Fiscal Cliff Update

Statement

Over the last few weeks, I've heard from a number of constituents who are rightly concerned about the fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington. As President Obama and Speaker Boehner continue to go back and forth, Hoosiers are left with growing economic uncertainty -- an anxiety compounded by the holiday season and the approaching New Year. Hoosiers deserve better than stalemate in Washington, and with taxes set to increase on more than 2.4 million Hoosier families, the time to act is now.

That's why I joined with nearly 200 House Democrats this week in signing a discharge petition, a procedural move which would force Speaker Boehner to call an up-or-down vote on the Middle Class Tax Cut Act. This legislation provides tax relief to 98 percent of all Americans and 97 percent of all small businesses. Similar tax relief efforts have received broad bipartisan support in the past, and President Obama has expressed his willingness to sign the Middle Class Tax Cut Act into law at a moment's notice.

It is time for Speaker Boehner and Republican leaders to stop holding tax relief for middle class families hostage. Their insistence on preserving tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires could cost Hoosier families an average of $3,600.

With only a few weeks left to find common ground on reducing the deficit and avoiding the fiscal cliff, it is time for each one of us, Democrat and Republican, to demonstrate our commitment to helping middle class families and small businesses. My commitment to you will not waiver, and I believe strongly that you should not have to pay the high price for partisan gridlock in Washington.

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