On the recordOctober 20, 2011
Madam President, I rise in support of S. 1726, the Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2011. I know we are currently debating several appropriations bills which we hope to be concluded sometime later today. But in that process, my expectation is that we are going to get an opportunity to vote on a couple of amendments that deal with the real issue I think that is on the minds of most Americans today, that is, jobs and the economy. The bill I referenced, S. 1726, is identical to the measure that was introduced earlier this year by Senators Scott Brown and Olympia Snowe and of which I and 28 of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are cosponsors. Given that we may get a chance to vote on this legislation, perhaps in the form of an amendment to the bill that we are currently on later today, I want to say a few words as to why I believe this represents the right approach to spurring our economy. I think there is a right approach and there is a wrong approach to getting people back to work in this country and getting the economy growing and expanding again. American businesses need access to capital. They need to be able to deploy their existing capital as efficiently and effectively as possible. If we do not act, come January 1, 2013, 3 percent of contracts between private businesses and Federal, State, and local governments will be withheld.…





