Gillibrand Working to Deliver on Fiscal Responsibility - Middle Class Tax Cuts

Gillibrand Working to Deliver on Fiscal Responsibility - Middle Class Tax Cuts

Today, Congresswoman Kirsten E. Gillibrand announced her support for the House Budget Resolution. The budget reverses the recent trends that have contributed to record deficits by returning fiscal responsibility to Congress.

The Budget Resolution will achieve a balanced budget by the year 2012 without raising taxes by focusing on the "tax gap" - the difference between taxes owed and taxes collected - and by cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse in government programs. The House Budget Resolution also allows for several middle class tax cuts, including a permanent fix of the Alternative Minimum Tax, which Gillibrand actively campaigned on.

"The families I represent have to balance their budgets - Congress should have to live by the same rule," said Gillibrand. "I came to Congress to restore fiscal responsibility and cut taxes for the middle class families of Upstate New York. This budget sets the blueprint to do just that."

In addition to balancing the budget and providing tax relief for Upstate New Yorkers the Budget Resolution also invests in:

Matching the President's budget on defense spending

Expanded health care for children

Providing soldiers and veterans with care worthy of their sacrifice

Support for education for the 21st century workforce

Investing in renewable energy for an energy independent America

As a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Caucus, Congresswoman Gillibrand helped successfully lobby the Budget Committee to adhere to Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) budget discipline - which requires budget cuts to offset spending increases, a principle long advocated as a solution for putting an end to deficit spending and reducing the nearly $9 trillion national debt.

The House budget resolution has been endorsed by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, the Military Officers Association of America, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the National Education Association, the American Association of School Administrators, Families USA, the American Academy of Pediatrics and OMB Watch.

About the Budget Resolution: Each year the budget resolution establishes a framework to guide budgetary decisions for the year leaving specific direct spending, revenue initiatives, and offset decisions to the authorizing committees. The Resolution will be voted on later this week.

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