I believe that the American people know how to spend and save their money better than nameless, faceless bureaucrats in Washington. Pro-growth economic policies like those enacted in the tax relief of 2001 and 2003 have allowed families to invest in their futures instead of their government.

By increasing the child tax credit, extending tuition deductions, and keeping taxes on capital gains and dividends low, families are able to save more and spend where it matters. Instead of figuring out how to pay for Tax Day, more families are planning for their children’s education, investing in their homes, buying goods and saving for retirement. All of this economic activity adds our national wealth and filters down throughout the economy.

The past six years of tax relief has allowed the American economy to under-go a historic expansion in productivity and job growth. Tax relief has added 7.2 million jobs to our economy, and helped spur economic growth by keeping $1 trillion dollars in the pockets of working families instead of the government’s coffers in Washington. However, the tax relief will expire by 2011 if Congress does not act to extend it.

If the tax relief is allowed to expire, America’s families and small businesses will be hit and hit hard. For instance, small businesses that file as individuals would see a 13 percent increase in their taxes. A married couple with two children and a median income of $65,000 would see their tax bill increase over $2,000 in just one year – a 58 percent increase. And businesses will have to endure increases in capital gains and taxes on dividends leading to a fall in investment back into the economy.

In addition to keeping tax rates low, Congress must for once and for all end the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT. The AMT was created in 1969 to close loopholes used by millionaires to avoid paying taxes. Unfortunately, it was never reformed to keep up with the times and today, the AMT is a stealth tax that cuts across all incomes. Unless the AMT is ended, it will grow to envelop not the rich, but families making $30,000 a year. It will consume our middle class’ budgets and destroy the pro-family, pro-growth tax policies put in place by the tax relief of 2001 and 2003. The AMT must be scrapped and I am determined to working toward that goal in Congress.

As your elected representative, I will continue to fight to make sure this does not happen. The tax relief of 2001 and 2003 must be extended. The American people deserve a leaner Congress that is responsible with the taxpayers’ money.

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