Al Franken: “Last week my colleagues on the other side of the aisle blocked a vote that would have eased the burden of debt for…”

“Last week my colleagues on the other side of the aisle blocked a vote that would have eased the burden of debt for millions of college students in Minnesota and across the country. My Republican friends disagreed with us about the best way to pay for this legislation, so a minority of Senators kept us from helping millions of families and taking a step toward keeping our Nation's workforce globally competitive. But this debate is not just about helping students pay for college. I want to talk a little bit about the two competing proposals to pay for this critical legislation. I wish to talk about our national priorities and our national values. On one side, the Democratic proposal would close a loophole that allows some of the wealthiest Americans to avoid paying taxes they should owe to the Federal Government. This fix, our fix, would only apply to Americans making over $250,000 a year and would not create any new taxes on businesses or individuals. It would close a loophole that allows high-income people to get out of paying taxes everyone else in America is already expected to pay. This is what it is. You see, some people making a lot of money talk to their accountants and tax lawyers who have figured out that the law was written in such a way that you could use an S corporation to get around paying some of your payroll taxes. Payroll taxes are your Social Security taxes and your Medicare taxes. S corporations are basically a passthrough.…”