FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             CONTACT: John Donnelly

     September 28, 2010                                                                   (317) 848-0201

Burton:  Democrat Leaders Are Threatening The Unthinkable

“In just 95 days, $3.9 trillion in tax increases will drain every income bracket in America.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement about the looming $3.9 trillion tax increase that Democrat leaders have vowed not to address before adjourning Congress this week:

“The Democrat leaders in Congress are threatening the unthinkable, as they plan to adjourn this week while leaving our businesses and families to ponder what could be the largest tax hike in American history.  In just 95 days, $3.9 trillion in tax increases will drain every income bracket in America.  The unemployment rate is flirting with double digits again, the national debt is heading towards $14 trillion, and now our economy is embroiled in uncertainty about taxes.

“To leave our fragile economy in this state of uncertainty is an abject failure to govern.  Even worse, the Democrat leaders have abandoned the American people based on a cold, political calculation ahead of the November elections.

“As it stands today, over 30 Democrats have joined a united Republican party on this critical issue, and if given the opportunity to vote on the House floor this week, our bipartisan coalition could stop the uncertainty and stop the tax hikes on every income bracket.”

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FOR IMMEIDATE RELEASE                                                                                  CONTACT: John Donnelly
September 23, 2010                                                                                                     (317) 848-0201

Burton Statement On The GOP Pledge To America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after House Republicans released a new governing agenda entitled “A Pledge to America”:

“We have listened to the people, and our Pledge is a united response.  The major policies in this new governing agenda—job creation and tax cuts, spending cuts and caps, strong national defense and border security, ensuring new laws have Constitutional authority, and the repeal and replacement of Obamacare—give voice to the American people, whose demands have largely been ignored by the current Majority.

“Our Pledge to America is an easy one for me to take, as its philosophies and policies are all things I have championed throughout my public life, if not already supported specifically through legislation.  Above all, our Pledge is something I am proud to take back to my constituents in Indiana.  Hoosiers who read our Pledge will find a genuine commitment to governing through our founding principles and for the priorities of our people. ”

NOTE:  “A Pledge to America” can be found in full here: http://pledge.gop.gov/

The preamble to “A Pledge to America” reaffirms Republicans’ commitment to principles of smaller, more accountable government; economic freedom; lower taxes; fiscal responsibility; protecting life, American values, and the Constitution; and providing for a strong national defense.  This new governing agenda is comprised of five specific policy plans that could be implemented right now if President Obama and Democratic Leaders would allow it:

•    Creating Jobs.  “A Pledge to America” reflects Americans’ demand for immediate action on policies that will end uncertainty for small businesses and help our economy get back to creating jobs.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to create jobs, end economic uncertainty, and make America competitive – including stopping all tax hikes, reining in red tape, and repealing ObamaCare’s ‘1099 mandate.’

•    Cutting Spending.  “A Pledge to America” embodies Americans’ rejection of the now-thoroughly discredited notion that we can simply tax, spend, and borrow our way to prosperity.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to cut spending and reduce the size of government – including cutting government spending to pre-‘stimulus’, pre-bailout levels, imposing a hard cap on future discretionary spending, and ending TARP once and for all.

•    Reforming Congress.  “A Pledge to America” acknowledges that we cannot get our arms around the issues of the day when we have a government that refuses to listen to the people and ignores their priorities.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to reform Congress and restore trust – including implementing ‘read the bill’ reform, allowing for more open and fair debate, and requiring that every bill contain a citation of Constitutional authority.

•    Repealing and Replacing The Job-Killing Health Care Law.  “A Pledge to America” recognizes that the American people continue to squarely oppose the government takeover of health care, with its higher costs, higher taxes, job-killing mandates, and Medicare cuts to pay for a massive new entitlement.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to repeal and replace the job-killing health care law with common-sense reforms focused on lowering costs and protecting American jobs.

•    A Strong National Defense.  “A Pledge to America” reinforces Congress’s responsibility to help provide for a strong national defense and fashion a coherent strategy to confront and defeat the terrorist threat.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to keep our nation secure at home and abroad – including passing clean troop funding bills, keeping terrorists off American soil, and fully funding missile defense.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
January 29, 2010                                                                                     (317) 848-0201

Burton, GOP Present 'Solutions Guide' To Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05), along with the House Republican Conference, presented the Republican Solutions Guide to President Obama.  The guide, formally titled Better Solutions: A Compilation of GOP Alternatives, is comprised of policy initiatives and legislation introduced by Republican members of Congress since January 2009, and, while many components of the guide have been presented to President Obama in the past, the complete Solutions Guide was merged in response to the President's challenge in Wednesday’s State of the Union address, when he beckoned the Republican conference to offer better ideas on how to improve the nation’s economy.  Rep. Burton issued the following remarks about today's meeting with the President:

"The Republican Solutions Guide is a document founded on conservative legislation, and centered on our belief that the private sector will thrive, and jobs will grow, as the reach of government diminishes.  

"While many of these ideas and pieces of legislation have been presented to the President in the past, we hope that this lump-sum guide will be a bed-side companion in the coming days as he seeks to retool his policymaking in an effort to ebb the tide of unemployment in America.

"Today's meeting was cordial, but the kitchen table disconnect between the White House and the average American family was more obvious than ever.  Since President Obama took office, the Hoosiers I represent have gotten louder and more politically active than ever before - not because they support his policies, but because they are vehemently opposed to them.  The failure of the President and his administration to acknowledge the vast public dissent to their policymaking does not bode well for the legislative process in 2010.  This failure has not only created massive public angst, but it has also splintered the Democrat Majority in a way that made them ineffective for most of 2009.

"In the meeting, the President responded to a lot of criticism by saying, in some cases, he did embrace Republican ideas and included them in legislation, and in other cases, the Republicans misled the public on what his policies proposed to do.  My response to that is, first of all, Republicans did not mislead anyone.  We took exact items from the legislation and pointed out the faults.  In fact, as time has passed, more problems with the Stimulus package and other proposals have surfaced.  As far as embracing Republican solutions goes, the President can't really believe putting a tax cut or two in a bill, while also expanding government control and adding a trillion dollars or so to the deficit, would be acceptable to even the most moderate of conservatives.

"At the end of the day, the meeting served to show that Republicans handed a book of solutions to the President, and that he can either give them a serious look, or continue deferring only to the Democrat Majority.  Contrary to the President's assertions, we in the Republican Conference would like a chance work with the Democrats in solving our nation's economic and foreign policy problems."

BACKGROUND:

The GOP Solutions and Complete Guide can be found at Solutions.GOP.gov

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
December 2, 2009                                                                                   (202) 225-2276 

 Burton To Vote Against Death Tax Increase
Democrat Plan Would Revive Tax That Was Repealed For 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of today's scheduled vote, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) announced that he will vote against H.R. 4154, the Democrats' scheme to impose a new death tax rate of 45% in 2010.  Rep. Burton issued the following statement on his forthcoming vote:

"Next year, the death tax rate is supposed to be zero percent.  Zero.  Today, the Democrats are pushing a deceptive scheme that makes it sound like people are getting a deal, when in reality, they will increase the death tax by 45% in 2010.

"Additionally, H.R. 4154 would make the death tax permanent, and since its exemption will not be adjusted for inflation, more and more Americans will be roped into, what I consider to be, the most unfair and immoral tax imposed by this government.

"You know, they're having this jobs summit at the White House today to figure out how to stimulate job growth.  I wasn't invited, but I'll share this tip: according to the former CBO director, eliminating the death tax would add about 1.5 million jobs to our economy.  Yet, today, the President's party is rejecting that simple logic, and all those jobs, in favor of doing the exact opposite.

"In this difficult economy, I find it infuriating that the Democrat Majority continues to bring forth irresponsible legislation that imposes unfair taxes and harms savings and investment.  With a wink and a nod today, they'll try to pickpocket the public and further deter economic recovery.  I'm voting 'no,' and will emphatically encourage representatives on both sides to do the same."

Background:
A study by former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin said that eliminating the death tax would allow small business investment to rise annually by 3%, and would add about 1.5 million jobs to our economy.

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In April of this year, Congressman Dan Burton was awarded the prestigious "Taxpayers' Friend" award from the non-partisan citizens group, the National Taxpayers Union.  The award, which was given to only a handful of Congressmen and Senators, was for Burton's outstanding taxpayer friendly voting record in 2008.  

“Given today’s economic climate, fiscal discipline is more important now than ever,” NTU President Duane Parde said. “Fortunately, taxpayers have a staunch ally in Congressman Burton, to whom National Taxpayers Union is proud to present a ‘Taxpayers’ Friend Award.’”

The award is given to Representatives and Senators who achieve an “A” grade in NTU’s annual Rating of Congress. The Rating, which is based on every roll call vote affecting fiscal policy, assigns a “Taxpayer Score” to each Member of Congress that indicates his or her support for reducing or controlling federal spending, taxes, debt, and regulation. For 2008, a total of 182 House and 104 Senate votes were selected.

“Congressman Burton pro-taxpayer score of 85 percent was one of the best in the entire Congress,” Parde said. “By voting time and again to reduce federal spending, taxes, and debt, Dan Burton has led by example in the fight to defend overburdened taxpayers across the country.”

Between 2007 and 2008, the average “Taxpayer Score” in the House rose slightly from 35 percent to 36 percent. The Senate’s average dropped by five points, from 37 percent to 32 percent. In 2008, 48 lawmakers attained scores sufficient to win the “Taxpayers’ Friend Award” (at least 80 percent in the House and 76 percent in the Senate). Meanwhile, a record 267 Senators and Representatives captured the title of “Big Spender” for posting “F” grades (scores of 25 percent or less in the House and 14 percent or less in the Senate).

Unlike those of other organizations, NTU’s annual Rating does not simplistically focus on only a handful of equally weighted “key votes.” For this reason, it has received praise from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including the late Sen. (and “Golden Fleece Award” creator) William Proxmire (D-WI).

“If every Member of Congress were as principled as Congressman Burton, current and future generations of Americans could enjoy much lower taxes and a less wasteful government,” Parde concluded. “Hard-working families in Indiana’s 5th District and across the nation owe Congressman Burton a debt of gratitude for his effort on their behalf. Congressman Burton has truly earned the title ‘Taxpayers’ Friend.’”

NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit citizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. Note: The 2008 Rating and a searchable Rating database from 1992 to 2008 is available at www.ntu.org. For questions about the Rating, its history, or methodology, please contact NTU Vice President for Policy and Communications Pete Sepp or NTU Communications Manager Natasha Altamirano at (703) 683-5700.