Bennet Statement on Senate's Failure to Reach Agreement on Tax Cuts, Unemployment Insurance

Statement

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet released the following statement regarding the Senate's votes on extending tax cuts.

"It is unacceptable that Congress has wasted another week without reaching an agreement on extending tax cuts and unemployment insurance. The Senate should stay as long as it takes until it can provide certainty for families and small businesses in Colorado and around the country.

"My first priority is extending the tax cuts for the middle class, but I believe Congress should move forward immediately to consideration of the plan I laid out months ago to extend all tax cuts for one year and enact estate tax reform that protects Colorado's farmers, ranchers, and small businesses. In the long-term, we need to retool our tax code to drive innovation and keep jobs in Colorado.

"We need both parties to put aside politics and work together to get the job done for the American people. The latest unemployment numbers and our fragile economic recovery remind us that we need to take action. We need to provide certainty on tax cuts for the middle class, the estate tax and unemployment insurance."

Today, Bennet voted to extend tax cuts for middle class families and extend unemployment insurance for workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Although it was blocked by a minority of Senators, the proposal Bennet supported would have benefited nearly all Coloradans, including:

-97% of Coloradans through an income tax cut extension

-88% of Coloradans who report capital gains through a capital gains rate reduction

-90% of Coloradans who report dividends

-Nearly 300,000 Coloradans through AMT creep relief

-418,000 Coloradans through the extension of the child tax credit, averaging $1264 apiece

-308,000 Colorado families through the Earned Income Tax Credit extension, averaging $1829 apiece

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