CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (House of Representatives - March 28, 2007)
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Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, whatever the rhetoric, the Democratic budget resolution fails to keep faith with the American people.
Instead of embracing fiscal responsibility, it underwrites a saturnalia of spending propped up by, and listen to my words, the largest tax increase in American history.
Instead of maintaining pro-growth tax policies that grow the economy and reduce the deficit, this budget clobbers the American economy by requiring nearly $400 billion of new revenue.
Instead of protecting middle-class families, it lays the groundwork for tax increases on a whole new level of taxpayers.
Instead of setting new priorities, it throws priority setting to the wind and undercuts the benefits of tax policies that have clearly helped the middle class.
The details are stunning. For starters, the Democratic budget threatens to reduce the child tax credit by half, increase the lowest tax bracket from 10 to 15 percent, reconstitute the marriage penalty and eliminate incentives for higher education savings like the student loan interest deduction.
In my home State of Pennsylvania, the average taxpayer can expect to see an estimated $3,000-plus increase in their annual tax bill. That is an increase in the tax bill for a working family of more than $15,000 over a 5-year period. That is a different standard of living.
So much for their empty rhetoric about children and families. Not only does this budget contain the largest tax increase in American history, it also chooses to employ smoke and mirrors instead of underwriting real financial relief from the AMT for Americans.
For years, the AMT has been a growing monster because while originally intended to close loopholes for the very wealthiest taxpayers, it was never indexed for inflation. It is now hitting more and more middle-class taxpayers. As a result, this year, without relief, 23 million taxpayers will be forced into AMT status and hit with a significant tax increase, ten times the number than if it had been indexed to inflation. The Democrats' budget does nothing, sets aside no resources to address this problem.
Our friends on the other side of the aisle fail to include an AMT repeal in their budget. They don't even include the bare minimum step of a patch to keep it at bay as Republicans have in previous years. Instead, this budget resolution holds millions of middle-class taxpayers hostage to a record tax increase. Don't let the rhetoric on the other side of the aisle fool you. The reserve fund that is folded into this resolution is utterly meaningless. This is a piggybank that doesn't even rattle when you shake it.
America's working families deserve better. I urge every Member who cares about working families, cares about protecting their earnings to vote ``no'' on this budget today.
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