Senators Differ Widely On ‘Meaningful Contributions’

By Niels Lesniewski, CQ Staff

Senate Democratic leaders have scheduled a vote intended to put senators on record as to whether they think Americans with high incomes should pay more taxes to help reduce the budget deficit.

The measure before the Senate is so vaguely worded, however, that Republicans can just as easily cast it as a referendum on whether millionaires should receive less generous benefits under entitlement programs, including Medicare.

The Senate has scheduled a test vote Thursday on a bill (S 1323) expressing the sense of the Senate that any agreement to reduce the deficit should require those earning $1 million or more annually to “make a more meaningful contribution to the deficit reduction effort.”

Democrats plan to use the debate on the measure to contrast their support for ending tax preferences that favor high earners with the House-passed fiscal 2012 budget resolution (H Con Res 34), which calls for deep cuts in domestic spending and a restructuring of Medicare and Medicaid.

“Instead of ending Medicare as we know it, instead of cutting college scholarships and cancer research, instead of balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class, let’s end tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires,” said New York Democrat Charles E. Schumer.

But the legislation does not mention taxes, and Republicans have other ideas about how to tap the rich.

Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who helped bring the Senate to its current situation — having canceled its July Fourth recess only to spend the week on a non-binding, non-specific measure — said in a floor speech Wednesday that the wealthy should pay more for — and get less from — entitlement programs.

“If you want the rich to share more of the burden, ask them to pay for their Medicare,” the freshman senator said. “I see no reason why the wealthy shouldn’t pay the full cost of Medicare. Ask the rich to take less in Social Security benefits.”

Paul played a leading role in rallying opposition to the Democratic leadership’s planned debate this week on a joint resolution regarding U.S. intervention in Libya (S J Res 20). The dissidents said that Congress should be focused on the deficit.

Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown rejected the notion that the sense-of-the-Senate measure sponsored by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., could be construed as an endorsement of entitlement benefit changes. “I don’t take my orders — marching orders — from Rand Paul, and I don’t really much care what his interpretation of something is,” Brown said.

Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, who represented Senate Republicans in deficit talks with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. before withdrawing two weeks ago, defended means testing for Medicare benefits.

“We’ve proposed that wealthier people should either pay more for benefits or they should not get as much in the way of benefits as others,” Kyl said. “This is something that we’ve proposed, and the other side has generally not been willing to consider.”

One Senate Democrat, however, declined to specifically reject means testing of entitlements. “I think we would start off by saying that Social Security and Medicare are great American success stories, and we support making sure that they continue for the future,” said Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. “We start from the premise of wanting to maintain Medicare, and then we will see what it is that they develop in terms of the negotiations.” F