IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 23 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 15, 2009 Ms. Lee of California submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Congress that the tax giveaway since 2001 to the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans should be repealed and those monies instead invested in vital programs to relieve the growing burden on the working poor and to alleviate poverty in America.

Whereas the number of persons living in poverty has risen almost every year and never decreased by a statistically significant amount since 2001, when massive tax breaks for the wealthy began; Whereas there were 37,300,000 people living in poverty in 2007, an increase of 5,700,000 during the administration of President George W. Bush; Whereas in 2007 13,300,000 children under the age of 18 lived in poverty; Whereas in 2007 15,600,000 persons lived in extreme poverty, defined as people with incomes lower than one-half of the established Federal poverty guideline; Whereas 45,700,000 Americans were living without health insurance in 2007; Whereas for the years 2001 to 2007, the Congressional Budget Office finds that the Federal budget went from a surplus of $128,000,000,000 in 2001, into a deficit of $158,000,000,000 in 2002, peaking at a record $413,000,000,000 in 2004, for a total loss of Federal revenue of $1,263,000,000,000 from 2002 to 2007; Whereas $1,263,000,000,000 could have provided Head Start enrollment costs for an average of 34,664,470 students annually for the years 2002 through 2007; Whereas $1,263,000,000,000 could have provided health insurance coverage for an average of 74,469,339 uninsured Americans annually for the years 2002 through 2007; Whereas $1,263,000,000,000 could have provided college tuition for an average of 39,059,962 university students annually for the years 2002 through 2007; Whereas $1,263,000,000,000 could have provided an average of 3,649,646 port inspectors annually for the years 2002 through 2007; and Whereas $1,263,000,000,000 could have provided 9,824,817 new low income housing units: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that— (1)the portion of all tax cuts enacted in or after 2001 which benefits the wealthiest top 5 percent of Americans and burdens the Nation’s impoverished and working poor with rising debt and fewer services should be repealed, and (2)the revenues from such repeal be used to relieve such burdens and alleviate poverty in America.