Budget Gridlock

Floor Speech

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the budget gridlock that's ripping Washington apart. Like every American who cares about the future of our great country, I'm upset by the rampant partisan fighting. But I also know that the responsibility is not equally shared. For proof, look no further than the collapse of the deficit supercommittee.

Washington Republicans' refusal to ask the wealthiest people and the biggest corporations to contribute their fair share caused the supercommittee's failure and is putting our country at risk. Middle class families are struggling, but the world's biggest corporations make huge profits and exploit tax loopholes to send jobs overseas. And the rich keep getting richer but are contributing less.

This inequality is unacceptable, and it hurts America's economy. For instance, the after-tax income of the top 1 percent rose 281 percent from 1979 to 2007, but their total average Federal tax rate fell by nearly 8 points. Unfortunately, Washington Republicans have made clear that they will not fix the injustices in our Tax Code.

In fact, 238 Members of the House and 41 Senators, almost all of them Republicans, have signed the infamous Americans for Tax Reform pledge. This pledge commits its signers to oppose any plan, no matter how responsible, that would ask the wealthiest people to contribute their fair share. Whether motivated by extremist ideology or commitments to greedy special interests, the facts are clear: Republicans who signed this pledge cannot take the steps our country needs to get our budget in order.

Republicans came to power on a mission to rein in the budget deficit, a goal that we all support. But instead of supporting balanced policies, Washington Republicans forced the Congress to pass a dangerous budget agreement. And thanks to them, our hands are tied. If Washington Republicans keep refusing to compromise, massive cuts will kick in that will harm the middle class.

Washington Republicans won't negotiate and won't come up with a fair budget plan. Instead of helping the middle class, Republicans are standing up for the megarich.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the plan put forward by Republicans on the deficit supercommittee shifts even more of the tax burden from the rich to the middle class. Their plan would change the tax tables in a way that benefits the wealthiest households more than the rest of us, which is what the chart next to me shows. As your income grows, so do your benefits. The wealthiest households will get more and more benefit, and their proposal dramatically weakens a variety of tax policies that help the middle class. I can't support a plan like that, and the American people can't either.

Democrats and Republicans should be working together on fair solutions, but the Republicans' unwillingness to compromise is making this goal impossible. We can find solutions that will reduce the debt and keep taxes low for small businesses and middle class families, but only if the Republicans stop protecting tax breaks for the superrich.

When I took my oath of office, I pledged to protect and defend the Constitution, and I am committed to helping the middle class getting our economy back on track.

Democrats have demonstrated a willingness to talk about difficult subjects like entitlement reform, but Republicans refuse to negotiate. So I ask my Republican colleagues, especially those who have signed the ATR pledge, a simple question: Where do your loyalties lie? With the superrich and the special interests or with the hardworking Americans?

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