Senate Proceeding on Sep 26th, 2008 :: 1:03:59 to 1:19:04
Total video length: 4 hours 44 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Download OptionsEmbed Video

Views:280 Duration: 0:15:05 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

0:53:59 to 1:23:59( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Chuck Grassley
Bill: S. 2544 Unemployment Extension Act

1:03:58 to 1:04:12( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: it up, $12 billion per year. so let's gross up the defined revenue raisers then to $220 billn. now, if you take that conservative number of of $220 billion, how d o the plans of the two candidates for

1:04:12 to 1:04:25( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: president stack up? senator obama's tax plan contains $920 billion in unspecified, unverified tax increases. if we net that number against the $220 billion, that looks a little more realistic, we

1:04:25 to 1:04:38( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: find that senator obama's plan is short on specified revenue raisers by $700 billion. to be even handed, senator mccain is carrying $360 billion in unspecified revenue raisers. and if we net that

1:04:38 to 1:04:53( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: number against the known revenue raise number of $220 billion, we find that senator mccain's plan is short of revenue raisers by $145 billion. so let's take a step back just for a moment. it means that

1:04:53 to 1:05:02( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: the deficit impact of senator mccain's plan is understated by about $145 billion. it means that the deficit impact of senator obama's plan is understated by $700 billion. as against the current tax

1:05:02 to 1:05:14( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: policy baseline, it means the plans aren't as far apart as they might appear. so let's go back to the current policy baseline. this is the tax policy center's chart that i referred to two times already.

1:05:14 to 1:05:24( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: it means that we need to raise senator mccain's deficit impact number from 5.3 trillion to $5.45 trillion. likewise, we need to raise senator obama's deficit impact numbers from $3.9 trillion up tow

1:05:24 to 1:05:40( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: $4.6 trillion. keep in mind that the current policy baseline shows a revenue loss of $4.7 trillion. that's what the ranking republican on the ways and means committee, call the reality baseline. in recent

1:05:40 to 1:05:53( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: weeks senator obama has indicated he might revisit the marginal rate increases and increases in tax rates on dividends and capital gains after the election, and i hope he will because his tax plan

1:05:53 to 1:06:03( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: will stop growth in our economy. and it's very bad when you have a recession. he said he might reconsider them in light of an economy that might be in recession. so the deficit impact of senator obama's

1:06:03 to 1:06:16( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: plan might be further understated. now, if the candidates were just proposing tax changes, the deficit impact of their numbers would end with these figures that i presented on tse various charts. that

1:06:16 to 1:06:31( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: would assume neither candidate would be doing anything on the spending side. there is no congressional budget office estimate of the two candidates' spending plans. a nonpartisan think tank, the national

1:06:31 to 1:06:43( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: taxpayers union foundation has performed analyses and estimates of the two candidates plans. and i would use this chart that i don't think i've shown this chart to the senators before. you find a comparative

1:06:43 to 1:06:55( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: analysis -- you can also find a comparative analysis at the national taxpayers union web site. let's take a look at senator mccain's plan first. the national taxpayers union, a nonpartisan public policy

1:06:55 to 1:07:06( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: research organization, n.t.u. says that senator mccain's plan would include new spending of $68.5 billion per year. you can find the document, again, on n.t.u.'s web site. senator mccain has made it

1:07:06 to 1:07:17( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: clear that he wants to cut spending. that's consistent with his career in the senate. he's been a spending cutter. sometimes he's found to be a very lonely fight. and senator mccain, despite fighting

1:07:17 to 1:07:32( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: wasteful spending, has too often lost. sometimes i disagreed with his definition of wasteful spending, and obviously other times agreed with him. but one thing is clear, senator mccain pushes spending

1:07:32 to 1:07:41( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: cuts. and any honest nonpartisan observer could not quarrel with that point. senator mccain's overall economic plan continues his principle of cutting spending and keeping taxes low. senator obama's

1:07:41 to 1:07:53( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: plan on spending is completely different. the national taxpayers union counted up 158 new federal spending programs, a conservative estimate of those programs came to $344.6 billion per year. we're

1:07:53 to 1:08:08( Edit History Discussion )

talking then, for emphasis, that obama would spend $344.6 billion per year. and you can look that up also on the n.t.u. web site. if my friends on the other side, what they feel is a better estimate

1:08:08 to 1:08:21( Edit History Discussion )

of senator mccain on the one hand, and senator obama, on the other hand, of their new spending plans, i'd be glad to take a look at it. but when you look at the n.t.u. analysis, you can see that senator

1:08:21 to 1:08:31( Edit History Discussion )

obama's spending plans would amount to $276 billion more per year, conservatively speaking, it means that if elected a president obama's tax and spending plans, if enacted, would exceed president mccain's

1:08:31 to 1:08:48( Edit History Discussion )

plan and deficit impact before the end of the first term. something has to give. senator mccain has been willing to put spending cuts on the table. it's been a hallmark of his congressional career.

1:08:48 to 1:09:00( Edit History Discussion )

he'd have to find a way to get the congress to follow, because that's not congress's inclination to do a lot of spending. it would probably be his greatest challenge. but we know that he's in the fight to

1:09:00 to 1:09:10( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: restrain spending. as a country we cannot endure a deficit impact as large as what we projected as senator obama's tax plan on the one hand and add to it a spending plan on the other hand. where

1:09:10 to 1:09:20( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: will senator obama adjust his plan if elected? will he abandon the tax cuts that he's promised? will he enlurch the tkpwraoufp americans he's targeted for tax -- the group of americans he's targeted for

1:09:20 to 1:09:30( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: tax increases? will he abandon his ambitious spending plans? will he cut spending? i think you need to think of the history of past campaigns of what can happen to spending or tax policy enunciated

1:09:30 to 1:09:48( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: in a campaign but not carried out after that president is elected, as evidenced by president clinton in 1993 passing the biggest tax increase in the history of the country. and those are senator moynihan's

1:09:48 to 1:09:58( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: words. contrary to the middle-class tax cuts that he promised during the campaign. i hope senator obama's not up to that same game, but voters ought to be alerted to. ought to be alerted to make sure

1:09:58 to 1:10:14( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: that senator mccain is saying things that if he's president, you've got that to measure about. we need to keep candidates intellectually honest, not to promise too much on the campaign trail. when they

1:10:14 to 1:10:26( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: get sworn in, they don't have so many promises to keep. but we should expect presidents to keep promises. more importantly, a president mccain or a president obama is likely to be dealing with expanded

1:10:26 to 1:10:39( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: democratic majorities on capitol hill, and that gets me back to my tax increase thermometer and what it has told us over the past 20 years, that with a unified democratic government, taxes are likely

1:10:39 to 1:10:50( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: to go up, as evidenced by the top of the thermometer, at the highest level of tax increases you get that when you have a party and a president that's both under democratic control, as evidenced by

1:10:50 to 1:11:04( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: the 20-year history. spending is not likely to go down, because whether republicans are in control of congress or democrats, the inclination of congress is not to cut spending. that's not right,

1:11:04 to 1:11:20( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: but that's a fact of life. and a president who wants to veto bills is a damper on that. in closing, i'd like to review the issues that i've raised today very quickly. many folks are asking about the

1:11:20 to 1:11:34( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: fiscal impact of the tax plans proposed by senator mccain and senator obama. the tax policy center has produced data looking at proposals against current law. both candidates implicitly acknowledge current

1:11:34 to 1:11:47( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: law is not a realistic measure. with that noted, the tax policy center has examined the proposals against more realistic baseline current tax policy. if unspecified revenue raisers are deducted

1:11:47 to 1:11:58( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: from both plans, the deficit impact of both plans grow. likewise, we find the gap in deficit impact between the two of each candidate's plan. senator obama's plan outspent senator mccain's plan by over

1:11:58 to 1:12:13( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: 500% when senators mccain and obama's plan combined, senator obama's plan adds more to the deficit. in this troubled time the federal government has stepped into the breach of the financial sector meltdown.

1:12:13 to 1:12:24( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: all the more reason we need to closely scrutinize the tax and spending policies of our colleagues, senator mccain and obama. i -- mr. president, out of respect for my colleagues, i had more to say, but it was

1:12:24 to 1:12:37( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: in a little different version, so i'm going to give up the floor. but is anybody on the record to speak after she's done? could i -- the presiding officer: there is no unanimous csent request. the

1:12:37 to 1:12:46( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: senator from iowa has one minute remaining. also i would notify the you -- notify you. you have one minute remaining. mr. grassley: how much time i did have left? the presiding officer: you have one

1:12:46 to 1:12:55( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: minute remaining. mr. grassley: i would ask to have the floor for five minutes after senator -- the senator from michigan. the presiding officer: is there objection? so ordered. ms. stabenow: mr. president?

1:12:55 to 1:13:04( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: the presiding officer: the senator from michigan is recognized. ms. stabenow: thank you, mr. president. i want to speak both in support today of what i consider to be the people's benefit, the

1:13:04 to 1:13:14( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: people's bailout that we have in front of us, the job stimulus that we're going to be voting on shortly to invest in jobs in michigan and all across the country and why we need to be doing that. why

1:13:14 to 1:13:26( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: we need the president to finally support us in doing that and why we need to have bipartisan support to do that. but, first, i want to share with you, mr. president, some of what the people in michigan

1:13:26 to 1:13:37( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: are feeling right now about what is going on. i mean we in michigan have known for a long time that things were not going well. that the fundamentals of the economy were not strong. we have known for

1:13:37 to 1:13:47( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: a long time. i have been sounding the bell. other colleagues of mine here in the majority have been sounding the bell. we have been forward solutions in the last 18 months holding investigative hearings,

1:13:47 to 1:14:02( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: proposing strategies to address the housing market and what needs to be done for jobs in the future. and all we have heard from the other side of the aisle from this president has been the fundamentals

1:14:02 to 1:14:12( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: of the economy are strong. and now all of a sudden they come to us and say we are at the edge of a cliff. well, unfortunately, mr. president, i believe we are. contrary to all of the information

1:14:12 to 1:14:27( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: or misinformation that was given to us in leading up to the war in iraq where after listening very carefully and intently, i did not believe what was being said about the crisis or sense of urgency

1:14:27 to 1:14:42( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: and voted no. in this case where we are hearing from people around the country, i'm hearing from people around michigan in terms of what is happening, the inability to get credit, to be able to start

1:14:42 to 1:14:57( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: a business, what's happening in terms of potentially more job loss, i think this is, in fact, a crisis. but what is outrageous to me is that this is not an accident. this is as crisis that haseen brought

1:14:57 to 1:15:07( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: forward because of a failed philosophy and a failed set of policies that have got us to this point. and people in michigan are mad about it and i'm mad about it. i'm mad that the position that -- i'm mad

1:15:07 to 1:15:19( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: at the position that we now find ourselves. in because, in fact, if people can't get a car loan, my auto dealers aren't going to be able to stay in business. my autoworkers aren't going to be able

1:15:19 to 1:15:32( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: to build those great automobiles. i know this is serious if, in fact, folks can't get a college loan, that impacts the families that i represent. if they can't get a line of credit, if somebody

1:15:32 to 1:15:46( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: takes an early out at one of our auto companies and decide to set up their own small business and they can't get credit, they can't get a line of credit to get that business, they're in trouble. my

1:15:46 to 1:15:57( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: communities are in trouble. what is an outrage is what has gotten us to this point and the fact that when families in michigan have not only been on the edge of the cliff, but falling off the cliff,

1:15:57 to 1:16:08( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: thousands of them a month, losing jobs, losing homes, can't get the health care they need for their family, squeezed on all sides. we haven't been able to get the support from this administration

1:16:08 to 1:16:17( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: or the bipartisan support that we have needed to be able to help the families that fall off the cliff every day. so the people in michigan are mad. and i don't blame them. because i'm mad too. we

1:16:17 to 1:16:29( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: have had a failed set of fill ross physical that have got -- philosophies that have gotten us to this point. and while we know now or i believe that, unfortunately, we do have to do something because the people

1:16:29 to 1:16:39( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: in this my state -- in my state are ultimately going to see their jobs gone if we don't. i also believe it is incredibly important that we investigate and that demonstrate that we know what happened,

1:16:39 to 1:16:52( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: the policies that failed, and that we'ren the going to let it happen again. and i believe, frankly, there is only one way to do that, and that is by changing the philosophy, changing the white house

1:16:52 to 1:17:04( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: in this country. but let's look at where we are. massive deregulation, mr. president. and i know from the great state of ohio, you faced the very same concerns that i do. massive deregulation. let's not

1:17:04 to 1:17:14( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: watch what's going on. no accountability. tax breaks for the wealthiest americans while middle-class people -- middle class people lose their job and then step back and let greed role. let greed reign

1:17:14 to 1:17:25( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: with no accountability. that's what has gotten us to this point. people can try to mask it over in a thousand different ways. but the facts are the facts. this philosophy, the republican philosophy

1:17:25 to 1:17:33( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: of deregulation, coupled with more concern about tax cuts for the wealthy than what's happening to our country in terms of debt or investment has gotten us to where we are. and the reality is that

1:17:33 to 1:17:42( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: the american people, one more time, are in a situation where they're going to pay for it if we act and they're going to pay for it if we don't act. and so we have to sort through what is the most responsible

1:17:42 to 1:17:53( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: way to proceed when we know that american families are counting on us to get it right. you know, i received an e-mail from my brother last night, a small business man in michigan, working hard every

1:17:53 to 1:18:03( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: day. he raised two great daughters. one's in college, one's out. understands what it's like to try to pay the bills. he sent me an e-mail from a friend of his that's been going around. and this will

1:18:03 to 1:18:13( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: give you an idea of what people in michigan feel about all of this stuff. just with a.i.g alone, what was done in terms of the bailout for a.i.g, $85 billion. my brother, hen's friend -- len's friend,

1:18:13 to 1:18:24( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: sent an e-mail that said if you figured out if you looked at every american 18 years of age or older and divided that money up, and then you took minus taxes, because everybody in america is playing

1:18:24 to 1:18:58( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: by the rules, is stepping up and paying their taxes, and what would you end up for every american 18 years of age or older just for that one company, company, $297,500. $293,500 for just that one

1:18:58 to 1:19:02( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: company or for a husband an wife, $595,000. what could a family do with with $595,000? could they buy a house? could they start a business? could they make sure that their kids can go to school

1:19:02 to 1:19:06( Edit History Discussion )

Chuck Grassley: and come out without a bunch of debt? maybe it's just as simple as making sure you can make the gas payment and the heating payment and put food on the table and know you don't have to go to sleep