Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to discuss the unemployment insurance extension bill currently being considered. There is little question that the job market remains tight providing few job opportunities for those who are currently unemployed. The unemployment rate remains at historically high levels of around 6.7 percent. However, the unemployment rate only tells part of the story. Millions of Americans have become discouraged and left the labor market entirely or are underemployed. When you consider these Americans, the unemployment rate isn't 6.7 percent, but a much starker 12.7 percent.

It is obvious from these numbers that many Americans continue to struggle in the face of a historically tepid recovery. Republicans and Democrats agree that there are things we can and should do to help the millions of Americans who are out of work and struggling to make ends meet. However, we have conflicting views on the best way to achieve this goal.

In 2008, Congress established the extended Emergency Unemployment Compensation program that provided Federal funded unemployment insurance benefits to the long-term unemployed. This benefit was on top of the 26 weeks of unemployment compensation ordinarily provided by the States. This program was never meant to go on forever. It is a temporary program that was designed to provide relief while we were in the depths of a recession.

This program has since been extended 11 times and we are now debating extending it for the 12th. There are reasonable arguments that at this time the emergency unemployment benefits should be extended once more. But if we are to extend the emergency unemployment program it should be done in a fiscally responsible way.

While the majority argues that the extension is fully offset, this is only true through a budgetary sleight of hand. The largest offset used to pay for the unemployment program is a so-called pension smoothing provision. This provision essentially allows sponsors of pension plans to underfund their pensions over the next few years. This raises concerns that pensions could be underfunded in future years, hurting pensioners, and potentially putting taxpayers on the hook for these plans should they need be taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

The Joint Committee on Taxation, JCT, estimates that over the long term the provision will actually cost the Treasury billions of dollars in revenue. As a result, the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, and JCT estimate that overall the bill before us would increase deficits by more than $5 billion between 2024 and 2033.

Moreover, while an extension of emergency employment benefits is well intentioned, it serves only to treat the symptoms of unemployment, while doing nothing to address its cause. Instead of the debate we are having on extending unemployment benefits we should be focused on what can be done to ensure those who want to work are able to find good paying jobs.

Republicans have offered such an approach with the Good Jobs, Good Wages, and Good Hours Act, which was filed as an amendment to the underlying unemployment insurance bill.

This amendment is targeted at job creation be providing small businesses who are responsible for creating 70 percent of jobs in our economy with permanent tax relief aimed at incentivizing new investments. It would further cut red tape that imposes unnecessary burdens on job creators and would modify or repeal provisions of Obamacare that are proven job killers. Moreover, the amendment would spur job creation by increasing energy development by, amongst other things, authorizing the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. I ask unanimous consent that a summary of this amendment be printed in the Record.

Unfortunately, the majority leader filled the amendment tree, thereby blocking all amendments. This prevented us from having an up-or-down vote on the jobs amendment I just described as well as several other amendments that sought to improve the underlying bill. As a result, the underlying bill is not fiscally responsible and would do nothing to address the causes of weak job creation. As such, I cannot in good conscience vote in favor of extending unemployment insurance at this time.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

Good Jobs, Good Wages, Good Hours Act--Omnibus Alternative to UI

TITLE I--ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Approve Keystone XL and LNG Exports: This provision would approve the Keystone XL pipeline by removing the requirement of a presidential permit. It would also require the Department of Energy to automatically approve LNG export applications to Ukraine, Japan, and other NATO countries. (Hoeven UI Amdt. #2891)

The Saving Coal Jobs Act: This provision would block EPA regulations of greenhouse gas emissions for new and existing power plants. It would also streamline the mine permitting process and automatically approve permits the EPA has not acted on after a certain period of time. (McConnell UI Amdt. #2955)

Prohibit a Carbon Tax: This provision would create a point of order against any legislation that would establish a carbon tax. (Blunt UI Amdt. #2885)

TITLE II--OBAMACARE RELIEF

Restore the 40-hour Workweek: This provision would amend the definition of a full-time employee under ObamaCare from an employee who works 30 hours per week to an employee who works 40 hours per week. (S. 1188--Collins)

Repeal the ObamaCare Individual Mandate: This provision would permanently repeal the individual mandate under ObamaCare. (S. 40--Hatch)

Repeal the Medical Device Tax: This provision would repeal the 2.3% ObamaCare medical device tax, which has already destroyed over 30,000 jobs. (S. 232--Hatch/Toomey/Coats)

Exempt the Long-Term Unemployed from ObamaCare Employer Mandate: This provision would exempt long-term unemployed from the ObamaCare employer mandate headcount. (Thune UI Amdt. #2899)

Hire More Heroes Act: This provision would exempt veterans from the ObamaCare employer mandate headcount. A similar provision passed that House 406-1. (S. 2190--Blunt)

Full Repeal of ObamaCare: This provision repeals those sections of ObamaCare that were not repealed by the preceding sections.

TITLE III--TAX AND REGULATORY RELIEF

Permanent Expansion Section 179 Expensing: This section would make the $500,000 Section 179 expensing permanent. Without any changes to the current law, the Section 179 expensing allowance would drop to $25,000 for qualified assets acquired and placed in service in 2014.

Permanent Expansion of Section 1202 Stock: This provision would make permanent the 100 percent exclusion for Section1202 small business stock, increase the gross asset limit to $150 million, and index this limit for inflation. To encourage investment in start-up businesses, investors may exclude 100 percent (reverted back to 50 percent in 2014) of the capital gains from selling Section 1202 stock that was acquired at original issue and held for more than five years.

Permanent Double Deductions for Start-up Businesses: This provision would permanently double the maximum allowable deduction for start-up costs to $10,000.

Permanent Reduction in S-Corporation Built-In Gains Tax: Corporations that convert to S-corporation status are subject to a tax on appreciated assets that the corporation held before the conversion. The required holding period was shortened from 10 years to five years for sales of assets in 2012 and 2013. This provision would make permanent the five-year holding period.

Permanent Deduction for Health Insurance Costs in Computing Self-Employment Taxes: This provision would permanently place the self-employed on a level playing field with other businesses that currently exclude health insurance costs for both income and payroll tax purposes.

Permanent Expansion of Cash Accounting: This provision would permanently expand cash accounting to firms with annual gross receipts of up to $10 million and inventories of up to the $10 million--current law is $5 million. Cash accounting affords small businesses greater flexibility in managing their cash flow, as it allows recognition of income and expenses when they are realized rather than when events give rise to the income (such as when a contract is signed).

Regulatory Accountability: This provision would enact targeted reforms of the federal rulemaking process. It would require that agencies conduct a cost-benefit analysis and consider alternatives to proposed regulations, and it would require advanced public notice of major rulemakings with greater than $100 million in annual costs. (S. 1606 from the 112th Congress--Portman)

TITLE IV--SKILLS ACT

Strengthen Federal Worker Training Programs: This provision includes the House-passed SKILLS Act, which reforms and streamlines federal worker training programs and empowers Governors to further improve worker training programs. (Scott UI Amdt. #2899)

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