mr. barrasso gets strapped in. you know, jartd, we've gone round and round on this and probably will again. all i'm going to say to you is when you cut through all the fog about the buffett tax, this is a backdoor way of raising the capital gains and dividends tax, namely stock market taxes, from 15% to 30% among the most successful investors. and i don't see how that is going to help, a, the market, or b, the economy. >> look, it's a fair point. but i can explain to you how it's going to help. first of all, we need more revenue. second of all, if you look at the history of taxes on capital gains or dividends, there's times when they've been up in that 30% neighborhood and the statistical analysis very clear from the academic literature. i've done some of this myself. it shows that there's really no correlation between the investment and these marginal tax rates. what you tend to see, larry, is is when you start messing around with favorable tax rates, all of a sudden that kind of income gets defined and you have t

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr.president, i've risen many times over the past three years to talk about the bad policy choices of the obama administration and the harmful effects of these policies on our economy and on the american people. in many ways, the president's decision has made things worse in our country. the bill before us today would impose what's being called the buffett tax. it's just one more example, mr. president, of a policy that will hurt our economy, not help it. this tax will take money from the pockets of small businesses that they would use to create jobs. more than a third of all business income reported on individual returns would be hit by this tax increase. back in september, president obama said that this tax hike on american families would raise enough money -- this is the president said this -- he said it would raise enough money not only to pay for his increased spending but he said -- quote -- "to stabilize our debt and deficits for the next decade." he said back then, he said, "this

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. if officer without objection. mr. blumenthal: & i asmr. blumet i be permitted to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. on this day, almost exactly at this hour, in bridgeport, connecticut, the lambiance plaza became a scene of devastation and destruction and death. every year -- almost every year in those 25 years we have commemorated that destruction and tragedy with a ceremony, and we did the same this morning in bridgeport. we went first to the site and then to city hall and then to lay a wreath at the memorial for the 28 workers who were killed on this day 25 years ago. lambian crevment is ground zero for worker safety. and i rise today to talk about all wh

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr.president, i've risen many times over the past three years to talk about the bad policy choices of the obama administration and the harmful effects of these policies on our economy and on the american people. in many ways, the president's decision has made things worse in our country. the bill before us today would impose what's being called the buffett tax. it's just one more example, mr. president, of a policy that will hurt our economy, not help it. this tax will take money from the pockets of small businesses that they would use to create jobs. more than a third of all business income reported on individual returns would be hit by this tax increase. back in september, president obama said that this tax hike on american families would raise enough money -- this is the president said this -- he said it would raise enough money not only to pay for his increased spending but he said -- quote -- "to stabilize our debt and deficits for the next decade." he said back then, he said, "this

mr. barrasso: thank you very much, madam president. week after week i come to the senate floor to give a doctor's second opinion about the health care law. i will tell you having listened to my colleague from tennessee and his wonderful comments here i should have him on a weekly basis join me in these second opinions because he has very clearly stated a number of things in this health care law that are hurting people. and he talked about his experiences as governor, and the impact of medicaid mandates and how that impacted his ability to provide for education within a state. and just now with the bill that he has introduced and i'd like to associate myself with his remarks, because he showed that one of the tricks that was used in passing the health care law is overcharging. this is the obama health care law overcharging young people on student loans and the democrats all voted for it, the republicans all voted against it, overcharging students for student loans. why? to pay for the president's health care law. so i appreciate the com

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr.president, i've risen many times over the past three years to talk about the bad policy choices of the obama administration and the harmful effects of these policies on our economy and on the american people. in many ways, the president's decision has made things worse in our country. the bill before us today would impose what's being called the buffett tax. it's just one more example, mr. president, of a policy that will hurt our economy, not help it. this tax will take money from the pockets of small businesses that they would use to create jobs. more than a third of all business income reported on individual returns would be hit by this tax increase. back in september, president obama said that this tax hike on american families would raise enough money -- this is the president said this -- he said it would raise enough money not only to pay for his increased spending but he said -- quote -- "to stabilize our debt and deficits for the next decade." he said back then, he said, "this

mr. mcconnell: here is some of what he wrote. this is senator barrasso. "people think it's fair that children and grandchildren will be saddled with debt because of its reckless spending. washington spends 42 cents out of every dollar it spends. the president thinks that's fair. he thinks it's fair to pile debt on top of households over the last three years. the president thinks that's fair. he thinks it's fair to use college students as props for his campaign-style rallies without explaining how his bad policies will leave them in debt. he thinks it's fair to force hardworking taxpayers to subsidize a wealthy person's purchase of a hybrid luxury car because it fits his idea for american energy. he thinks it's fair to hand out hundreds of millions of tax dollars to politically connected solar energy companies that then go bankrupt. he thinks it's fair to tell thousands of workers they won't have jobs because he blocked the keystone x.l. pipeline to solidify the support of a few far left environmentalists. and apparently president obama thinks it's fair th

to the senator from wyoming, senator barrasso, and that i have the remainder of the republican time. the presiding officer: without objection. without objection. mr. alexander: of course. so as i was saying, president obama's speeches around the country on college campuses about student debt are incomplete because the rest of the story, unfortunately, is that the main reason why college tuition is going up and the main reason therefore why loans are going up is president obama and his health care policies. to be fair, he didn't start many of these policies. they've been going on for a good while but he's made them worse over the last three or four years and when the new health care law geese into effect in 2014 with its new mandates on states we'll find an exaggeration of what's already been happening which is that federal health care mandates on states are soaking up the money that states otherwise would spend on the university of oklahoma and tennessee and the state universities of new york and when states don't support their public colleges and universities, which is where three-fourths of our higher education students attend, then their only

to the senator from wyoming, senator barrasso, and that i have the remainder of the republican time. the presiding officer: without objection. without objection. mr. alexander: of course. so as i was saying, president obama's speeches around the country on college campuses about student debt are incomplete because the rest of the story, unfortunately, is that the main reason why college tuition is going up and the main reason therefore why loans are going up is president obama and his health care policies. to be fair, he didn't start many of these policies. they've been going on for a good while but he's made them worse over the last three or four years and when the new health care law geese into effect in 2014 with its new mandates on states we'll find an exaggeration of what's already been happening which is that federal health care mandates on states are soaking up the money that states otherwise would spend on the university of oklahoma and tennessee and the state universities of new york and when states don't support their public colleges and universities, which is where three-fourths of our higher education students attend, then their only

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to ten minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today, and this being tax week, people all around the country send in their tax returns. the deadline has just passed, yesterday, april 17. so people are focused a lot on what happens in washington. they think about the i.r.s., they think about the money that is being sent and how that money is being spent. well, as people pay their annual tax bills, i want to remind americans about how this administration, the obama administration, is spending tax dollars on actually the president's unpopular health care law, and that's why i come to the floor today as i have every week since the health care law has been passed with a doctor's second opinion about the health care law. at the t

to the senator from wyoming, senator barrasso, and that i have the remainder of the republican time. the presiding officer: without objection. without objection. mr. alexander: of course. so as i was saying, president obama's speeches around the country on college campuses about student debt are incomplete because the rest of the story, unfortunately, is that the main reason why college tuition is going up and the main reason therefore why loans are going up is president obama and his health care policies. to be fair, he didn't start many of these policies. they've been going on for a good while but he's made them worse over the last three or four years and when the new health care law geese into effect in 2014 with its new mandates on states we'll find an exaggeration of what's already been happening which is that federal health care mandates on states are soaking up the money that states otherwise would spend on the university of oklahoma and tennessee and the state universities of new york and when states don't support their public colleges and universities, which is where three-fourths of our higher education students attend, then their only