Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-21) issued this statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5771, a retroactive extension of certain tax provisions for 2014:
"From day one, the 113th Congress has been mired in dysfunction, and there’s no better example than today’s passage of a bill that restores tax provisions that expired a year ago only to have them expire again on January 1, 2015.
The passage of this retroactive tax extenders package will bring a sigh of relief to many businesses and families who rely on these provisions to file their taxes and make financial plans, but the sad reality is that with the New Year will come a new wave of uncertainty inflicted by a Congress that continues to cater to extremists and govern exclusively by crisis.
"Indeed, many of my colleagues who preach fiscal responsibility and rail against uncertainty have spent this entire year advancing radical proposals to permanently extend a trillion dollars’ worth of tax breaks for corporate special interests while excluding measures critical for working families and small businesses, like mortgage debt forgiveness and portions of the Child Tax Credit.
"Failing to pass today’s retroactive fix would have wreaked havoc on millions of Americans filing their income taxes for 2014. Yet avoiding disaster and actually moving this country forward are two very different things. It is my hope that next Congress, Republican leaders will encourage rather than demonize bipartisan cooperation, so that members of both parties can work together on reforms that simplify our tax code, incentivize innovation, and give working families a real shot in today’s economy."