{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.billnelson.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-republicans-defeat-nelson-s-effort-to-make-middle-class-tax-cuts", "Senate Republicans defeat Nelson\u2019s effort to make middle-class tax cuts permanent", "2017-12-01", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Bill Nelson", "N000032", "www.billnelson.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2013 On a strictly party-line vote, Senate Republicans today voted down an amendment by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) that would have made the modest middle-class tax cuts in the GOP\u2019s tax bill permanent, instead of ceasing after just a few years.\n\u201cThe modest middle-class tax breaks are not permanent, in seven or eight years they cease to exist, they sunset,\u201d Nelson said on the Senate floor prior to the vote on his amendment. \u201cNow, that's simply not fair. This little amendment simply says, go back to the Finance Committee and correct this inequity. Go back to the Finance Committee, make the middle-class tax cuts permanent.\u201d\nIf approved, the amendment Nelson filed late Thursday would have required that the Senate suspend its consideration of the current GOP tax bill and send it back to the Senate Finance Committee to work out a bipartisan compromise that provides permanent tax relief for the middle class.\nShortly after Nelson made his remarks, Senate Republicans voted to defeat the amendment by a vote of 52 to 48 \u2013 with all 48 Democrats voting for it, and all 52 Republicans voting against.\nAfter the vote, Nelson tweeted, \u201cSenate Republicans just voted down my amendment to make the modest middle-class tax cuts permanent, instead of a tax increase in a few years. Proof that this GOP tax bill was never about helping the middle class.\u201d\u00a0\nBelow is a rush transcript and here\u2019s a link to watch video of Nelson\u2019s remarks before the vote:\u00a0https://youtu.be/ZJr_APK78d8\nU.S. Sen. Bill Nelson\nRemarks on the Senate floor\nDecember 1, 2017\nSen. Nelson:\u00a0Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, the matter that is before the Senate is the amendment that I have offered, and it simply is that in this tax bill, since the corporate rate is reduced from 35% down to 20% -- and that is permanent -- but the modest middle-class tax breaks are not permanent, in seven or eight years, they cease to exist, they sunset.\nSo you want in this tax bill to give permanent, huge corporate cuts from 35% down to 20% -- which by the way if the American corporation is doing business overseas, it's basically a zero tax rate, which is an incentive to go overseas, send jobs overseas, American jobs lost -- while giving those huge corporate breaks, at the same time it is giving modest breaks to the very people who need the tax cuts, that is, hardworking American families, the middle class.\nAnd then, oh, by the way, in seven or eight years, vamoose, it's gone. It goes back up. It's a tax increase.\nNow, this little amendment simply says, go back to the Finance Committee and correct this inequity. Go back to the Finance Committee, make the middle class tax cuts permanent, and then get the Finance Committee to offset those with revenue from someplace.\u00a0\nAnd you know where that someplace should be? It ought to be the huge corporate tax cuts. That's where the revenue ought to be taken back from to give that revenue or tax cuts to the middle class. It's a simple issue of fairness.\nAnd, Madam President, I\u2019m delighted to be joined by my colleague from Minnesota.\nI yield the floor.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.billnelson.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-republicans-defeat-nelson-s-effort-to-make-middle-class-tax-cuts"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3826778158545494, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}