Jumpstart our Business Strength (JOBS) Act - Continued

JUMPSTART OUR BUSINESS STRENGTH (JOBS) ACT-CONTINUED

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the press and some in this body have unfairly defined this legislation as a "porky" tax bill. There have been articles in all the major papers following that line of attack.

One Member of the leadership on the other side said on April 20 he is worried that the sheer amount of tax breaks in the bill could end up impeding its progress. "They've loaded this truck up and the tires are about to explode," he said, calling the efforts to pile sweeteners onto the bill "haphazard."

That Member went on and cautioned, "any time you load it up as vigorously as they have, you create as many problems as you solve."

Well, let's talk about the so-called "porky" provisions in this bill. It is a bit irritating that the complaints come from folks who say they support the bill. Every provision in the bill is the result of a joint recommendation of myself and Senator BAUCUS. We responded to requests from every Senator, including those who are critical of the bill.

I guess I would ask anyone, including the critics a question. That question would be, "Are you willing to throw aside the provision you asked us to put in the bill?" Are you willing to go back to your constituents and tell them you don't think their interest has merit?

I don't think I will hear any of the critics respond yes. I haven't had any takers yet and don't think I will by the time the bill's done.

Let's look at the bigger picture.

This bill has about $60 billion dedicated to the replacement of the FSC/ETI benefit. This bill has another $40 billion dedicated to international tax reforms to make our domestic manufacturers more competitive overseas.

There is another roughly $20 billion in domestic manufacturing incentives, including the research and development tax credit.

Some of that package deals with issues such as the unfair tax on bows and arrows which has a domestic job impact. There's another $8 billion dealing with the extenders, including a permanent tax credit directed at hiring hard-to-place workers. There's another $10 billion dealing with housing, rural areas, hard hit urban areas, Indian tribes, and other sectors of our economy. We're directing resources at economic development, plain and simple.

Finally, there's another almost $20 billion for the bipartisan Finance Committee energy incentives package which has passed the Senate twice.

All of this is offset with corporate loophole closers and measures aimed at curtailing tax shelters. The dollars involved in the much-criticized provisions are very small-perhaps less than 3 percent of the total cost of the bill. Members and the "big city" press need to keep their eyes on the ball: ending the euro tax and helping domestic manufacturers.

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan responded to the New York Times regarding the 1997 bipartisan tax relief bill. The press had made much of a few narrow provisions, such as a provision to provide tax relief for parachuter trainees. There is an excise tax on air travel. The tax is meant to apply to commercial travel. Read literally, the tax applied to parachute training flights even though those flights are not commercial transportation.

Senator Moynihan described the Finance Committee provisions that were designed to deal with these inequities this way: "You will never see representative government more specific than in the Senate Finance Committee . . . It's a form of accommodation, and in between you think about the national interest, because there are things we all share."

Like the 1997 tax relief bill, the bill before us includes a number of provisions that, at face value, may seem to be trivial. It is important to keep in mind, however, that each of these provisions was added in response to specific requests from fellow Senators who are looking out for the vital interests of their constituents. That is what representative government is all about.

The Federal tax system is vast. It touches virtually every aspect of life. From birth to grave. There are excise taxes to fund our airports and highways. There is a corporate and individual income tax to fund defense and general welfare. There are payroll taxes to fund Social Security and Medicare benefits. There is an unemployment payroll tax to fund unemployment benefits.

Now, when you go through this bill, you can find some provisions that involve animal manure or windmills. If you don't look beyond the superficial humor of the subject matter, you can have a lot of fun. Of course, big city papers like to make fun of these rural provisions. I always have to remind these folks that food doesn't grow in supermarkets. It grows on farms. The byproducts of those farms can give us clean energy. What's so bad about that?

Part of what we hear out in the heartland is get us some insurance that jobs are coming back. Especially, they say, in the area of manufacturing. The economy is coming back. The U.S. economy, the mightiest in the history of the planet, is adding jobs at a healthy rate. The people want an insurance policy.

Growing jobs in our diverse economy is not a cookie cutter exercise. This bill has general policies for the most part. Some are proactive, like the manufacturing deduction. Others are reactive, like responding to the Euro tax. Still others are particular. They may relate to small isolated communities or a single industry. When you take a look you'll find a common thread through nearly all of them: job creation.