On the recordAugust 5, 2010
I wish to associate myself strongly with his remarks and urge our colleagues on this side to vote against the DeMint amendment. The Senator from Montana is absolutely correct. It is a stunt, and it is a very sad stunt. If the Senator from South Carolina is trying to wave the flag of small business to try to convince anybody to vote for his amendment, I wanted to put some things in the Record that might convince them otherwise. This is a recent report that came out from the Tax Policy Center, the Urban Institute, and the Brookings Institution--very well respected. It is dated August 3, 2010. I quote: If the objective-- Which would be the extension of all the Bush tax cuts-- is to help small business, continuing the Bush tax cuts on high-income taxpayers isn't the way to go [because] it would miss 98 percent of small business owners. So I beg my colleagues, if you want to have this debate over tax cuts, we can have it at a different time. Please don't wave small business out here. What the Senator from South Carolina will do--the effect of his amendment, according to this very reputable report--would completely miss 98 percent of small businesses in America. They are desperate for help. His amendment misses them by a mile.
