Let me be clear:  I am not against tax cuts.  In fact, in 2001, I was one of only 28 Democrats to support tax cuts proposed by President Bush.  That tax cut occurred when we had a budget surplus – we really were giving people some of their money back.  It was also before 9/11 and before the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

This Republican Administration and Republican Congress have given us the largest budget deficit ever in our nation's history for the fifth consecutive year.  We simply must restore common sense and fiscal discipline to our nation’s government.  It does not make sense, at a time when our nation is borrowing nearly $1 billion each day, to borrow even more to pay for tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 a year.  It may make for good politics, but it is bad fiscal policy and is nothing more than a tax increase on our children and grandchildren.
Ironically, the vote to give the wealthiest Americans a break on their taxes comes on the heels of Congress voting to pass the highly contentious budget resolution, which mandated nearly $50 billion in cuts to the nation’s budget including $11.4 billion to Medicaid, $14.3 billion in cuts to federal student aid programs, $3.7 billion in cuts to our farm families, and nearly $700 million in cuts to food stamps. 

These cuts were passed by a 217 – 215 vote on November 18th at 1:00am in a bill called the “Deficit Reduction Act.”  The cuts in that bill totaled $50 billion and this new tax cut totals $56 billion.  Only in Washington, D.C. do you call a bill that increases our nation’s debt by $6 billion a “Deficit Reduction Act.”  The reality is these cuts to programs important to the poor, disabled, elderly, farm families, and America's students are being made to help fund tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 each year.  We hear a lot of talk these days about morals and values.  Slashing funding for programs that impact the poorest among us to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest among us does not reflect the kind of morals or values on which I was raised and still believe in.

I did support the Democratic Substitute which provides tax relief to working families without increasing our nation’s debt.  The tax cuts that I supported would have been offset by eliminating portions of the previously enacted tax cuts for those with annual incomes over $500,000 for individuals or $1 million for those who file a joint tax return.  The legislation I supported ensures that working families get the tax relief they both need and deserve, and are paid for, instead of asking our children and grandchildren to pay for them.