Concurrent Resolution On The Budget For Fiscal Year 2008

Floor Speech

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (House of Representatives - March 29, 2007)

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Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Chairman, in listening to the debate, I can't help but think about 5 1/2 years ago and the 9/11 attacks and the simultaneous bursting of the technology bubble here in this country. It was the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 that provided a desperately needed shot in the arm, lifting us from our malaise and dispelling fears that the economy was sliding irrevocably into recession. But, today, after years of steady economic growth marked by a surging stock market, low inflation and low unemployment, a deflated housing market has shaken confidence in this economy.

With the tax cuts set to expire in 2010, the last thing investors and the American people need right now is the largest tax hike in the history of our country, and that is the reality they are smart enough to see, despite claims on the other side of the aisle otherwise.

The real difference between the Ryan budget and that of the majority is whether you believe that tax cuts expiring is a tax hike. I do, and I think the American families who will bear the brunt of a $400 billion tax increase will likewise.

In my State of Virginia, the effects are particularly acute, with taxpayers on average facing $3,120 in additional taxes each year. Around the country, 45 million families with children will be hit by an average tax increase of $2,864. Again, this is because the majority does not agree that expiring tax cuts are a tax hike. I do.

Instead of choking our economy, we need to make the tax cuts permanent. If we let the Democratic tax hike genie out of the bottle, it is going to be awfully hard to put it back in.

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