Executive Session
Floor Speech
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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, responding to the coronavirus continues to be one of our top priorities here in Congress, I think, as evidenced that yesterday the Senate moved a bill across the floor of the Senate that will be on its way now to the President's desk for his signature, previously passed by the House, that makes some modifications to the PPP program--things that were sought by both sides, improvements, I think, that enable that program to be used with greater flexibility, extending the amount of time in which those dollars that have been received can be used, and allowing some greater flexibility in how they are used.
So I think that is evidence, again, that this body, and both Democrats and Republicans working together, can get things done for the American people that address the very direct needs and challenges they face right now as a result of the coronavirus.
I credit the authors of that--Senators Collins and Rubio on our side, along with their Democratic counterparts--for working together to structure a program that has not only helped many businesses stay in business--millions of businesses stay in business--but has kept tens of millions of people in this country employed at a time when we desperately need to keep those jobs.
So, again, I think it is evidence of this body's and our Senate majority's focus on the coronavirus and things we can do to help assist those who have been most harmed economically by that, as well as addressing the very real health emergency that we need to continue to focus on in terms of finding those therapeutics and vaccines that will enable the American people to have confidence, once again, that they can go out. The Economy
Mr. President, what I want to speak to today is the evidence that we are seeing that the economy around the country is starting to reopen. There is still a lot of work, obviously, that has to be done to defeat the virus and help our economy and the American people recover.
As I mentioned, we have spent the past few weeks focused on monitoring the implementation of the $2.4 trillion in aid that Congress has provided. Our committees are hard at work conducting coronavirus oversight and looking ahead to what else Congress may need to do to combat the virus and to get our economy going again.
We are looking at what more funding Congress may need to provide and what Congress can do that doesn't involve a lot of new spending.
As I said, Congress has already provided $2.5 trillion to fight the coronavirus, and we will absolutely provide more if needed, but we need to remember that every dollar we have provided is borrowed money that our children and grandchildren will have to repay.
Our debt was already very large compared to the size of our economy, even before--before this year's coronavirus-related borrowing, and that is a very concerning reality. The truth is, we can't just keep borrowing and borrowing ever greater sums without suffering real economic consequences.
So, while we may need to borrow more money to meet our needs before this crisis is over, it is crucial that we keep that borrowing as low as possible and only spend that which is absolutely necessary.
That is why the Senate is so focused on conducting oversight of the money we have already provided. Seeing how and where those funds are used will give us a better sense of where we spent sufficiently and where more money may be needed.
We are also, as I said, looking at what we can do to help families and businesses that does not involve spending a lot of taxpayer dollars. While my friends across the aisle generally seem to regard money or a new government program as the solution to every problem, the truth is, there are a lot of things Congress can do without spending trillions of taxpayer dollars or setting up new government bureaucracies, everything from making permanent reforms to make telehealth more accessible to shielding responsible businesses from frivolous litigation.
I have three tax bills that I have introduced this Congress that would help Americans during and after the pandemic. One of these bills is my Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act, which I introduced last year along with Senator Sherrod Brown.
In our economy, substantial numbers of workers travel to different States for temporary work assignments on a regular basis, and they end up subject to a bewildering variety of State laws governing State income tax.
Our legislation would simplify things for both workers and employers by creating an across-the-board tax standard for mobile employees who spend a short period of time working across State lines. It would ensure that States receive fair tax payments while making life a lot easier for workers who travel to different States for work.
While this legislation is good tax policy, generally--we have needed clear rules of the road for out-of-State workers for a while--it has particular relevance in the age of coronavirus.
The Governor of New York has made it clear that he is looking to cash in on the pandemic by subjecting doctors and nurses who cross State lines to voluntarily work in New York to New York's income tax.
We need to make sure that medical professionals who traveled to other States to help fight the coronavirus aren't rewarded with big tax bills. Another tax bill I introduced last year that has particular relevance in the age of coronavirus is my New Economy Works to Guarantee Independence and Growth Act. We always have an acronym around here. It is called the NEW GIG Act.
The last decade or so has seen the rise of the gig economy--services provided by individuals through apps and websites like Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, Instacart, Postmates, and many others. A lot of us have relied on these workers during the pandemic to provide food and grocery delivery. But these gig economy arrangements stretch the boundaries of current tax law.
During the pandemic, companies who have wanted to provide additional benefits to workers--from personal protective equipment to financial assistance--have hesitated to do so for fear that their actions would accidentally reclassify their workers from independent contractors to employees. That would mean the end of this kind of work for a lot of people who rely on it for the income and flexibility it provides.
My NEW GIG Act updates our tax law to provide clear guidance on the classification of this new generation of workers. It will ensure Lyft drivers, Postmates, Taskers, and others are treated as independent contractors for purposes of tax law if they meet a set of objective criteria.
My bill will allow companies to provide support to workers to help them stay safe during the pandemic without jeopardizing these individuals' status as independent contractors. And it will ensure that the valuable services these individual provide will remain available to the Americans who are increasingly reliant on them.
In addition to the NEW GIG Act, I also introduced the Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act last month. This legislation, which I introduced with Senator Wyden, is designed to prevent consumers from being faced with multiple taxes for downloading digital products.
Over the past few months, I imagine a lot of Americans have purchased new books to read on their Kindle or a new television series to watch. But what many Americans don't know is that, right now, a digital purchase of a book or television series could hypothetically be taxed in up to three States, depending on the circumstances of the purchase.
With States likely looking to find new revenue in the wake of declining receipts during the pandemic, there is a real danger that Americans could see multiple States' worth of taxes on their digital purchases. The Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act would provide ``rules of the road'' for taxing digital goods and services and ensure that digital purchases could be taxed in only one State--the State in which the consumer resides.
It would also prohibit States and local governments from taxing digital goods at higher rates than tangible goods. In other words, under our bill, that season of ``The Office'' you want to buy digitally couldn't be taxed at a higher rate than if you were purchasing the season on DVD.
These tax bills are just some of the ideas Republicans are putting forward that would help Americans without spending trillions of additional taxpayer dollars. I am working on multiple other measures to help Americans in the wake of the coronavirus. For example, the CARES Act, our largest coronavirus response bill to date, included a temporary version of legislation I introduced with Senator Warner that allows employers to contribute up to $5,250 tax-free to help pay down their employees' student loans.
This is a win for employees, who can receive help with burdensome loan payments during a time when multiple Americans' finances are stretched thin. And it is a win for employers, who have a new benefit to offer to help attract talented employees as they seek to build their businesses back up after the past few months of COVID-related challenges.
I am hoping that we can make this legislation permanent before the end of the year. As I said earlier, if we need to provide additional coronavirus funding, we will. But we need to make sure we are only providing what is genuinely necessary because today's young workers, and our children and grandchildren, will be paying the price for the debt we are amassing.
I am committed to supporting legislation that will help Americans get through this crisis while minimizing the burden on future generations. My tax bills are one example of this kind of legislation. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance them in the U.S. Senate.
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Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr).
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Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr).
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