On the recordJune 16, 2010
this is a new substitute amendment. We voted on an earlier version today. This is a new one. It still addresses many of the same issues as the last substitute, but it is smaller. It has fewer dollars involved and it is more paid for. The majority of this amendment is now offset. Most of the dollars spent in this amendment are offset, not by a lot but still the majority--more than half. All of the amendment is offset except for two matters: the unemployment insurance and the aid to the States under Medicaid; that is, the safety net provisions are not offset--those two. Everything else is offset. That means we do pay for changes to how doctors are compensated under Medicare. That is paid for. We do pay for all the changes to the tax laws. They are paid for as well. We also made changes to the provisions regarding S corporations and carried interest. I will have more to say about those tomorrow, but suffice it to say that the S corp changes address some of the administrative concerns and burdens some Senators had as we were attempting to stop the abuses of some professional S corps, the abuses they have been conducting. Frankly, they have been paying themselves a very small salary. These are professional corporations primarily. Then they pay themselves dividends. Because dividends are not wages, they avoid payroll taxes. They avoid the FICA tax and avoid paying the Medicare tax. That is something we are trying to stop.
