Walberg Weekly Wrap-Up

Press Release

Right now Michigan families are paying $3.50 per gallon for gas, health care costs are going up and folks are struggling to pay off college tuition and college loans.

The bottom line is Michiganders are tightening their belts in order to make ends meet. So why isn't the federal government doing the same?

The honest truth is not everyone in Washington is working towards reducing or even keeping steady the size and scope of the federal government.

While many Republicans in Congress have learned from their bloated budgets of the early 2000's, some still want to spend more.

Our friends on the other side of the aisle set forth a budget proposal this week that, if enacted, would be largest tax increase in American history, a $683 billion increase!

The entire cost of their budget is $3.1 trillion and I have dubbed it the Higher Taxes Buffet. On the spending menu of this tax increase buffet:

- A raise in tax rates for every American worker.
- An elimination of the 10 percent tax bracket for low-income earners.
- A tax increase of $500 per child.
- A reinstitution of the marriage penalty and death tax.
- An 8.8 percent increase in federal spending (that's more then twice the rate of inflation).
- A promise of at least $100 billion in new spending through "reserve funds" likely to be financed with additional tax hikes.
- 18 million of our seniors would see an average tax increase of $2,181.
- Tax bills for 27 million small-business owners would rise, on average, by more than $4,000.
- Families of four earning $60,000 right now would face a 70-percent tax hike, with their income tax bill rising from $2,733 to $4,634 in 2011, an increase of $1,900.

If you're a fan of higher taxes, this budget proposal is really something special. The average Michigan taxpayer would pay over $3,000 more per year under this massive, broad-based, job-killing tax hike.

But if you're an American worker looking for a job, this buffet of tax increases isn't going to help you find work. The tax, borrow and spend mentality in Washington must change; it's been the status quo for too long. I came to Congress to work for changes, and I will not support bloated, deficit spending budgets.

On behalf of the hard-working families of south-central Michigan, I will work to stop this $680 billion tax increase and work towards a budget that encourages job creation, balances the budget and spends taxpayer dollars in a responsible manner.

I have introduced H.R. 2734, the Tax Increase Prevention Act, which would prevent the $680 billion tax increase from going into effect, and my legislation has over 120 co-sponsors so far.

Continuing Counterterrorism Efforts
House leadership continues to refuse to allow a vote on the bi-partisan, Senate passed update and extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The bi-partisan FISA bill passed the Senate on February 12 in a 68-29 vote. In the following 30 days, House leadership has allowed about 60 other House votes to be held, including a vote to increase taxes on American gas and oil production. However, during that time, not a single vote on a real intelligence gathering bill has occurred.

As I have said before, our military and intelligence officials need the tools to protect American citizens from terrorist threats. American military and intelligence officials need to be able to monitor, without delay, calls of suspected and known foreign terrorists in foreign countries.

We must pass the foreign intelligence surveillance law so America's intelligence community can monitor al-Qaida and other terrorist networks in foreign lands without having to wait in line at a court. We must not prevent our intelligence community from being able to monitor Osama bin Laden's phone calls.

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