The Public Record
Max Baucus is a former U.S. Senator from Montana, serving from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, Baucus was known for his work on health care reform and tax policy. He played a significant role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act and was a key advocate for various economic initiatives during his tenure. Baucus also served as the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, where he influenced legislation related to taxation and trade. After leaving the Senate, he was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to China, where he focused on strengthening U.S.-China relations.
this has an intriguing, alluring, siren call: Let the Governors and State legislatures divert it. It sounds good on the surface. But like a lot of issues, let's stop and think about the actual consequences. First of all, when we passed the…
there have been a lot of statements on the floor, a lot of words. A lot is accurate and a lot is inaccurate. I would like to set things straight on what it is we are voting and on what it is we are not voting. It has been said here that…
Clearly, we both want to solve the marriage tax penalty. It is my judgment that we are going to pass legislation this week--I hope so. There will be a couple of amendments. It is normal and proper in the Senate for Senators who think they…
If we are trying to solve the so-called marriage penalty problem, then we should try to solve the so-called marriage tax penalty problem.
I want to respond to two points that several of our Republican colleagues have made with respect to the Finance Committee bill, the majority bill. The first claim is that the Finance Committee bill, the majority bill, eliminates the…
Maybe the Senator is not addressing the question, for many good reasons. The question is, why not deal with all 65 of the inequities rather than only 3?
I ask the Senator, are there some people getting married and, as a consequence, pay less taxes?
I ask the Senator, is the so-called marriage tax penalty a consequence of getting married or is it a consequence of getting married and the proportion of incomes each spouse earns? I might ask the question differently. How many people in…
This Senator is not advocating any increase in taxes; no way at all. I want to make that clear. I know the Senator didn't mean to imply that I was thinking of raising taxes because I am not.
If I might ask the Senator one more question, is it better to try to find some way to pay down the national debt at the same time we are fixing the marriage tax penalty problem? The Senator gave a hypothetical of a man and woman each…
The question I am asking is this: More than half of the Finance Committee bill does not address the marriage tax penalty problem. More than half goes to married couples who have no marriage penalty problem but who are already in a bonus…
One of the provisions not dealt with in the majority bill is taxation of Social Security benefits. That is no small item. It would cost about $60 billion over 10 years if it were to be addressed. I remind people that today the majority…
The so-called marriage penalty is not a penalty. It is the result of the code. Nobody in Congress decided we were going to penalize married couples by making changes in the Tax Code so that married couples would pay more than two singles…
I rise to oppose the Lott bill to repeal the gasoline tax that funds our nation's highway program. I do so for two reasons. First, the bill would undermine the landmark 1998 highway bill, which is so important to economic development in…
To sum up, the budget resolution before us does not reflect the priorities of the American people. That is clear. The American people do not want 98 percent of the surplus to be allocated to tax cuts. I daresay the majority of Americans…
I rise today to address a concern I have about the way we run our trade policy. Over a quarter century ago, Congress passed the Trade Act of 1974. It was a monumental piece of legislation which laid the foundation for America's current…
I rise to support the Roth amendment, which expresses the sense of the Senate that we should maintain the longstanding ban on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We have heard a lot of concern lately about the cost of gas…
what is at issue is very clear. I hope my colleagues pay attention. The issue is whether this Congress is going to break the trust the American people have in the highway trust fund. That is the issue. Dollars going into the Federal…
I will make a few points about the budget resolution. First of all, I am quite concerned that the budget fails to set the right priorities. At least when we listen to the American people as to what their priorities are, this budget…
This amendment essentially provides that related signals, including high-speed Internet access and National Weather Service warnings, be included in the criteria when the board decides which loans to guarantee in providing for…
I will address the pending subject, local-into-local broadcasting. At the end of the last session of Congress, there was some talk that in this session of Congress, this year, we would take up financing to help guarantee local-into-local…
I hope people listened to the words of the Senator from Massachusetts. He couldn't be more right on; namely, it is the right thing to do. Purely and simply, it is the right thing to do. For that reason only I urge Members of the Senate and…
Is there any reason the Senate cannot meet, do its business, and vote on matters of importance on Mondays and Fridays?
Isn't it true that people at home who elect us want us to do the Nation's work? Isn't that what the people at home expect us to do?
It went into effect this year. I compliment the Senator. I compliment both Senators for what they want to do. I want to join them. To me, it is a tragedy that the Senate is not doing the Nation's work, particularly on an issue such as the…
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