On the recordNovember 30, 2012
I thank the gentleman for his comments. I appreciate his observation with reference to a number of pieces of legislation that are pending, and as he mentions in his comments, the fiscal cliff, of course, is a concern, not only to us, but to the entire country. The negotiations, as the majority leader points out, are ongoing and hopefully will bear fruit--and hopefully will bear fruit in the short term. Mr. Leader, there are, however, some steps that we could take, I think, that would alleviate some of the concerns and apprehensions that do exist in the country. As you know, we've discussed before, the middle class tax cut, that is, the under $250,000 that has been the object of discussion in the election and continues to be the object of discussion here. I'm wondering whether or not, given some of the comments that have been made, I know, by Mr. Tom Cole, your former chairman of the Republican Campaign Committee, and others, as well as the President's comments, that I don't see scheduled but would urge consideration, Mr. Leader, of the Senate-passed bill which will assure 98 percent of Americans that they will not receive a tax increase on January 1. I don't see that on your list, and I'm wondering if the majority leader could comment on whether it is possible for us to take up that Senate bill to give assurance to the 98 percent of the people who will be affected by that bill.
