Congressional Record UNUM

E PLURIBUS

United States

of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112th

 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

.

S5321 

Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 No. 112 

Senate 

The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was 

called to order by the Honorable 

KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from 

the State of New York. 

PRAYER

The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, offered the following prayer: 

Let us pray. 

O Lord, our God, ever living and ever 

giving, strengthen us to enter into 

Your purpose and to bring blessings to 

our world. Kindle such flames of sacred 

love within the hearts of our Senators 

that they will be motivated by their 

passion to please You. Amid all that is 

transient and temporal, keep them 

loyal to the transcendent and determined. May they test their actions by 

their conscience and by their wisdom 

of Your word and spirit. Lord, 

strengthen them in every endeavor, 

empowering them in all that pertains 

to that righteousness which exalts a 

nation. Bind them together in the oneness of a shared commitment to You. 

We pray in Your sacred Name. Amen. 

f 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 

The Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND led the Pledge of Allegiance, as 

follows: 

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. 

f 

APPOINTMENT OF ACTING 

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will please read a communication 

to the Senate from the President pro 

tempore (Mr. INOUYE). 

The assistant legislative clerk read 

the following letter: 

U.S. SENATE, 

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, 

Washington, DC, July 25, 2012. 

To the Senate: 

Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby 

appoint the Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from the State of New 

York, to perform the duties of the Chair. 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, 

President pro tempore. 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND thereupon assumed the chair as Acting President 

pro tempore. 

f 

RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY 

LEADER 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized. 

f 

MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT ACT— 

MOTION TO PROCEED 

Mr. REID. Madam President, I now 

move to proceed to Calendar No. 467, 

the Middle Class Tax Cut Act of 2012. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report. 

The assistant legislative clerk read 

as follows: 

Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 467, S. 

3412, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue 

Code of 1986 to provide tax relief to middle 

class families. 

SCHEDULE

Mr. REID. Madam President, we are 

now in the midst of another Republican 

filibuster. So the time until 2:15 today 

will be equally divided and controlled 

between the two leaders or their designees. The Republicans will control 

the first 30 minutes and the majority 

will control the second 30 minutes. At 

2:15, there will be a cloture vote on the 

motion to proceed to the Middle Class 

Tax Cut Act that was just outlined by 

the clerk. 

MEASURE PLACED ON THE CALENDAR—S. 3429

Mr. REID. Madam President, I understand that S. 3429 is at the desk and 

due for a second reading. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the bill by 

title for the second time. 

The assistant legislative clerk read 

as follows: 

A bill (S. 3429) to require the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs to establish a veterans job 

corps, and for other purposes. 

Mr. REID. Madam President, I would 

object to any further proceedings with 

respect to this legislation. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection having been heard, the 

bill will be placed on the calendar. 

MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT ACT OF 2012

Mr. REID. Madam President, for the 

third time in as many weeks, Republicans are poised to kill a tax cut without ever debating it on the Senate 

floor. 

Two weeks ago, Republicans filibustered legislation to cut taxes for small 

businesses. Last week, they filibustered a bill to end tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas and 

cut taxes for companies that move jobs 

back to America. Now they are filibustering our plan to cut taxes for 114 million middle-class families. Not one of 

these bills has gotten a debate on the 

Senate floor. So let’s look at what led 

to this latest Republican filibuster. 

Two weeks ago, Senator MCCONNELL

came to the Senate floor to ask for two 

votes, one on the Democratic plan to 

cut taxes for 98 percent of American 

families and reduce the deficit by 

about $1 trillion. The other vote he 

wanted was on the Republican plan to 

raise taxes by $1,000 each for 25 million 

middle-class families while handing 

out tax breaks to millionaires of 

$160,000 each. 

That afternoon, I told the minority 

leader that Democrats were willing to 

give Republicans what they said they 

wanted—those two votes. But although 

it had been only a few short hours 

since Senator MCCONNELL asked for 

those two votes, my offer was refused. 

He said he had to see our proposal first. 

It seemed like a thin excuse at the 

time. He hadn’t seen our proposal when 

he asked for the votes in the first 

place, but others within his caucus had 

seen it, and the staff had seen it, of 

course. But I took the minority leader 

at his word. 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with SENATE