Tag Archives: Payroll tax

At approximately 9am, there will be a series of 4 roll call votes in relation to the following items:

– Reid substitute amendment to H.R.3630, 2 month extension of the payroll tax reduction, doc fix, and unemployment insurance (60-vote threshold);

((up to 15 minutes for debate))

– Passage of H.R.3672, emergency disaster funding (60-vote threshold);

– Adoption of H.Con.Res.94, a correcting resolution to provide offsets for the emergency disaster funding (60-vote threshold); and

– Adoption of the conference report to accompany H.R.2055, Omnibus Appropriations (60-vote threshold).

9:21am The Senate began a roll call vote on the Reid-McConnell substitute amendment #1465 (2-month extension of the payroll tax reduction) to H.R.3630, the Middle Class Tax Cut Act; Agreed to: 89-10

10:02am The Senate began a roll call vote on passage of H.R.3672, Emergency Disaster Funding; Passed: 72-27

10:21am The Senate began a roll call vote on adoption of H.Con.Res.94, a correcting resolution to provide offsets for the emergency disaster funding; Not Adopted: 43-56

**** The Congressional Budgetary Office announced this morning that the payroll tax cut extension package that passed in the Senate, by a vote of 89-10, reduces the deficit by approximately $3 billion. Read the CBO report here. ****

10:44am The Senate began a roll call vote on adoption of the conference report to accompany H.R.2055, Omnibus Appropriations; Adopted: 67-32

There will be no further roll call votes this year. The next roll call vote will be on Monday, January 23, 2012.

Senator Merkley asked unanimous consent the Banking Committee be discharged from further consideration of S.1874, the HUBZone Qualified Census Tract Act of 2011, and the bill be passed.

Senator Kyl objected to Senator Merkley’s request. The unofficial transcript of Senators Merkley, Snowe, Landrieu and Kyl’s remarks is below.

11:00:51 NSP} (MR. MERKLEY) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MR. MERKLEY: THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. I RISE TO ASK UNANIMOUS

CONSENT OF ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES, BEFORE I EXPLAIN THE UNANIMOUS

CONSENT REQUEST, I WILL GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND. THIS

IS SENATE BILL 1874 THAT SENATOR SNOWE AND I HAVE WORKED ON FOR

SOME TIME BECAUSE OF OUR MUTUAL INTEREST IN MAKING THE HUB ZONE

PROCESS FOR RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORK BETTER. WHEN THIS

PROCESS OCCURS WITH EACH CENSUS, THERE IS A TWO-YEAR NIGHTMARE

OF RED TAPE BEFORE COMMUNITIES THAT SHOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS

{11:01:22} (MR. MERKLEY) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO SO, AND

ACROSS THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE RURAL COMMUNITIES THAT

ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BENEFIT FROM THIS MOST RECENT CENSUS. THEY

HAVE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES. THEY ARE HIT HARD BY THE DROP IN

EXPORTS. THEY ARE HIT HARD BY THE COLLAPSE OF THE HOUSING

COMMUNITY. SAWMILLS HAVE SHUT DOWN, PAPER MILLS HAVE SHUT DOWN.

AND SO SO MANY FOLKS COME TO THIS FLOOR TO TALK ABOUT CUTTING

{11:01:55} (MR. MERKLEY) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

RED TAPE AND TALKING ABOUT HELPING ECONOMY IN THE HEART OF

RURAL AMERICA. THEY COME TO THIS FLOOR AND THEY TALK ABOUT HOW

IMPORTANT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOBS IS, AND THIS IS A

LITTLE FIX THAT TAKES A YEAR OUT OF THE BUREAUCRACY, AND THAT’S

WHY SENATOR SNOWE AND I HAVE WORKED TOGETHER ON THIS PROCESS.

NOW, TWICE WE HAVE BROUGHT THIS FORWARD AND TWICE IT HAS BEEN

CLEARED BY EVERY MEMBER OF THIS BODY. NEITHER TIME DID IT MAKE

IT INTO A BILL THAT GOT TO THE PRESIDENT’S DESK. SO WE ARE

{11:02:31} (MR. MERKLEY) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

COMING BACK ONCE MORE TO SAY LET COMMON SENSE TO FIX THIS

SNAFUS — THE SNAFUS IN THE BUREAUCRACY THAT ARE TAKING AWAY

OPPORTUNITY FOR RURAL AMERICA. LET’S PUT AN END TO THAT TODAY.

AND I WILL DEFER TO MY COLLEAGUE TO SPEAK AND THEN WE WILL ASK

FOR UNANIMOUS CONSENT. I YIELD TO THE SENATOR FROM MAINE.

{11:02:54 NSP} (MS. SNOWE) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MS. SNOWE: MR. PRESIDENT.

{11:02:57 NSP} (THE PRESIDING OFFICER) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM MAINE.

{11:03:01 NSP} (MS. SNOWE) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MS. SNOWE: THANK YOU, AND I WANT TO THANK THE SENATOR FROM

OREGON REGARDING THIS CRITICAL ISSUE THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING

ON FOR A CONSIDERABLE PERIOD OF TIME, THAT WE THOUGHT WE HAD

REALLY CLEARED ON BOTH SIDES. THERE IS NO OBJECTIONS TO THIS

LANGUAGE, WHICH IS MIGHTILY IMPORTANT TO IMPROVING THE RURAL

ECONOMIES OF THIS COUNTRY, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE IT WOULD

EXPEDITE THE HUB ZONE DESIGNATION TO ALLOW SMALL BUSINESSES IN

THOSE HUB ZONES TO PROVIDE JOBS BY VIRTUE OF THE FACT THAT THEY

{11:03:31} (MS. SNOWE) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

WOULD GET PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN THE CONTRACTING PROCESS. AS

WE KNOW, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS MORE THAN $400 BILLION

WORTH OF CONTRACTS. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT SMALL BUSINESSES

AND PARTICULARLY THOSE LOCATED IN HARD-HIT AREAS OF OUR COUNTRY

HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE CONTRACTING DOLLARS AND ARE ABLE TO

PARTICIPATE ON AN EQUAL FOOTING. THIS WOULD CREATE JOBS. SO I

REGRET THE FACT THAT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO GET SUPPORT TO MOVE

THIS LEGISLATION FORWARD BECAUSE I KNOW THE SENATOR FROM OREGON

{11:04:03} (MS. SNOWE) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

HAS TESTED IT ON BOTH SIDES. WE HAVE RUN IT THROUGH THE

HOTLINE. THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS TO THE LANGUAGE, AND I CANNOT

UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN’T MOVE THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROPOSITION

THAT ABSOLUTELY WOULD BE CENTRAL TO CREATING JOBS IN THE AREAS

THAT NEED IT MOST THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE

GET SUCH A HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. SO THIS ISN’T A DIFFICULT

ISSUE TO UNDERSTAND. IT’S VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD. EVERYBODY

AGREES TO THE LANGUAGE. IT’S MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN IMPROVE

{11:04:35} (MS. SNOWE) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

THE LANGUAGE SO WE CAN EXPEDITE THE TIME FRAME IN WHICH THESE

DES NATIONS OCCUR FOR HUB ZONES, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE HUB ZONES

ARE THOSE AREAS THAT ARE SUFFERING MOST WITH RESPECT TO THE

DOWNTURN OF THIS ECONOMY. WHEN WE HAVE A PALTRY ECONOMIC GROWTH

OF 1.3%, .4% OR 2%, WHEN WE HAVE AN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE THAT’S

8.6% BUT WE HAVE HAD 9% OR HIGHER FOR A GOOD 28 MONTHS OR THE

LAST 34 MONTHS, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, AND THIS

COULD HELP SMALL BUSINESSES AND IT COULD HELP THOSE PEOPLE IN

{11:05:09} (MS. SNOWE) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

THOSE AREAS WHO ARE CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED. SO I WOULD HOPE THAT

THERE WOULD BE NO OBJECTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THIS INITIATIVE.

AND I WANT TO THANK THE SENATOR FROM OREGON FOR HIS LEADERSHIP

ON THIS MATTER.

{11:05:24 NSP} (MR. MERKLEY) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MR. MERKLEY: I THANK MY COLLEAGUE. AND THE THIRD SPONSOR ON

THIS BILL IS SENATOR LANDRIEU, THE CHAIR OF THE SMALL BUSINESS

COMMITTEE, AND I YIELD TO HER.

{11:05:32 NSP} (MR. KYL) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MR. KYL: MR. PRESIDENT, I ASK THE INDULGENCE OF MY COLLEAGUE.

IF MY COLLEAGUE COULD ASK THE UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST TO

WHICH I CAN RESPOND, THEN I CAN LEAVE. WOULD MY COLLEAGUE BE

WILLING TO DO THAT, PLEASE?

{11:05:46 NSP} (MR. MERKLEY) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MR. MERKLEY: WE WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THAT, ABSOLUTELY. MR.

PRESIDENT, I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT THE BANKING COMMITTEE BE

DISCHARGED FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF S. 1874, THE HUB ZONE

QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK ACT OF 2011, AND THE SENATE PROCEED TO

ITS CONSIDERATION, THAT THE BILL BE READ A THIRD TIME AND

PASSED AND THE MOTION TO RECONSIDER BE LAID UPON THE TABLE WITH

NO INTERVENING ACTION OR DEBATE, AND ANY STATEMENTS RELATING TO

THE BILL BE PLACED IN THE RECORD AT THE APPROPRIATE PLACE AS IF

READ.

{11:06:12 NSP} (THE PRESIDING OFFICER) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

THE PRESIDING OFFICER: IS THERE OBJECTION?

{11:06:16 NSP} (MR. KYL) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MR. KYL: MR. PRESIDENT, ON — THERE IS OBJECTION ON OUR SIDE,

AND I WILL OBJECT, BUT I DO WANT TO MAKE THE POINT THAT AS A

RESULT OF SENATOR SNOWE AND SENATOR MERKLEY’S INTERCESSION

HERE, OUR STAFF HAS TALKED TO SENATOR SHELBY WHO SAYS THAT HE

WILL TRY TO WORK TO GET IT CLEARED AND TO HOTLINE IT AGAIN ON

OUR SIDE TODAY. SO AT THIS TIME I CANNOT CLEAR IT, BUT THERE

WILL BE AN EFFORT TO ACCOMPLISH THAT RESULT.

{11:06:40 NSP} (THE PRESIDING OFFICER) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

THE PRESIDING OFFICER: OBJECTION IS HEARD. THE SENATOR FROM

OREGON.

{11:06:43 NSP} (MR. MERKLEY) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MR. MERKLEY: I THANK MY COLLEAGUE FROM ARIZONA. WE APPRECIATE

HIS HELP. WE APPRECIATE THE — THE RANKING MEMBER OF THE

BANKING COMMITTEE ASSISTING IN THIS MATTER, AND I YIELD TO MY

COLLEAGUE FROM LOUISIANA.

{11:06:57 NSP} (MS. LANDRIEU) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

MS. LANDRIEU: THANK YOU. MR. PRESIDENT, I WANT TO ADD MY VOICE

TO THE STRONG WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE BY SENATOR MERKLEY AND

SENATOR SNOWE, AND AS THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE THAT HAS SOME

JURISDICTION OVER THE HUB ZONE PROGRAM, I WANT TO URGE THE

BANKING COMMITTEE AND THE STAFF AND OFFER THE STAFF OF THE

SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE FOR THE MAJORITY SIDE TO WORK VERY

HARD TODAY TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THIS CLEARED. IT’S VERY, VERY

IMPORTANT TO THE RANKING MEMBER OF OUR COMMITTEE WHO HAS WORKED

SO HARD ON THIS AND TO THE SENATOR FROM OREGON WHO HAS MADE

{11:07:27} (MS. LANDRIEU) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

VERY STRONG ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE EXPEDITING AND STREAMLINING

SOME OF THESE APPROVALS. SO I WISH THEM THE BEST. WE’RE GOING

TO WORK TODAY TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THIS CLEARED, AND IT WOULD

BE THE SECOND REALLY SUBSTANTIAL VICTORY IN SORT OF THE HOME –

IN THE SMALL BUSINESS SPACE, HAVING GOTTEN OUR SBIR BILL

THROUGH JUST RECENTLY, AFTER SIX YEARS OF VERY ACRIMONIOUS

DEBATE, IF WE COULD GET THIS FIX TO THE HUB ZONE PROGRAM, IT

WOULD BE TERRIFIC, AND I JUST THANK THE SENATORS FOR THEIR HARD

{11:08:02} (MS. LANDRIEU) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }

WORK, AND I YIELD THE FLOOR.

During Saturday’s session of the Senate, cloture was filed on the Reid motion to proceed to Calendar #70, S.968, a bill to prevent online threats to economic creativity and theft of intellectual property and for other purposes.

By unanimous consent, this roll call vote will be at 2:15pm on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

Senator Reid asked unanimous consent that the Senate take up and confirm the following nominations on the Executive Calendar and Senator McConnell objected to the request.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

# 67 Philip E. Coyle, III, of California, to be an Associate Director of the Office of Science and

Technology Policy

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

#86 Ben S. Bernanke – United States Alternate Governor of the International Monetary Fund

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

#108 Scott C. Doney – to be Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

#112 William J. Boarman – to be Public Printer

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

#258 Phyllis Nichamoff Segal – to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service

#259 Lisa M. Quiroz — to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and

Community Service

#260 John D. Podesta — to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service

#261 Matthew Francis McCabe — to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service

#262 Marguerite W. Kondracke — to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service

#263 Jane D. Hartley – to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service

#264 Richard Christman – to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service

SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION

#338 Anthony Frank D’Agostino – to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation

#339 Anthony Frank D’Agostino – to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (Reappointment)

#340 Gregory Karawan – to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

#344 Martin J. Gruenberg – to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Reappointment)

#345 Martin J. Gruenberg – to be Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

#346 Thomas J. Curry – to be Comptroller of the Currency

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

#403 Kenneth J. Kopocis – to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

#413 Richard Cordray – to be Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection for a term of five years

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

#421 Joyce A. Barr – to be Assistant Secretary of State (Administration)

#422 Michael A. Hammer – to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Public Affairs)

HARRY S. TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

#450 Laura A. Cordero – to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation for a term expiring December 15, 2015

AMTRAK BOARD OF DIRECTORS

#456 Albert DiClemente – to be a Director of the Amtrak Board of Directors for a term of five years

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

#494 David T. Danielson – to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)

#495 LaDoris Guess Harris – to be Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, Department of Energy

#496 Gregory Howard Woods – to be General Counsel of the Department of Energy

STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE

#499 James R. Hannah – to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute

#500 Daniel J. Becker – to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

#501 Mari Carmen Aponte – to be Ambassador of the US of America to the Republic of El Salvador.

#502 Adam E. Namm – to be Ambassador of the US of America to the Republic of Ecuador.

#503 Michael Anthony McFaul – to be Ambassador of the US of America to the Russian Federation.

#504 Roberta S. Jacobson – to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Western Hemisphere Affairs),

#505 Elizabeth M. Cousens – to be Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador.

#506 Elizabeth M. Cousens – to be an Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during her tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

#507 Michael E. Horowitz – to be Inspector General

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

#511 Rebecca M. Blank – to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

#512 Ajit Varadaraj Pai – to be a Member of the FCC for a term of five years from July 1, 2011

#513 Jessica Rosenworcel – to be a Member of the FCC for a term of five years from July 1, 2010

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

#514 Jon D. Leibowitz – to be a FTC for a term of seven years from September 26, 2010

#515 Maureen K. Ohlhausen – to be a FTC for a term of seven years from September 26, 2011

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

#516 Kathryn Keneally – to be an Assistant Attorney General

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

#517 Maurice A. Jones – to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

#518 Carol J. Galante – to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

#519 Thomas Hoenig – to be Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

#520 Thomas Hoenig – to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a term of six years

NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

#521 Deepa Gupta – to be a Member of the National Council on the Arts for a term expiring Sept. 3, 2016

#522 Christopher Merrill – to be a Member of the National Council on the Humanities for a term expiring Jan. 26, 2016

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY

#523 Stephanie Orlando – to be a Member of the National Council on Disability for the remainder of the term expiring Sept. 17, 2011

#524 Stephanie Orlando – to be a Member of the National Council on Disability for a term expiring Sept. 17, 2014

#525 Gary Blumenthal – to be a Member of the National Council on Disability for a term expiring Sept. 17, 2013

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

#526 Wendy M. Spencer – to be Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

#527 – Arunava Majumdar – to be Under Secretary of Energy

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

#529 Brad Carson – to be General Counsel of the Department of the Army

#530 Michael A. Sheehan – to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense

AIR FORCE

#531 to be Brigadier General – Col. Merle D. Hart

#532 to be Lieutenant General – Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc

#533 to be Brigadier General – Col. Brian E. Dominguez

#534 to be Brigadier General – Col. John P. Currenti

#535 to be Brigadier General –

Colonel John D. Bansemer

Colonel David B. Been

Colonel Michael T. Brewer

Colonel Thomas A. Bussiere

Colonel Clinton E. Crosier

Colonel Albert M. Elton, II

Colonel Michael A. Fantini

Colonel Timothy G. Fay

Colonel Edward A. Fienga

Colonel Steven D. Garland

Colonel Thomas W. Geary

Colonel Cedric D. George

Colonel Blaine D. Holt

Colonel Scott A. Howell

Colonel Ronald L. Huntley

Colonel Allen J. Jamerson

Colonel James C. Johnson

Colonel Mark D. Kelly

Colonel Scott A. Kindsvater

Colonel Donald E. Kirkland

Colonel Bruce H. McClintock

Colonel Martha A. Meeker

Colonel John E. Michel

Colonel Charles L. Moore, Jr.

Colonel Gregory S. Otey

Colonel John T. Quintas

Colonel Michael D. Rothstein

Colonel Kevin B. Schneider

Colonel Scott F. Smith

Colonel Bradley D. Spacy

Colonel Ferdinand B. Stoss

Colonel Jacqueline D. Van Ovost

Colonel James C. Vechery

Colonel Christopher P. Weggeman

Colonel Kevin B. Wooton

Colonel Sarah E. Zabel

ARMY

#536 to be Major General – Brig. Gen. Michael J. Lally, III

#537 to be Brigadier General –

Colonel John W. Baker

Colonel Margaret W. Burcham

Colonel Richard D. Clarke, Jr.

Colonel Roger L. Cloutier, Jr.

Colonel Timothy R. Coffin

Colonel Peggy C. Combs

Colonel Bruce T. Crawford

Colonel Jason T. Evans

Colonel Stephen E. Farmen

Colonel John G. Ferrari

Colonel Kimberly Field

Colonel Duane A. Gamble

Colonel Ryan F. Gonsalves

Colonel Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr.

Colonel Steven R. Grove

Colonel William B. Hickman

Colonel Christopher P. Hughes

Colonel Daniel P. Hughes

Colonel Daniel L. Karbler

Colonel Ronald F. Lewis

Colonel James B. Linder

Colonel Michael D. Lundy

Colonel David K. MacEwen

Colonel Todd B. McCaffrey

Colonel Paul M. Nakasone

Colonel Paul A. Ostrowski

Colonel Laura J. Richardson

Colonel Steven A. Shapiro

Colonel James E. Simpson

Colonel Mark R. Stammer

Colonel Michael C. Wehr

Colonel Eric P. Wendt

#538 to be Major General – Brig. Gen. Lynn A. Collyar

#539 to be Lieutenant General – Maj. Gen. Mary A. Legere

#540 to be Major General – Col. Jimmie O. Keenan

#541 Mary John Miller – to be an Under Secretary of the Treasury

#542 Henry J. Aaron – to be a Member of the Social Security Advisory Board

#543 Kathleen Kerrigan – to be a Judge of the United States Tax Court for the term of fifteen years

#544 Alastair M. Fitzpayne – to be a Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTES

1) Reid-McConnell substitute amendment #1465 (2-month extension of the payroll tax deduction, doc fix, and unemployment insurance) to H.R.3630; Agreed to: 89-10

2) Passage of H.R.3672, emergency disaster funding; Passed: 72-27

3) Adoption of H.Con.Res.94, a correcting resolution to provide offsets for the emergency disaster funding; Not Adopted: 43-56

4) Adoption of the conference report to accompany H.R.2055, Omnibus Appropriations; Adopted: 67-32

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Passed H.R.3630, a bill to extend the payroll tax holiday, unemployment compensation, Medicare physician payment, provide for the consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline, as amended.

Adopted S.Res.349, commemorating and honoring the service and sacrifice of members of the United States Armed Forces and their families as the official combat mission in Iraq draws to a close by voice vote.

Adopted H.J.Res.96, a 6-day continuing resolution.

Concurred in the House message to accompany S.278, the Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District Land Exchange Act of 2011.

Discharged the Banking Committee and Passed S.1874, the HUBZone Qualified Census Tract Act of 2011.

Discharged the Foreign Relations Committee and Passed S.1959, to require a report on the designation of the Haqqani Network as a foreign terrorist organization and for other purposes with a Burr amendment.

Discharged the EPW Committee and Passed S.1710, a bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 222 West 7^th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska, as the James M. Fitzgerald United States Courthouse.

Passed H.R.1264, To designate the property between the United States Federal Courthouse and the Ed Jones Building located at 109 South Highland Avenue in Jackson, Tennessee, as the “M.D. Anderson Plaza” and to authorize the placement of a historical/identification marker on the grounds recognizing the achievements and philanthropy of M.D. Anderson.

Passed Calendar #258, H.R.789, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 20 Main Street in Little Ferry, New Jersey, as the “Sergeant Matthew J. Fenton Post Office”.

Passed Calendar #259, H.R.2422, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 45 Bay Street, Suite 2, in Staten Island, New York, as the “Sergeant Angel Mendez Post Office”.

Adopted S.Res.351, Recognizing the 40^th anniversary of the enactment of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Began the Rule 14 process of H.R.440, To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia.

Began the Rule 14 process of H.R.3012, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011.

EXECUTIVE ITEMS

Confirmed the following:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

#421 Joyce A. Barr – to be Assistant Secretary of State (Administration)

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

#503 Michael Anthony McFaul – to be Ambassador of the US of America to the Russian Federation.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

#529 Brad Carson – to be General Counsel of the Department of the Army

#530 Michael A. Sheehan – to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense

AIR FORCE

#531 to be Brigadier General – Col. Merle D. Hart

#532 to be Lieutenant General – Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc

#533 to be Brigadier General – Col. Brian E. Dominguez

#534 to be Brigadier General – Col. John P. Currenti

#535 to be Brigadier General –

Colonel John D. Bansemer

Colonel David B. Been

Colonel Michael T. Brewer

Colonel Thomas A. Bussiere

Colonel Clinton E. Crosier

Colonel Albert M. Elton, II

Colonel Michael A. Fantini

Colonel Timothy G. Fay

Colonel Edward A. Fienga

Colonel Steven D. Garland

Colonel Thomas W. Geary

Colonel Cedric D. George

Colonel Blaine D. Holt

Colonel Scott A. Howell

Colonel Ronald L. Huntley

Colonel Allen J. Jamerson

Colonel James C. Johnson

Colonel Mark D. Kelly

Colonel Scott A. Kindsvater

Colonel Donald E. Kirkland

Colonel Bruce H. McClintock

Colonel Martha A. Meeker

Colonel John E. Michel

Colonel Charles L. Moore, Jr.

Colonel Gregory S. Otey

Colonel John T. Quintas

Colonel Michael D. Rothstein

Colonel Kevin B. Schneider

Colonel Scott F. Smith

Colonel Ferdinand B. Stoss

Colonel Jacqueline D. Van Ovost

Colonel James C. Vechery

Colonel Christopher P. Weggeman

Colonel Kevin B. Wooton

Colonel Sarah E. Zabel

ARMY

#536 to be Major General – Brig. Gen. Michael J. Lally, III

#537 to be Brigadier General –

Colonel John W. Baker

Colonel Margaret W. Burcham

Colonel Richard D. Clarke, Jr.

Colonel Roger L. Cloutier, Jr.

Colonel Timothy R. Coffin

Colonel Peggy C. Combs

Colonel Bruce T. Crawford

Colonel Jason T. Evans

Colonel Stephen E. Farmen

Colonel John G. Ferrari

Colonel Kimberly Field

Colonel Duane A. Gamble

Colonel Ryan F. Gonsalves

Colonel Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr.

Colonel Steven R. Grove

Colonel William B. Hickman

Colonel Christopher P. Hughes

Colonel Daniel P. Hughes

Colonel Daniel L. Karbler

Colonel Ronald F. Lewis

Colonel James B. Linder

Colonel Michael D. Lundy

Colonel David K. MacEwen

Colonel Todd B. McCaffrey

Colonel Paul M. Nakasone

Colonel Paul A. Ostrowski

Colonel Laura J. Richardson

Colonel Steven A. Shapiro

Colonel James E. Simpson

Colonel Mark R. Stammer

Colonel Michael C. Wehr

Colonel Eric P. Wendt

#538 to be Major General – Brig. Gen. Lynn A. Collyar

#539 to be Lieutenant General – Maj. Gen. Mary A. Legere

#540 to be Major General – Col. Jimmie O. Keenan

All nominations on the Secretary’s desk

All nominations received by the Senate during the 112th Congress, first session, will remain in status quo, notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXXI, paragraph 6, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, with the following exceptions:

Cal. #43 Caitlin Joan Halligan, to be US Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia

Cal. # 67 Philip E. Coyle, III, to be an Associate Director Office of Science and Technology Policy

Cal. #112 William J. Boarman – to be Public Printer

Cal. #185 Michael Green US District Judge for the Western District of New York

Cal. #413 Richard Cordray – to be Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

PN2 Victoria Frances Nourse, of Wisconsin, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit

PN14 Louis B. Butler, Jr., of Wisconsin, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin

PN95 V. Natasha Perdew Silas, of Georgia, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia

PN96-112 Linda T. Walker, of Georgia, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia

PN158 Arvo Mikkanen, of Oklahoma, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma

PN317 Steve Six, of Kansas, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit

PN653 Rebecca R. Wodder, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife

——————————————————————————-

The House adjourned 12/16/2011 pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on December 19, 2011.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Why do Republicans hate Social Security? …Senator bernie sanders

09/23/2011 Nativegrl77

Republicans hate Social Security because it has been an extraordinary success and has done exactly what it was designed to do. It is the most successful government program in our nation’s history and is enormously popular.

When Social Security was developed, 50 percent of seniors lived in poverty. Today, that number is 10 percent — still too high, but a testament to the success of Social Security.

Republicans have spent years demonizing Social Security and spreading lies about its sustainability. They want to scare Americans and build support for making drastic cuts to the program or privatizing it entirely. Their long-term goal is to end Social Security as we know it, and convert it into a private account system which will enable Wall Street to make hundreds of billions in profits.

The truth is that, today, according to the Social Security Administration, Social Security has a $2.7 trillion surplus and can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 25 years.

Further, because it is funded by the payroll tax and not the U.S. Treasury, Social Security has not contributed one nickel to our deficit.

Now — in a prolonged recession that has decimated the poor and middle class and pushed more Americans into poverty than at any point in modern history — we need to strengthen Social Security. That’s why I, along with nine co-sponsors, have introduced the “Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act.” This legislation would lift the Social Security Payroll tax cap on all income over $250,000 a year, would require millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share into the Social Security Trust Fund, and would extend the program for the next 75 years.

Join me now as a citizen co-sponsor of the Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act.

For 76 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American. The most effective way to strengthen Social Security for the next 76 years is to scrap the payroll tax cap for those earning $250,000 a year or more.

Right now, someone who earns $106,800 pays the same amount of money into Social Security as billionaires like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. That is because today, all income above $106,800 is exempt from the Social Security tax. As a result, 94% of Americans pay Social Security tax on all of their income, but the wealthiest 6% do not.

That makes no sense.

The “Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act” will ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security without cutting benefits, raising the retirement age or raising taxes on the middle class.

Join me and Democracy for America in fighting to strengthen Social Security — Sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of the Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act.

Social Security is keeping tens of millions of seniors out of poverty today. I can think of no more important issue facing our country today than making sure that Social Security remains strong for generations to come.

Thank you.

-Bernie

Senator Bernie Sanders
U.S. Senator from Vermont

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The White House … from the Press Secretary

09/09/2011 Nativegrl77

Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Act

THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT

1. Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow

Cutting the payroll tax in half for 98 percent of businesses:
The President’s plan will cut in half the taxes paid by businesses on
their first $5 million in payroll, targeting the benefit to the 98
percent of firms that have payroll below this threshold.
A complete payroll tax holiday for added workers or increased wages:
The President’s plan will completely eliminate payroll taxes for firms
that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the
wages of their current worker (the benefit is capped at the first $50
million in payroll increases).
Extending 100% expensing into 2012: This continues an effective incentive for new investment.
Reforms and regulatory reductions to help entrepreneurs and small businesses access capital.

2. Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

A “Returning Heroes” hiring tax credit for veterans: This provides tax credits from $5,600 to $9,600 to encourage the hiring of unemployed veterans.
Preventing up to 280,000 teacher layoffs,while keeping cops and firefighters on the job.
Modernizing at least 35,000 public schools across the country,supporting new science labs, Internet-ready classrooms and renovations at schools across the country, in rural and urban areas.
Immediate investments in infrastructure and a bipartisan National Infrastructure Bank, modernizing our roads, rail, airports and waterways while putting hundreds of thousands of workers back on the job.
A New “Project Rebuild”, which will put people to work
rehabilitating homes, businesses and communities, leveraging private
capital and scaling land banks and other public-private collaborations.
Expanding access to high-speed wireless as part of a plan for freeing up the nation’s spectrum.

3. Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs.

The most innovative reform to the unemployment insurance program in 40 years:
As part of an extension of unemployment insurance to prevent 5 million
Americans looking for work from losing their benefits, the President’s
plan includes innovative work-based reforms to prevent layoffs and give
states greater flexibility to use UI funds to best support job-seekers,
including:
- Work-Sharing: UI for workers whose employers choose work-sharing over layoffs.
- A new “Bridge to Work” program: The plan builds on and improves
  innovative state programs where those displacedtake temporary, voluntary
  work or pursue on-the-job training.
- Innovative entrepreneurship and wage insurance programs: States will
  also be empowered to implement wage insurance to help reemploy older
  workers and programs that make it easier for unemployed workers to start
  their own businesses.
A $4,000 tax credit to employers for hiring long-term unemployed workers.
Prohibiting employers from discriminating against unemployed workers when hiring.
Expanding job opportunities for low-income youth and adults
through a fund for successful approaches for subsidized employment,
innovative training programs and summer/year-round jobs for youth.

4. Tax Relief for Every American Worker and Family

Cutting payroll taxes in half for 160 million workers next year:
The President’s plan will expand the payroll tax cut passed last year
to cut workers payroll taxes in half in 2012 – providing a $1,500 tax
cut to the typical American family, without negatively impacting the
Social Security Trust Fund.
Allowing more Americans to refinance their mortgages at today’s near 4 percent interest rates, which can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket.

5. Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan.To
ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President will
call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit
reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit
target. The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan
that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit
reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing
our debt as a share of the economy.

AMERICAN JOBS ACT OVERVIEW

The American people understand that the economic crisis and the deep
recession weren’t created overnight and won’t be solved overnight. The
economic security of the middle class has been under attack for decades.
That’s why President Obama believes we need to do more than just
recover from this economic crisis – we need to rebuild the economy the
American way, based on balance, fairness, and the same set of rules for
everyone from Wall Street to Main Street. We can work together to
create the jobs of the future by helping small business entrepreneurs,
by investing in education, and by making things the world buys. The
President understands that to restore an American economy that’s built
to last we cannot afford to outsource American jobs and encourage
reckless financial deals that put middle class security at risk.

To create jobs, the President unveiled the American Jobs Act – nearly
all of which is made up of ideas that have been supported by both
Democrats and Republicans, and that Congress should pass right away to
get the economy moving now. The purpose of the American Jobs Act is
simple: put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets
of working Americans. And it would do so without adding a dime to the
deficit.

Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow

New Tax Cuts to Businesses to Support Hiring and Investment:The President is proposing three tax cuts to provide immediate incentives to hire and invest:

Cutting the Payroll Tax Cut in Half for the First $5 Million in Wages:This
provision would cut the payroll tax in half to 3.1% for employers on
the first $5 million in wages, providing broad tax relief to all
businesses but targeting it to the 98 percent of firms with wages below
this level.
Temporarily Eliminating Employer Payroll Taxes on Wages for New Workers or Raises for Existing Workers:The
President is proposing a full holiday on the 6.2% payroll tax firms pay
for any growth in their payroll up to $50 million above the prior year,
whether driven by new hires, increased wages or both. This is the kind
of job creation measure that CBO has called the most effective of all
tax cuts in supporting employment.
Extending 100% Expensing into 2012:The President is
proposing to extend 100 percent expensing, the largest temporary
investment incentive in history, allowing all firms – large and small –
to take an immediate deduction on investments in new plants and
equipment.
Helping Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Access Capital and Grow: The
President’s plan includes administrative, regulatory and legislative
measures – including those developed and recommended by the President’s
Jobs Council – to help small firms start and expand. This includes
changing the way the government does business with small firms. The
Administration will soon announce a plan to accelerate government
payments to small contractors to help put money in their hands faster.
The President is also charging his CIO and CTO to, within 90 days, stand
up a one-stop, online portal for small businesses to easily access
government services. As part of the President’s Startup America
initiative, the Administration will work with the SEC to conduct a
comprehensive review of securities regulations from the perspective of
these small companies to reduce the regulatory burdens on small business
capital formation in ways that are consistent with investor protection,
including expanding “crowdfunding” opportunities and increasing
mini-offerings. Finally, the President’s plan calls for Congress to pass
comprehensive patent reform, increase guarantees for bonds to help
small businesses compete for infrastructure projects and remove
burdensome withholding requirements that keep capital out of the hands
of job creators.

Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

Tax Credits and Career Readiness Efforts to Support Veterans’ Hiring:The
President is proposing a Returning Heroes Tax Credit of up to $5,600
for hiring unemployed veterans who have been looking for a job for more
than six months, and a Wounded Warriors Tax Credit of up to $9,600 for
hiring unemployed workers with service-connected disabilities who have
been looking for a job for more than six months, while creating a new
task force to maximize career readiness of servicemembers.
Preventing Layoffs of Teachers, Cops and Firefighters:The
President is proposing to invest $35 billion to prevent layoffs of up
to 280,000 teachers, while supporting the hiring of tens of thousands
more and keeping cops and firefighters on the job. These funds would
help states and localities avoid and reverse layoffs now, requiring that
funds be drawn down quickly. Under the President’s proposal, $30
billion be directed towards educators and $5 billion would support the
hiring and retention of public safety and first responder personnel.
Modernizing Over 35,000 Schools – From Science Labs and Internet-Ready Classrooms to Renovated Facilities:The
President is proposing a $25 billion investment in school
infrastructure that will modernize at least 35,000 public schools –
investments that will create jobs, while improving classrooms and
upgrading our schools to meet 21^st century needs. This
includes a priority for rural schools and dedicated funding for Bureau
of Indian Education funded schools. Funds could be used for a range of
emergency repair and renovation projects, greening and energy efficiency
upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, and modernization efforts to
build new science and computer labs and to upgrade technology in our
schools. The President is also proposing a $5 billion investment in
modernizing community colleges (including tribal colleges), bolstering
their infrastructure in this time of need while ensuring their ability
to serve future generations of students and communities.
Making an Immediate Investment in Our Roads, Rails and Airports:
The President’s plan includes $50 billion in immediate investments for
highways, transit, rail and aviation, helping to modernize an
infrastructure that now receives a grade of “D” from the American
Society of Civil Engineers and putting hundreds of thousands of
construction workers back on the job. The President’s plan includes
investments to improve our airports, support NextGen Air Traffic
Modernization efforts, and resources for the TIGER and TIFIA programs,
which target competitive dollars to innovative multi-modal
infrastructure programs. It will also take special steps to enhance
infrastructure-related job training opportunities for individuals from
underrepresented groups and ensure that small businesses can compete for
infrastructure contracts.The President will work administratively to
speed infrastructure investment through a recently issued Presidential
Memorandum developed with his Jobs Council directingdepartments and
agencies to identify high impact, job-creating infrastructure projects
that can be expedited in a transparent manner through outstanding review
and permitting processes. The call for greater infrastructure
investment has been joined by leaders from AFL-CIO President Richard
Trumka to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue.
Establishing a National Infrastructure Bank:The
President is calling for Congress to pass a National Infrastructure Bank
capitalized with $10 billion, in order to leverage private and public
capital and to invest in a broad range of infrastructure projects of
nationaland regional significance, without earmarks or traditional
political influence. The Bank would be based on the model Senators Kerry
and Hutchison have championed while building on legislation by Senators
Rockefeller and Lautenberg and the work of long-time infrastructure
bank champions like Rosa DeLauro and the input of the President’s Jobs
Council.
Project Rebuild: Putting People Back to Work Rehabilitating Homes, Businesses and Communities.
The President is proposing to invest $15 billion in a national effort
to put construction workers on the job rehabilitating and refurbishing
hundreds of thousands of vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses.
Building on proven approaches to stabilizing neighborhoods with high
concentrations of foreclosures, Project Rebuild will bring in expertise
and capital from the private sector, focus on commercial and residential
property improvements, and expand innovative property solutions like
land banks. This approach will not only create construction jobs but
will help reduce blight and crime and stabilize housing prices in areas
hardest hit by the housing crisis.
Expanding Access to High-Speed Wireless in a Fiscally Responsible Way: The
President is calling for a deficit reducing plan to deploy high-speed
wireless services to at least 98 percent of Americans, including those
in more remote rural communities, while freeing up spectrum through
incentive auctions, spurring innovation, and creating a nationwide,
interoperable wireless network for public safety.

Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs

Reform Our Unemployment Insurance System to Provide Greater Flexibility, While Ensuring 6 Million People Do Not Lose Benefits:
Drawing on the best ideas of both parties and the most innovative
states, the President is proposing the most sweeping reforms to the
unemployment insurance (UI) system in 40 years help those without jobs
transition to the workplace. Alongside these reforms, the President is
reiterating his call to extend unemployment insurance, preventing 6
million people looking for work from losing their benefits and extending
what the independent Congressional Budget Office has determined is the
highest “bang for the buck” option to increase economic activity.
Reemployment Assistance: States will be required to
design more rigorous reemployment services for the long-term unemployed
and to conduct assessments to review the longest-term claimants of UI to
assess their eligibility and help them develop a work-search plan.
These reforms are proven to speed up UI beneficiaries’ return to work.
Work-sharing:The President will expand “work-sharing”
to encourage arrangements using UI that keep employees on the job at
reduced hours, rather than laying them off.
State Flexibility for Bold Reforms to Put the Long-Term Unemployed Back To Work:The
President is proposing to provide additional funds to allow states to
introduce new programs aimed at long-term unemployed workers, including:
“Bridge to Work” Programs:States will be able to put
in place reforms that build off what works in programs like Georgia
Works or Opportunity North Carolina, while instituting important fixes
and reforms that ensure minimum wage and fair labor protections are
being enforced. These approaches permits long-term unemployed workers
to continue receiving UI while they take temporary, voluntary work or
pursue work-based training. The President’s plan requires compliance
with applicable minimum wage and other worker rights laws.
Wage Insurance: States will be able to use UI to
encourage older, long-term unemployed Americans to return to work in new
industries or occupations.
Startup Assistance: States will have flexibility to help long-term unemployed workers create their own jobs by starting their own small businesses.
Other Reemployment Reforms: States will be able to
seek waivers from the Secretary of Labor to implement other innovative
reforms to connect the long-term unemployed to work opportunities.
Tax Credits for Hiring the Long-Term Unemployed:The President is proposing a tax credit of up to $4,000 for hiring workers who have been looking for a job for over six months.
Investing in Low-Income Youth and Adults: The
President is proposing a new Pathways Back to Work Fund to provide
hundreds of thousands of low-income youth and adults with opportunities
to work and to achieve needed training in growth industries. The
Initiative will do three things: i) support summer and year-round jobs
for youth, building off of successful programs that supported over
370,000 such jobs in 2009 and 2010; ii) support subsidized employment
opportunities for low-income individuals who are unemployed, building
off the successful TANF Emergency Contingency Fund wage subsidy program
that supported 260,000 jobs in 2009 and 2010; and iii) support promising
and innovative local work-based job and training initiatives to place
low-income adults and youths in jobs quickly.
Prohibiting Employers from Discriminating Against Unemployed Workers:
The President’s plan calls for legislation that would make it unlawful
to refuse to hire applicants solely because they are unemployed or to
include in a job posting a provision that unemployed persons will not be
considered.

More Money in the Pockets of Every American Worker and Family

Cutting Payroll Taxes in Half for 160 Million Workers Next Year: The
President’s plan will expand the payroll tax cut passed last December
by cutting workers payroll taxes in half next year. This provision will
provide a tax cut of $1,500 to the typical family earning $50,000 a
year. As with the payroll tax cut passed in December 2010, the American
Jobs Act will specify that Social Security will still receive every
dollar it would have gotten otherwise, through a transfer from the
General Fund into the Social Security Trust Fund.
Helping More Americans Refinance Mortgages at Today’s Historically Low Interest Rates: The
President has instructed his economic team to work with Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac, their regulator the FHFA, major lenders and industry
leaders to remove the barriers that exist in the current refinancing
program (HARP) to help more borrowers benefit from today’s historically
low interest rates. This has the potential to not only help these
borrowers, but their communities and the American taxpayer, by keeping
borrowers in their homes and reducing risk to Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac.

Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan.

To ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President
will call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit
reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit
target. The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan
that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit
reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing
our debt as a share of the economy.

		$, bn
Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow		70
	Cut employer payroll taxes in half & bonus payroll cut for new jobs/wages	65
	Extend 100% expensing in 2012	5
Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America		140
	Teacher rehiring and first responders	35
	Modernizing schools	30
	Immediate surface transportation	50
	Infrastructure bank	10
	Rehabilitation/repurposing of vacant property (neighborhood stabilization)	15
	National wireless initiative	0*
	Veterans hiring initiative	n.a.
Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs		62
	UI Reform and Extension	49
	Jobs tax credit for long term unemployed	8
	Pathways back to work fund	5
More Money in the Pockets of Every American Worker and Family		175
	Cutting employee payroll taxes in half in 2012	175
TOTAL		447

* Proposal has a gross cost of $10bn, but a net deficit reducing impact of $18bn because of spectrum auction proceeds.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

5 Social Security Myths That Have to Go …By Eric Schurenberg

03/23/2011 Nativegrl77

Social Security isn’t the only cause of America’s fiscal problems, but it is Exhibit A in why it is so hard to fix them. No serious solution to our debt can ignore a program that will tax and spend about 4.8% of GDP this year and account for about 20% of all federal spending-and that within a few decades will count almost a third of the population as beneficiaries. But whenever I write about Social Security here at CBS MoneyWatch, I’m always struck by how much disagreement there is about how the system really works.

A handful of misconceptions tend to crop up repeatedly-often having to do with that fiscal fun-house mirror, the Social Security trust fund. And despite the efforts of writers like Allan Sloan and experts like the Urban Institute’s Eugene Steuerle, the myths won’t die. This column won’t kill them either, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take a whack. Here goes:

Myth: Social Security didn’t create the deficit and shouldn’t be cut to fix it

This is a much loved progressive slogan. “Blaming Social Security for the deficit is like blaming Iraq for 9/11,” writes Dave Johnson of OurFuture.org in one of the cleverer examples of the genre.

Technically, the first part of the myth is true-or rather, used to be true. From 1983 until last year, Social Security revenues actually lowered the Treasury’s need to borrow in the public markets, as excess payroll taxes collected under Social Security’s flag helped fund other government programs.

The surplus years are over, however. The Social Security trustees’ report estimates that last year payroll taxes fell short of the sums paid out to beneficiaries. Small surpluses will return for a few years; then the red ink will return for good in 2015. To make up the annual shortfall, Social Security will have to draw on revenues from the general budget. In other words, from here on out, year after year, Social Security only makes the deficit larger.

Myth: Social Security benefits are earned; reducing them amounts to confiscation

It’s not hard to see why this illusion exists, since Social Security’s own website refers to “earned credits” and sometimes refers to payroll taxes as contributions. But despite Social Security’s fetish for language that echoes private pensions, no one ever vests in Social Security. You don’t own your benefits until you cash the check.

It’s more accurate to say your benefits are an entitlement granted by act of Congress and subject to change at any time by another act of Congress. As long as voters consider benefits inviolate, they will be. When voters decide fiscal responsibility is more important, then Social Security benefits- “earned” or not-will be up for review.

Myth: Social Security is funded until 2037

The Social Security trust fund–the ledger on which Uncle Sam records the surplus taxes that the program has accumulated over the years–is large enough that the program need not ask for extra money to pay benefits until 2037, the year that the trust fund “runs dry” if nothing changes. But that’s not the same as being funded-at least not in a way that has any economic meaning.

As you may know, the trust fund is, for accounting purposes, assumed to be invested in IOUs from the U.S. Treasury. When Social Security needs money beyond what it expects to collect in payroll taxes, it can redeem some of these IOUs. But it’s not as if the trust fund is a giant 401(k). It’s more like access to a rich but cash-strapped daddy’s credit card.

What that means is that Social Security can get what it needs from Treasury without having to ask permission from Congress. But when it redeems one of these IOUs, the Treasury (just like Daddy) has to come up with the money the old-fashioned way, by raising taxes or, more likely, borrowing more.

Dolly Madison at Daily Kos seems to think that Social Security’s need for cash can be met from the interest credited to the trust fund-that is, with more IOUs. Allan Sloan disagrees:

You know, of course, why this wouldn’t work — at least, I hope you know. It’s because the U.S. government ultimately has to pay its bills with cash, not with its own IOUs. In the long run, you need cash — real money — not funny money.

“Fully funded” suggests that the money to maintain today’s benefits until 2035 is already locked up. It isn’t. Redeeming IOUs from the trust fund (and the income imputed to those IOUs) will only put another burden on taxpayers who are simultaneously paying for Medicare, interest on the debt, and all the other purposes of government. At some point, the total burden will be too much.

Myth: The trust fund is invested in Treasury bonds, the most secure investments in the world. To suggest that the trust fund wouldn’t pay is blatant fear mongering.

The trust fund’s IOUs are entered on the Treasuries books as non-trading “special issue” bonds, paying interest at a rate equal to an average of outstanding Treasuries. And yes, the Treasury will undoubtedly pay if Social Security asks.

But that’s not the issue. The issue is whether taxpayers think it’s so important to maintain Social Security benefits that they will gladly absorb the burden of paying off those bonds on the current schedule. Remember, Congress (that is, you know, taxpayers) can cut benefits-and thus postpone the need for Social Security to redeem any bonds–just by passing a law.

In other words, the myth misses the point. Whether Social Security continues to pay benefits at today’s rates isn’t a question of credit quality. It’s a question of politics and priorities.

Myth: Social Security is an easy fix

Any policy wonk worth his or her spreadsheet can quickly come up with ways to bring Social Security into long-term actuarial balance. You can conjure up solutions yourself using the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s calculator. You’ll find it’s not that hard to wipe out the system’s long-term deficit.

The only problem is, most such solutions regard Social Security as a closed system. They assume that the trust fund is an ATM that gushes cash whenever the trustees demand, and that workers will never balk at stepping up to higher payroll taxes.

Which brings us to what may be the most destructive myth of all: The idea that Social Security is, fiscally speaking, an end in itself. In the real world that Social Security actually operates in, the government and its citizens all have other obligations. As Steuerle puts it:

Social Security as a budget issue revolves not simply around its internal accounting balances and trust funds, but rather how much of the economy it occupies and how much of future growth it absorbs.

The discussion we need to have, then, isn’t simply whether we can pull the levers to bring Social Security into balance. That is easy. Instead, we need to ask a larger, tougher question: In light of all we owe-to our creditors, our children and our future-how much do we want to spend supporting everyone who happens to live past 62? We want to spend something, to be sure, and maybe a lot. But myths and slogans shouldn’t persuade us that we can avoid the question. We can’t.

[A version of this post previously appeared on The Fiscal Times]

Follow me on Twitter: @EditorBNET