H4914 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE July 18, 2012 

Here we can demonstrate to the 

American people that we’re concerned 

about creating jobs, and that we’re 

going to make sure that we take advantage of that opportunity by bringing PNTR for Russia immediately, getting involved, and trading with them 

to create jobs right here in the good 

old United States of America. 

f 

TAX CLIFF 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 

Tennessee (Mrs. BLACK) for 5 minutes. 

Mrs. BLACK. Madam Speaker, it has 

been 41 months of unemployment above 

8 percent, and the President is calling 

for higher taxes on small businesses. 

That is the devastating reality currently facing 13 million unemployed 

Americans. 

America’s in the midst of a jobs crisis unlike anything this country has 

seen since the Great Depression. And 

the President’s most recent answer to 

this crisis? A tax hike on small businesses to feed Democrats’ insatiable 

appetite for more wasteful, ever-expanding government spending. 

This past week, the President followed up his recent call for higher 

taxes by scolding entrepreneurs. And I 

quote: ‘‘If you’ve got a business, you 

didn’t build it. Somebody else built 

that.’’ 

His disdain for American enterprise 

truly underscores that he not only 

doesn’t know what it takes to start and 

run a business, but he is clueless about 

how jobs are created. 

If the President gets his way, instead 

of small businesses creating more paychecks for more workers, they will be 

paying more taxes to the Federal Government. I wonder if the President has 

considered the fact that small businesses create two out of every three 

new jobs in America? And that means, 

for the majority of the nearly 13 million unemployed Americans, their best 

hope of being able to provide for their 

family hinges on small businesses’ ability to hire more people. 

The administration’s onslaught of 

new regulations and ObamaCare’s costly taxes and mandates have already 

placed a huge burden on our Nation’s 

small businesses. The President now 

wants to add insult to injury and siphon away 201 billion more dollars 

from the American job creators. 

Now, a new study released yesterday 

from Ernst & Young confirms what 

many Americans already know: the 

President’s latest tax hike plan would 

destroy 700,000 jobs and further weaken 

our struggling economy. 

The House is scheduled to vote in a 

couple of weeks on legislation to extend all of the current Federal income 

tax rates while, at the same time, laying the groundwork for making our 

Tax Code simpler and fairer by lowering rates and closing loopholes. Progrowth tax reform is needed to help 

create the climate for job creation and 

to ensure more jobs stay right here in 

the United States. 

The most recent unemployment report shows that the number of people 

leaving the job market to go into Social Security disability outnumbers 

the number of people who are going 

back to work. Let me repeat that. The 

most recent unemployment report 

shows that the number of people leaving the job market to go on Social Security disability outnumbers the number of people who are going back to 

work. 

So, regardless of one’s political ideology, it’s truly unconscionable for the 

President or any Member of Congress 

to be calling for tax hikes on Americans when millions are out of work and 

the economy is still treading water. 

But, to make matters worse, this 

week many Democrat leaders in the 

Senate have said that they are willing 

to allow these taxes to increase for all 

Americans if they aren’t able to get 

their way and raise taxes on 1.2 million 

small businesses. Now, every day the 

President and the Senate Democrats 

continue with this political posturing 

and class warfare nonsense while the 

economy suffers and small businesses 

suffer, and ultimately, the American 

people suffer. 

The question is, will the President 

and the Senate Democrats who run 

Washington work with the House Republicans to stop this huge, job-killing 

tax increase from hitting small businesses and every American who pays 

an income tax? Or will they continue 

to insist on higher taxes to pay for 

wasteful government spending and 

bailouts for political allies? 

f 

b 1030 

INTERNATIONAL AIDS 

CONFERENCE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

New York (Mr. RANGEL) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. RANGEL. This Sunday, the 

International AIDS Conference is going 

to be held in our Nation’s Capital. It 

was some 30 years ago that this serious 

disease became known in our great 

country and spread from other parts of 

the world. Since that time, we’ve lost 

over a half a million people, yet we 

have not found a cure for this deadly 

disease. 

I have introduced legislation, H.R. 

1462, with Senator GILLIBRAND, to see 

whether or not we can have more national attention focused on the fact 

that we can do a lot more than we are 

doing. 

The major thrust, of course, of what 

we have to do is to educate people that, 

although it used to have great stigma, 

there are so many different ways to 

come in contact with the disease. Education is one way that we can help people. Prevention, of course, is another, 

but I would like to emphasize the need 

for testing. So many people are walking around with the virus and have no 

idea that they have it. Even though 

there have been efforts made by community organizations for free testing, 

this is one of the exciting things about 

the President’s Affordable Care Act. 

There is no question that after we 

get finished with the political circus 

that we are forced to go through because of the coming election that more 

and more Americans will understand 

the benefits they are receiving even 

now from this universal coverage, 

which so many people need, and the 

dramatic decrease in cost when people 

are able to get preventative care. Preventative care is one of the major parts 

of the President’s Affordable Care Act. 

What it means is that people can now 

go to doctors for regular checkups and 

can find out things in time to prevent 

them from becoming more serious. 

My mom had three kids. When I was 

a kid, someone told her that she was 

going to the doctor with us, and we 

were not sick. Well, that was something that we didn’t think was a luxury 

we could afford. Now, in seeing how important it is to contain serious illnesses and to reduce the costs of health 

care, it is so important that preventative care be a part of our national 

health system, and the quicker we get 

on with the implementation of this 

great bill, the more lives and the more 

dollars we will be able to save. 

So, remember, if you have any interest at all, take a look at what is going 

to be happening in September. The 

Congressional Black Caucus, during 

our legislative weekend that month, 

will have professionals come in to talk 

with us, to teach us, to tell us what we 

can do to extend this education process 

throughout our great country. 

f 

GRANT PERMANENT NORMAL 

TRADE RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

New York (Mr. REED) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. REED. I rise this morning to express my support for the Russian accession to the WTO and for our need here 

in this Chamber and in Washington, 

D.C., to grant Russia PNTR status so 

that we can establish a strong, forward-looking trade relationship with 

Russia. 

Madam Speaker, it’s simple. American trade opportunity, as represented 

by the Russian market, equals American job opportunity here on our soil, 

and I am proud to support this need to 

get PNTR trade status for Russia. 

I am also joined this morning by a 

good friend from North Dakota to 

whom I would like to yield, Mr. BERG. 

Mr. BERG. Today, I rise to urge Congress to grant permanent normal trade 

relations, also known as PNTR, with 

Russia. Russia will soon join the World 

Trade Organization. This will increase 

trade with Russia, and it will create 

significant export opportunities. However, before we can take advantage of 

these trade benefits, we must grant 

permanent normal trade relations with 

Russia. 

This is a great opportunity for our 

State of North Dakota to increase 


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