As the lame-duck session continues, Senate Democrats keep pushing their own liberal priorities instead of the priorities of the American people. Today, all 42 Senate Republicans sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to demand that preventing tax hikes and funding government rise to the top of the Senate's to-do list. Here's an excerpt:
While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the
Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the
critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing
tax hike.
Given our struggling economy, preventing the tax increase and providing
economic certainty should be our top priority. Without Congressional
action by December 31, all American taxpayers will be hit by an increase
in their individual income-tax rates and investment income through the
capital gains and dividend rates. If Congress were to adopt the
President’s tax proposal to prevent the tax increase for only some
Americans, small businesses would be targeted with a job-killing tax
increase at the worst possible time. Specifically, more than 750,000
small businesses will see a tax increase, which will affect 50 percent
of small-business income and nearly 25 percent of the entire workforce.
The death tax rate will also climb from zero percent to 55 percent,
which makes it the top concern for America’s small businesses. Republicans and Democrats agree that small businesses create most new
jobs, so we ought to be able to agree that raising taxes on small
businesses is the wrong remedy in this economy. Finally, Congress still
needs to act on the “tax extenders” and the alternative minimum tax
“patch,” all of which expired on December 31, 2009.
Click here to view the letter and read it in full.
