Wednesday, January 2, 2013

WATCH, READ: Arizona's Congressional Delegation's Statements On "Fiscal Cliff" Pullback

The House of Representatives voted last night, 257-167, to approve the stopgap measure to pull back from some aspects of the so-called "fiscal cliff"; Arizona's delegation voted along party lines, although both Arizona Republican Senators approved it on New Year's Eve.  Roughly one-third of the House Republicans voted to approve it, although none of Arizona's five GOP members did so.


I expected my e-mail box to be full this morning with released statements from our Congressional delegation.  Apparently because of the holiday, however, only Rep. David Schweikert (R-CD5) sent out an e-mail.  Other statements had to be hunted down on Facebook pages or elsewhere.  They are reproducted below.

First, however, Schweikert was on CNN shortly before the vote, decrying the bill that he was being forced to vote on.  Though he pulled back (slightly) from calling it "baloney", he spared no other words:



None of the Arizona delegation spoke on the House floor yesterday.

Although we did not see the details of the increased spending (yet), we did start to look at the bill itself that was passed last night.  The table of contents is below the Representatives' statements.

Rep. Ron Barber (D-CD8):  “We finally took the necessary step to extend tax cuts for more than 98 percent of Americans,” Barber said after tonight’s vote. “But our job is far from over. We again have failed to substantively address our nation’s growing debt and deficit.”
“We owe the American people far better than this,” Barber added. “The dangerous political maneuvers that took us over the cliff are irresponsible and I call on my colleagues to stop the political gamesmanship and come together in a bipartisan manner to finish the job.”“While our debt is increasing by nearly $4 billion per day, we have voted to delay by two months making the common-sense spending cuts that we all know are necessary to give certainty to Americans, to businesses and to our entire economy.”
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-CD1): "Tonight I kept my promise to the people of Arizona to make the right choice even when it's not the popular choice. The bill passed tonight raised taxes $41 for every $1 cut; this is not how we get our nation back on track. Those of us who voted for the Budget Control Act which allowed the debt ceiling to raise in exchange for meaningful cuts learned tonight, as President's Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush once learned, that promises for future cuts rarely if ever come. I remain committed to solving our nation’s problems now, not a month from now, not a year from now but now. This “deal” does not do that and therefore I could not vote for it."
Gosar went on to say, "As a healthcare provider I understand the significance of a patient acknowledging that they have a disease. It is only with this recognition that they can fully participate in their own treatment and overcome it. Our nation has developed an illness - out of control spending, borrowing and taxing. Simple economics and common sense give us the cure. However, before we can start treatment for our addiction we as a nation have to recognize that we are sick and be willing to stop. Tonight's vote is a painful reminder that many still aren't willing to see the constant decline in our nations fiscal health and well being."
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-CD6):  "In the twelve years I've been voting in the House, it has been a rare occasion when I have agreed with all aspects of a bill. That's the nature of the legislative process. Sometimes you just have to plug your nose and vote for bills that, on balance, take you in the right direction. I wish I could do that tonight, with what is likely to be my last vote in the House.
"To be sure, this bill has some good parts. It takes what have been temporary tax cuts for the vast majority of taxpayers and makes them permanent. But it fails to address the root of our nation's number one problem - overspending. In fact, it makes the situation far worse. If taxes are going to be raised on anybody, you would think the resulting revenue would be used to address our debt and deficit, not make it worse. Yet that's what we are doing here.
"I'm voting no."

Rep. David Schweikert (R-CD5):  
“Sadly, a new year brings more of the same.  

“Only in Washington would a bill that spends more, taxes more, and creates more debt, without addressing our out-of-control spending be called a ‘balanced approach.’

“Further, this is not a compromise and it certainly does nothing to address our entitlement crisis or the $16 trillion in debt that continues to grow every day.

“Any fix to our economic woes will be nothing more than window dressing until we address our spending problem.

“However bleak this fiscal cliff ‘solution’ may look, I am only more determined to continue to do what Arizonans sent me to Washington to do—fight to reduce the size and cost of government.

“Our fight is just beginning.”

*********
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
2 this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title, etc.
TITLE I—GENERAL EXTENSIONS
Sec. 101. Permanent extension and modification of 2001 tax relief.
Sec. 102. Permanent extension and modification of 2003 tax relief.
Sec. 103. Extension of 2009 tax relief.
Sec. 104. Permanent alternative minimum tax relief.
TITLE II—INDIVIDUAL TAX EXTENDERS
Sec. 201. Extension of deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary
school teachers.
Sec. 202. Extension of exclusion from gross income of discharge of qualified principal
residence indebtedness.
Sec. 203. Extension of parity for exclusion from income for employer-provided
mass transit and parking benefits.
Sec. 204. Extension of mortgage insurance premiums treated as qualified residence
interest.
Sec. 205. Extension of deduction of State and local general sales taxes.
Sec. 206. Extension of special rule for contributions of capital gain real property
made for conservation purposes.
Sec. 207. Extension of above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related
expenses.
Sec. 208. Extension of tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for
charitable purposes.
Sec. 209. Improve and make permanent the provision authorizing the Internal
Revenue Service to disclose certain return and return information
to certain prison officials.
TITLE III—BUSINESS TAX EXTENDERS
Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit.
Sec. 302. Extension of temporary minimum low-income tax credit rate for nonfederally
subsidized new buildings.
Sec. 303. Extension of housing allowance exclusion for determining area median
gross income for qualified residential rental project exempt facility
bonds.
Sec. 304. Extension of Indian employment tax credit.
Sec. 305. Extension of new markets tax credit.
Sec. 306. Extension of railroad track maintenance credit.
Sec. 307. Extension of mine rescue team training credit.
Sec. 308. Extension of employer wage credit for employees who are active duty
members of the uniformed services.
Sec. 309. Extension of work opportunity tax credit.
Sec. 310. Extension of qualified zone academy bonds.
Sec. 311. Extension of 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold
improvements, qualified restaurant buildings and improvements,
and qualified retail improvements.
Sec. 312. Extension of 7-year recovery period for motorsports entertainment complexes.
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Sec. 313. Extension of accelerated depreciation for business property on an Indian
reservation.
Sec. 314. Extension of enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory.
Sec. 315. Extension of increased expensing limitations and treatment of certain
real property as section 179 property.
Sec. 316. Extension of election to expense mine safety equipment.
Sec. 317. Extension of special expensing rules for certain film and television productions.
Sec. 318. Extension of deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to
domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.
Sec. 319. Extension of modification of tax treatment of certain payments to controlling
exempt organizations.
Sec. 320. Extension of treatment of certain dividends of regulated investment
companies.
Sec. 321. Extension of RIC qualified investment entity treatment under FIRPTA.
Sec. 322. Extension of subpart F exception for active financing income.
Sec. 323. Extension of look-thru treatment of payments between related controlled
foreign corporations under foreign personal holding company
rules.
Sec. 324. Extension of temporary exclusion of 100 percent of gain on certain
small business stock.
Sec. 325. Extension of basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable
contributions of property.
Sec. 326. Extension of reduction in S-corporation recognition period for built-in
gains tax.
Sec. 327. Extension of empowerment zone tax incentives.
Sec. 328. Extension of tax-exempt financing for New York Liberty Zone.
Sec. 329. Extension of temporary increase in limit on cover over of rum excise
taxes to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Sec. 330. Modification and extension of American Samoa economic development
credit.
Sec. 331. Extension and modification of bonus depreciation.
TITLE IV—ENERGY TAX EXTENDERS
Sec. 401. Extension of credit for energy-efficient existing homes.
Sec. 402. Extension of credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property.
Sec. 403. Extension of credit for 2- or 3-wheeled plug-in electric vehicles.
Sec. 404. Extension and modification of cellulosic biofuel producer credit.
Sec. 405. Extension of incentives for biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Sec. 406. Extension of production credit for Indian coal facilities placed in service
before 2009.
Sec. 407. Extension and modification of credits with respect to facilities producing
energy from certain renewable resources.
Sec. 408. Extension of credit for energy-efficient new homes.
Sec. 409. Extension of credit for energy-efficient appliances.
Sec. 410. Extension and modification of special allowance for cellulosic biofuel
plant property.
Sec. 411. Extension of special rule for sales or dispositions to implement FERC
or State electric restructuring policy for qualified electric utilities.
Sec. 412. Extension of alternative fuels excise tax credits.
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TITLE V—UNEMPLOYMENT
Sec. 501. Extension of emergency unemployment compensation program.
Sec. 502. Temporary extension of extended benefit provisions.
Sec. 503. Extension of funding for reemployment services and reemployment and
eligibility assessment activities.
Sec. 504. Additional extended unemployment benefits under the Railroad Unemployment
Insurance Act.
TITLE VI—MEDICARE AND OTHER HEALTH EXTENSIONS
Subtitle A—Medicare Extensions
Sec. 601. Medicare physician payment update.
Sec. 602. Work geographic adjustment.
Sec. 603. Payment for outpatient therapy services.
Sec. 604. Ambulance add-on payments.
Sec. 605. Extension of Medicare inpatient hospital payment adjustment for lowvolume
hospitals.
Sec. 606. Extension of the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program.
Sec. 607. Extension for specialized Medicare Advantage plans for special needs
individuals.
Sec. 608. Extension of Medicare reasonable cost contracts.
Sec. 609. Performance improvement.
Sec. 610. Extension of funding outreach and assistance for low-income programs.
Subtitle B—Other Health Extensions
Sec. 621. Extension of the qualifying individual (QI) program.
Sec. 622. Extension of Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA).
Sec. 623. Extension of Medicaid and CHIP Express Lane option.
Sec. 624. Extension of family-to-family health information centers.
Sec. 625. Extension of Special Diabetes Program for Type I diabetes and for Indians.
Subtitle C—Other Health Provisions
Sec. 631. IPPS documentation and coding adjustment for implementation of MSDRGs.
Sec. 632. Revisions to the Medicare ESRD bundled payment system to reflect
findings in the GAO report.
Sec. 633. Treatment of multiple service payment policies for therapy services.
Sec. 634. Payment for certain radiology services furnished under the Medicare
hospital outpatient department prospective payment system.
Sec. 635. Adjustment of equipment utilization rate for advanced imaging services.
Sec. 636. Medicare payment of competitive prices for diabetic supplies and elimination
of overpayment for diabetic supplies.
Sec. 637. Medicare payment adjustment for non-emergency ambulance transports
for ESRD beneficiaries.
Sec. 638. Removing obstacles to collection of overpayments.
Sec. 639. Medicare advantage coding intensity adjustment.
Sec. 640. Elimination of all funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund.
Sec. 641. Rebasing of State DSH allotments.
Sec. 642. Repeal of CLASS program.
Sec. 643. Commission on Long-Term Care.
Sec. 644. Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan program contingency fund.
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† HR 8 EAS
TITLE VII—EXTENSION OF AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS
Sec. 701. 1-year extension of agricultural programs.
Sec. 702. Supplemental agricultural disaster assistance.
TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 801. Strategic delivery systems.
Sec. 802. No cost of living adjustment in pay of members of congress.
TITLE IX—BUDGET PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Modifications of Sequestration
Sec. 901. Treatment of sequester.
Sec. 902. Amounts in applicable retirement plans may be transferred to designated
Roth accounts without distribution.
Subtitle B—Budgetary Effects
Sec. 911. Budgetary effects.


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