Tax Cuts
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the privilege of the floor and the opportunity to share some thoughts with my colleagues on the Democratic side.
I was going to go to the tax issue which is before the American public. The President has cut a deal with the Republicans. And I know that on our side, we have some concerns about this, but I really think we need to spend just maybe a couple of minutes about what we just heard. We just heard the gutting of the health care reform program. Have no doubt about this, general public and the people out there: The program that was put together last year on health care is an effort that will be successful to provide health insurance for the 40 million to 50 million Americans that don't have health insurance and for the thousands each and every day that lose their job and lose their health insurance.
The Republican Party is committed to gutting the health care program, and it's stage one. When they come into power in this House next January, they are going to begin a concerted effort of moving more and more wealth to the highest and the richest men and women in America that have already seen a quintupling of their wealth in the last 20 years.
So let's have a very clear understanding of this. By gutting the health reform program, you will see stage one of the Republican effort to shift money away from the working men and women to those who are already fabulously wealthy. Not in the last 70, 80 years has America seen such an accumulation of wealth among the very, very few and a disproportionate holding down of the great middle class in America. The health reform program was an effort to provide one of the most critical things that every person and every family needs, and that is access to health care. We'll put that aside. We'll come back to that.
But the issue of the day today on everybody's mind, the President doing his press conference, saying he's cut a great deal with Republicans. We don't think it is. Last week, this House passed a very, very important piece of legislation that laid out a significant tax cut for the working men and women in America, those people who get on a bus in the morning, get in their car, commute to work, spend their 8, 9, 10 hours working, come home and take care of their family. That tax package that this Democratic House passed last week is a good, solid tax package in it provides a reduction in taxes for the working men and women, the middle class of America, and it is simultaneously one of the most important stimuli that we can provide to get this economy up and moving. When coupled with the unemployment insurance, it is a very, very strong package.
What's been negotiated with Republicans is a real serious problem for America. If you care about the deficit, then you'd better be paying attention, because the proposal that's before us, as negotiated by the President and the Republicans, is going to significantly increase the deficit. The program that we put forward will stimulate the economy and, in the out-years, significantly reduce the deficit.
Let's just take a look at the difference. I put this one up last week when I was talking about this issue and we laid out the Obama tax proposal, which no longer is the case. Obama and the Bush tax cuts have come together. But on the Obama tax proposal, every working family in America that earns an after-adjustment--that is, the adjusted gross income--of less than $250,000 will receive a significant tax reduction in the range of some $6,000 for those at the top end and downward for those who are earning just $10,000, a very small tax cut, but nonetheless, a very significant one at 53.
So this is what we voted on last week, one that put the working men and women, the middle class, to an advantage. Now, what's been cut, the deal that's been cut is one that puts this one aside and instead substitutes the Bush tax cuts. In other words, the Republicans have won the day with their supporters. We're talking about the filthy rich in America. We're talking about the billionaires who are going to receive an enormous benefit for the next 2 years. Average, for those who have an adjusted gross income over $1 million, the average tax cut for them is over $100,000 a year. So what are they going to do with it? Well, I guess they can go out and buy a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, one each year under the proposal that's made.
But what is the cost to the economy? The cost to the economy is $150 billion, $150 billion that will have to be borrowed--probably from China--to finance a tax cut so the very, very wealthy in America can go out and buy two Mercedes-Benz in the next 2 years, or maybe they want a new villa in the South of France. Is this going to stimulate our economy? We think not. We think this proposal's a bad deal for America.
Now let me just show you one other piece of this, and that is that this tax cut also will cause America to go further in debt. The deficit is a very serious problem, but this tax cut proposal has already been proved to not work, and the proof is in the decade 2001 to 2010. During the Clinton period, with taxes higher--these cuts were not in effect--22.7 million jobs were created. The proposal to give to the wealthy $150 billion additional tax relief generated 1 million jobs in the decade 2000 to 2010. So right there is historic proof that these tax cuts don't necessarily create economic growth. And the only economists that will say they do are the Republicans, who happen to have used the money from these very same corporations and individuals to finance the most scurrilous, secretive campaigns ever in America's history. That was the Citizens United case that opened the doors to secret money financing campaigns. What do you think they're going to do? Maybe they'll buy a Mercedes or maybe they'll use these tax cuts to come back to further undermine the working men and women of this Nation with the kind of proposal you just heard on repealing the health care reforms.
Okay, enough from me right now. We'll come back at this issue. But I'm joined today by two of my colleagues, Congressman Paul Tonko, from the great State of New York, and Mr. McDermott, from the equally great State of Washington.
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Mr. Tonko, thank you so very much. I just was taking one little piece, and I want to then turn to Mr. McDermott. The proposal that was announced today, the Republican-Obama tax cut proposal, would send $70 billion a year to the wealthiest billionaires and millionaires in America. What could that $70 billion be used for?
Now, a teacher, let's just say a teacher gets $50,000 a year. If you took $50 billion of the $75 billion, you could hire a million teachers in the classroom beginning January 1, 2011. A million teachers. Choices are being made here. Do you want $70 billion to go to the wealthiest people in America, the top 2 percent, or would you like to use that $70 billion to build schools? Let's take $20 billion of the 70 billion, we will build schools, we will improve the classrooms, we will bring technology to the classrooms, and use the remaining $50 billion to hire a million teachers in our classrooms. Now, there's an investment that will last. That's the kind of thing we can do.
Now, that's just an option. Mr. McDermott, could you please join us here and share with us your perspectives on this?
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Thank you very much, Mr. McDermott.
I notice that our colleague from the great northeast, New Hampshire, has arrived. I think you have had a lot to say about this issue in your tenure here. If you would please join us and share with us your thoughts.
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