Date: 2012-02-17
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of the Conference Report on H.R. 3630 "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011." The Conference Report extends the 2 percent payroll tax cut. the Medicare SGR "doc fix" and various Medicare and Medicaid extenders through the end of the year. There are currently 160 million workers who will benefit from a payroll tax holiday and millions of unemployed workers in desperate need of an extension of unemployment insurance. In addition it would prevent 170.000 Americans from losing their health coverage. It is in consideration of the millions of Americans that will benefit from this legislation that I cast my vote today. Although certain improvements have been made to this bill that have made it more palatable in the name of compromise. in comparison to the version offered by House Republicans. I still believe we could have done more. Instead of a temporary fix to the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula (SGR). commonly known as the Doc Fix. we could have had a permanent solution which would have addressed the concerns of doctors across this country and the patients who utilize their services. We cannot continue to rely upon shortterm patches that arise every few months. It is time to bring certainty to our system of payment. We must act nowthe cost to repeal SGR today would be $300 billion. If we wait five years that cost will double to $600 billion. Without addressing the SGR head on and instead continuing to kick the can down the road. it is only making a flawed system more costly to resolve. Under this Republican led House measures continue to be offered that are being paid for on the backs of federal workers. These workers are responsible for aiding in crafting the legislation that we put forward in this body. They are responsible for implementing and creating regulations that ensure that our system of governance runs smoothly. that our airways. roadways. ports. and food are safe. These dedicated civilian employees are paid less than they would be in the private sector. Their reward for these dedicated federal servants is for the Republican led House to use their pay and their benefits as a piggy bank. instead of issuing a surcharge on the wealthiest among us. a simple 1 percent increase in taxes on those who earn over one million a year. Instead. we are targeting the federal worker. Under Republican pressure the fate of 315 million Americans will be borne by the 2 million federal civilian workers who serve them. To be clear. federal employees will be the only people paying for this bill. Again. under a Republican led House. Republicans have continued to use federal civilian employees as a piggy bank. Which in many ways is an attack on the fabric of the middle class. In this Congress alone the federal workforce has already contributed $80 billion to deficit reduction. This was done by freezing their pay. preventing two cost of living increases. and other measures. Which is really code for what a federal employee is making today is less than what she was making two years ago (when you adjust for inflation). Federal workers are highly skilled. highly trained. and highly educated. We must remember that none of the laws that we pass here today will make a difference without having people around who will implement them. My Republican colleagues appear to believe that they can continue to target federal workers without repercussions. When we are no longer able to recruit and retain the best and the brightest. then we can look to the measure pushed by my Republican colleagues. Although I support many of the provisions in this bill. I must make clear I am concerned with how this bill is constructed.