The Budget

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the American people are starting to get an idea about the administration's budget. They understand that it taxes too much, it spends too much, and it borrows too much, especially in the middle of an economic crisis.

On taxes, the budget includes the largest tax hike in history, diverts billions of dollars from charities here at home at a time when Americans are looking to those charities even more than they would be in normal times, and it raises taxes on small businesses.

Small businesses account for nearly three-fourths of all new private sector jobs here in our country. The budget's tax on small businesses would cause many of them to see their taxes go up significantly. This tax hits the general contractor down the street, the family restaurant, the startup technology firm, and many other businesses people deal with or work at all across our country every single day. These businesses are the engines of our economy. They are struggling, and they will struggle even more once these tax hikes go into effect. Small businesses with more than 20 workers, which account for two-thirds--two-thirds--of the small business workforce, get hit particularly hard. The President's budget includes a tax increase on more than half of those businesses. These businesses are run by men and women who make decisions based on considerations such as how much they are taxed, and if they have less money coming in as a result of higher taxes, they cut jobs, put off buying new equipment, and they take fewer risks, the kinds of risks that have always made our economy so vibrant and so innovative. These risks will be squeezed out as a result of these higher taxes.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are losing their jobs every month. Many of these jobs are with small businesses. Higher taxes will only force these businesses to shed even more jobs. I understand the administration's desire to make good on its promises, but taxes on job creators in a recession is not the right approach. With the highest unemployment rate in 25 years, most people don't see the sense of raising taxes on small businesses, and they are absolutely right.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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