Senate Proceeding on Apr 29th, 2009 :: 6:06:55 to 6:26:55
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5:47:50 to 6:06:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Chuck Grassley

6:06:38 to 6:06:57( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: arrow that you've seenn some of these charts. that's where the president and the congress agree that we need to get more job growth. the -- i quoted the president. 70% of the new business. we in this party would agree with that. as we move on from the budget,

6:06:58 to 6:07:19( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: let's recognize the reality and the importance of small business business. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. conrad: mr. president, let

6:07:00 to 6:19:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Kent Conrad

6:07:20 to 6:07:40( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: me take a moment to review what is with respect to taxes, because i think it's important to go over. the actual basis in this package are a reduction from current law of $764 billion.

6:07:41 to 6:08:01( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: we have $512 billion of middle-class tax relief. all of the 2001 and 2003 provisio provided for for the next five the 10% bracket, marriage penalty relief, all the other

6:08:02 to 6:08:23( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: 2001 including the child tax credit the education of them are in this budgetment budgetment -- budget. we also have alternative minimum tax reform for three the senator indicated. estate tax $7 million a couple,

6:08:24 to 6:08:44( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: fr any estate tax. that means 99.8% of estes are all included of tax on the other side, we have

6:08:45 to 6:09:09( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: $97 billion of tax raises. that closers offshore tax havens and abusive tax shelters. let me just taxpayers with business income are affecd by the changes in

6:09:10 to 6:09:30( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: the top rate. because again, all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are extended here for those earning less than $250,000 a year. only 2% business income are the top rate changes. that means 98% are not. under the definition being used

6:09:31 to 6:09:54( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: by our colleagues across the aisle, former vice president cheney would qualify as a businessman. as small business people are -- is anybody who has on income tax there are a lot of people who are very big business people, have big businesses who show small business income on their

6:09:55 to 6:10:16( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: returns vice president definition used by our the aisle, any taxpayer with any small business income as a small businessman. now, 20 $3 millionment he had $180,00

6:10:17 to 6:10:37( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: of small business income. small businesses that he apparently has an interest in. under their definition, he's a small businessman. now, i'd say that's a definition. and there are people greater wealth u under their definition -- much greater wealth. under their definition, bill

6:10:38 to 6:10:59( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: gates is a small busin richest or the second richest businessman. under their definition, warren buffett is a small businessman. now, you know, mr. president, in the bush tax

6:11:00 to 6:11:22( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: cuts in 2007, people averaging over a million dollars a year in income got on average a tax reduction year. a year. the vast majority of people got next to nothing, as this chart shows. but those with average incomes of more than a million got

6:11:23 to 6:11:45( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: reductions averaging $120,000. that's in the deep hole we're in. my assertion is on the loophole closers that we have, we can over -- go after money that is owed that is not now being collected. the tax gap in year for which there is a

6:11:46 to 6:12:06( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: calculation $3 money that's owed that's not being collected. so tha ought to focus before we talk about a tax increase for the second place we ought to look is these offshore tax havens and

6:12:07 to 6:12:28( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: ar here is the conclusion from our own homeland security gove subcommittee on investigations. this is from their work experts have estimated the total loss to the treasury from

6:12:29 to 6:12:49( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: offshore tax evasion alone $100 billion a year in these offshore tax haven including $40 billion to $7 billion from individuals, another $30 billion from corporations offshore tax evasion, abusive

6:12:50 to 6:13:10( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: tax shelters at tens of billions of dollars more abusive tax shelters. and we don't have to wonder if our own permanent subcommittee on investigations knows what they're talking about we can just go to the newspaper. here's february 20 of this year "the new york times"

6:13:11 to 6:13:31( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: "the u.b.s. memo wa the swiss solution could help affluent americans that message sent to the bank's executives referred to a u.b.s. plan to evade taxes by hiding money in offshore bahamas. the memo, along with dozens of

6:13:32 to 6:13:54( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: e-mail messages like it, were disclosed on thursday in a blistering court document filed by the justice department which substitute compel u.b.s., based in switzerland, to divulge the identities of 52,000 americans whom the authorities suspect of using secret at the

6:13:55 to 6:14:16( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: mr. president, use our imagine nations stretch to figure out -- imagine nations very much to figure out what's going on -- imaginations very much to figure out on. here's a little five-stor building in the cayman islands called ugland home be the home of you can see them there in this little five-story building? do you see them doing their

6:14:17 to 6:14:37( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: business out of this building, 18,000 supposedly doing business out of this little building down in cayman islands? they're not doing any business out of that they're engaged in monkey business they are scam, much of it revealed in ubs

6:14:38 to 6:14:58( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: court documents, much more revealed in the collapse of stanford shown that there are loads o companies and loads of individuals who are engaged in dodging what they legitimatel owe the united establishing these offshore tax haven locations where they claim they do business. and all they're doing is

6:14:59 to 6:15:19( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: taxes. let me say, most of u.s. companies have subsidiaries in tax 83 of the 100 traded companies subsidiaries and tax 4 26 these companies subsidiaries in ten or more tax havens. ten or more.

6:15:20 to 6:15:41( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: 63 of 100 largest contractors have tax companies ten or more tax havens. look, anybody that what's going on is now, here's a picture hope people to.

6:15:42 to 6:16:02( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: this is a sewer system europe. a sewer system in europe. what does that get to do with the budget well, it turns out to, increasingly, have a lot to with the this is a sewer system bought by a united states

6:16:03 to 6:16:24( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: business; they bought this sewer system in europe to depreciate it on their books in the united states to suppress what legitimately owe here. you know what they after they bought it so they could depreciate it, they leased it bacto the european city that bought it and paid for it in the first place. mr. president, if we don't

6:16:25 to 6:16:46( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: down and stop this kind of scam, shame on us. shame on and some of our friends over here say that's well, sign me if that's a tax i down this kind of scam where the vast majority of us pay what we owe, but a few get by establishing these accounts

6:16:47 to 6:17:08( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: these offshore tax havens engaging in these unbelievably abusive tax so we need tax reform. we've got a tax system that's out of date and hurting u.s. competitivenes right now about 75% of what's actually due under the country

6:17:09 to 6:17:30( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: so without could completely close the structural gap and revenue in this country if we just collected what the country system says is owed. the fact is the vast majority us on tax day pay but increasingly we've get big companies, wealthy individuals,

6:17:31 to 6:17:55( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: who are not. let's end let's end the a.m.t. problem threatening millions of middle-class taxpayers which we haveddressed. we have a which must be embraced between spending and revenue and we simplification and reform to keep rates low for the vast

6:17:56 to 6:18:16( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: mr. president, i've heard the argument on the other side that we've got the highest corporate rate in the world. well, what's true is one of the highest nominal tax rates, stated tax rates, but our effective tax rate on

6:18:17 to 6:18:37( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: corporations is because while the stated 35%, the companies actually pay, is 13%, and when you tak account here is where we stack up. here are the maj industrialized cpanies in the world.

6:18:38 to 6:18:58( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: here is the average. here's where the united states is. the only countries lower effective rate than united poland,

6:18:59 to 6:19:00( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: everyone else has a effective corporate tax rate

6:19:01 to 6:19:22( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: than do we. i make this review just for the purposes of establishin record and i note that my colleague, senator sanders, who is an important member of the buet committee, is here. i'd ask him how much time would he like? mrsanders: five mr. conrad: i'd be happy to yield five minutes. if the senator would like more an the end of that time he need ask.

6:19:05 to 6:23:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Bernard Sanders

6:19:23 to 6:19:44( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: senator mr. sanders: i thank the chairman for yielding and i congratulate him and his staff for the excellent work they have done on this budget which i certainly will be voting for. mr. president, what i wanted to do is to take a brief moment to highlight a provision in this budget resolution that i introduced along with senatorred

6:19:45 to 6:20:05( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: feingold, webb and bunning, and that deals with the outreach that exists -- outrage that exists in our country at what happened last year and this year on wall street. i think as most americans know, as a result of the greed, the recklessness, the illegal behavior that we have seen

6:20:06 to 6:20:26( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: within some of our largest financial institutions, our country and, in fact, much of the world has been plunged interest a very, very deep recession which has cost millions of americans their jobs, their homes, their savings and ability to get education. a lot of people are suffering

6:20:27 to 6:20:48( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: because of the greed and recklessness of wall street. this my view the regulatory efforts of the last several decades which i strongly opposed as a member of the house financial services committee, have proven to be a grotesque failure. the bottom line is, when you deregulate wall street, they do what we would expect that they

6:20:49 to 6:21:10( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: do: they do anything and everything they can to make as much profit as they can in as short a period of time as they can they behave and in the process they create a bubble. when that bubble burst, as it will, the american people are left holding the bag if the

6:21:11 to 6:21:32( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: midst of a very deep in my view it goes without saying we must restore regulation one part of that process is to bring about substantially increased transparency. it is beyond comprehension, it

6:21:33 to 6:21:55( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: dollars in credit default swaps and instruments are traded every single day with no public understanding about who owns these instruments or the impact that this trading is having on the world's financial system. now, i'm happy to note that as one small step forward in terms

6:21:56 to 6:22:17( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: of transparency, this management resolution incorporates a provision that passed the senate by a 59-39, strongly bipartisan vote. and what that amendment does is quite simple. it doses reality that in the midst of this financial crisis the

6:22:18 to 6:22:38( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: federal reserve has length out over $2 trillion to financial institutions. and if you were to ask t am ask any member of this senate, any member of the house, who received that money, which financial institutions got it? and what the terms are that they ceived it, nobody would be able to tell you.

6:22:39 to 6:23:00( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: no one in this country understands it because that has been kept secret. and what the provision that i introduced into the budget resolution d we have got to make that public. the american people have a right to know who is getting those loans and what the terms are. i'm delighted that provision is

6:23:01 to 6:23:21( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: in the budget resolution. in my view this is a small forward in transparency within the fed. it is a smaller step forward overall in beginning the reform measures that we need to create a new wall street so that never again will we be placed in the

6:23:22 to 6:23:35( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: position that we have been over the last few months. having said that, mr. president, i would yield the floor and once again thank the chairman for his

6:24:06 to 6:24:26( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: mr. conrad: mr. president? senator from north mr. conrad: again i want to thank senator sanders for his kind remarks and for his contributions to the work of the budget committee. he has been a very energetic and important member and done an outstanding job of questioning witnesses before the committee. and he also has been somebody who has worked very hard on community clinic unanimous

6:24:10 to 6:34:40( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Kent Conrad

6:24:27 to 6:24:51( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: consents to which, i think, are going to make a great difference across the country. the very significant increase for those clinics in this resolution. and the person responsible and the person that deserves the credit is the senator from vermont, senator sanders. contribution.

6:24:52 to 6:25:12( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: mr. president, we are now we have senator coburn who would like to come at 4:30; senator mccain who, i understand, would like to speak at roughly senator udall, i think the udall

6:25:13 to 6:25:36( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: of new mexico -- no, the uda of colorado, would like to speak as if in morning business. i want to alert his staff if they're listening, this would be a good time for him to come and speak because we have some time between now and when we exp senator coburn. i hope that we're able to move

6:25:37 to 6:25:57( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: to a vote soon aer senator mccain concludes his remarks but we have yet to hear definitive that will be the case. mr. president, i want to just very briefly go over what i think is important about this budget. first of all, it president's key priorities of

6:25:58 to 6:26:19( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: reducing our dependence on foreign energy which is critically important to our national security and our economic security, a focus on exlenexcellence in education, because if we are not the best educated

6:26:20 to 6:26:42( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: we are not doing well; and, third, health care reform. we are spending nearly 18% of our gross domestic product, one of every $1 o way to spend $1 in every $3 and that cannot be the outcome.

6:26:43 to 6:27:05( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: that would put us at a hugely disadvantageous position in terms of competiveness in this globalized economy. and it would have consequences on american patience, american consumers, american families, american businesses. so we know we need fundamental health care reform and the president has put that prompt and center before the congress