WASHINGTON,
D.C. – In a Dear Colleague letter last month to members of the House, U.S.
Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and others urged members of Congress
to put family needs first by delaying the tax cut for the rich. Schakowsky
will introduce legislation that will delay any additional cuts in the top
marginal income tax rates and modify the estate tax repeal until Congress
meets domestic priorities. Members who will be joining Schakowsky's
efforts include U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Barney Frank
(D-MA), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Henry Waxman (D-CA), John LaFalce (D-NY),
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), John Tierney (D-MA) and Bernie
Sanders (I-VT).
Below
is the Dear Colleague:
July
26, 2001
Dear
Colleague:
No
family would say that they have a surplus if they are unable to pay for
health care, provide education for their children, or assure adequate retirement
income for their grandparents. Yet we, the American family, have
decided to provide massive tax cuts without first meeting those critical
needs. In the short time since Congress enacted the $1.7 trillion
plus tax cut, we are already facing the consequences: the threat to the
Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds, the likelihood that the ESEA
Reauthorization bill cannot be funded, and pressure to cut key domestic
investments.
It
is not too late to put family needs first. According to an analysis
by Citizens for Tax Justice, four out of five taxpayers will receive the
majority of their tax breaks from changes that occur this year. After
2001, more than half of the remaining tax cuts would benefit the top one-percent.
We should not allow those tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the
wealthy to take effect until we’ve first met the needs of the majority
of Americans.
We
invite you to join us in introducing legislation that will delay any additional
cuts in the top marginal income tax rates or elimination of the estate
tax until we:
1.
can assure the American public that doing so will not jeopardize the Social
Security or Medicare Trust Funds or force cuts in benefits
2.
add a comprehensive prescription drug benefit to Medicare,
3.
provide full funding to modernize schools and add 100,000 teachers, and
4.
significantly reduce the number of Americans with “worst case” housing
needs. |
