impact on small business in america. if this is what the administration means when they want to -- quote -- unquote, help small businesses, the old -- the old phrase that we

2:17:10 to 2:17:30( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: have, "with friends like these, who needs enemies"? that old saying the president and democratic leadership twisted arms and bought support for a bill that the national federation of independent businesses that tends to america's small business

2:17:31 to 2:17:51( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: people -- they actively opposed. after the bill passed, the national federation of independent businesses released the following statement about the administration and congress' efforts to help small business, and this is a long quote, so let me read it, but we also have it

2:17:52 to 2:18:12( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: on a chart here. "small business owners are outraged." now, let me start over again. this is from the national federation of independent business' comments on what happened in the house of representatives. "small business owners are outraged. this bill will actually make things worse, notetter.

2:18:13 to 2:18:33( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: with unemployment at a 26-year high, the punitive employer mandates and atrocious new taxes will force small business owners to eliminate jobs and freeze expansion plans at a time when

2:18:34 to 2:18:55( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: our nation's it doesn't sound like the national federation of independent businesses and the thousands of members that they have throughout the united states administration's efforts to help. and with the marginal tax rate on some small businesses,

2:18:56 to 2:19:17( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: especially those likely to expand, rising by 3 house bill, it's no wonder. and here we have a chart that says this. you know, the green, the present level of taxation. the red.

2:19:18 to 2:19:38( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: what the president proposes to increase taxes. to 39.6% in his budget. and then we have got other things in the president's budget that are won't get into what that says there, but they are a hidden

2:19:39 to 2:20:00( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: additional tax rate that brings it up almost another two percentage points at 41%. and then you have the last big bar that has everything in the previous two plus the 5.4% surtax that is in the house bill.

2:20:01 to 2:20:21( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: and it's these increased on individuals, because a lot of small individual. they don't file corporate tax rates. that kills small business. the engine that creates 70% of the new jobs in america.

2:20:22 to 2:20:44( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: so these potential tax increases that any business looking to the capital markets will probably find sources of capital chilled by the 70% increase in marginal rates occur under the house bill

2:20:45 to 2:21:05( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: and we have a -- we have this chart over here that shows when you add in the capital gains as well what happens, because pital gains has a great deal to do america, and higher marginal tax rates tend to discourage that. now, some members might say that

2:21:06 to 2:21:26( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: the national federation of independent business' statements was about the house bill, and it was. but bills that we have before the united states senate much better. the health committee bill has a similar pay or play mandate that

2:21:27 to 2:21:47( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: will cost american jobs, like the house bill, and the finance committee bill is filled with tax increases that will directly affect small business owners their employees, including families that make less than than $250,000 a year, which would obviously be a violation

2:21:48 to 2:22:11( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: of the promise that he wasn't going to increase taxes for people under under $250,000. so here we have another chart." health reform raises taxes on families with more than $75,000 in income."

2:22:12 to 2:22:33( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: that's because below $250,000. the president violates his campaign promise. further analysis by the congressional budget office has shown that small busin could also face significantly higher health insurance premi as a result of the new market reforms. we have

2:22:34 to 2:22:54( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: oliver insurance reforms premiums by as much as 20%, and as more american businesses big and small and more taxes, workers will end up suffering. the

2:22:55 to 2:23:17( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: has concluded that pendi senate legislation c about three million people out of their employer-based coverage, and that doesn't include the pot a new entitlement program, government-run program that we call the public opt

2:23:18 to 2:23:38( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: now, all like helping small businesses or letting people keep what they have, another presidential promise. and the bills also make our unemployment we're talking about

2:23:39 to 2:24:00( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: trillion trillion dollars that we can't afford that will end up americans jobs. i want to quote from a recent article jointly published by health affairs and the robert wood johnson foundation. we have tt quote right here.

2:24:01 to 2:24:20( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: i'm just going to quote a small part of that article. "small lower wage firms could be among the most affected meaning most affected by the pay or play mandate." first might respond by declining to hire workers.