[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 164 (Friday, November 30, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE CONSUMER AND RETAIL SALES STIMULUS ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 30, 2001

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, New York's economy is in deep trouble. We 
lead dozens of States in economic decline. Jobs are being lost. Small 
businesses are going under. Municipal governments are going back into 
debt. Fire and police budgets are strained.
  How do we stimulate an economy that was sputtering before and 
staggered after the September 11 attacks? Some believe the answer to 
recession in handing $25 billion in retroactive Federal corporate tax 
benefits to 13 Fortune 500 companies. Of course, there is no guarantee 
that largesse will work its way from corporate headquarters to working 
families on Long Island.
  Others believe that the answer to recession is spending old fashioned 
Keynesian economics. But some spending proposals clearly overreach, and 
there is no guarantee that the spending will be targeted specifically 
to jumpstart the economy now, when we most need it.
  The best way to stimulate the economy is to give immediate, tangible 
tax relief to American consumers: suspend sales taxes, and use federal 
resources to reimburse state and local governments. To insure that this 
tax reduction strategy does not lead to huge new deficits, such revenue 
loss from the Federal budget should be capped so as not to exceed the 
$25 billion, the corporate alternative minimum tax rebate, passed by 
the House of Representatives earlier this fall.
  Rather than enriching only the richest, a sales tax suspension is the 
quickest and broadest way to boost local economies for everyone, across 
the board. It will encourage consumer spending in our downtown villages 
and towns as well as our regional malls. And because it will be 
temporary, it will create an incentive to buy now. A reduction in the 
sales tax may not mean much for the CEO of a multi national company. 
But it would be a huge boost to working families. It might help them 
with their holiday purchases, or school supplies for their kids or even 
make the difference in buying a new home appliance.
  This House has just approved a $25 billion retroactive repeal of the 
alternative minimum tax for the richest corporations of America. If we 
can find the money for Enron and we can find the money for IBM, we 
should be able to find the money for people who have lost their jobs 
and their health insurance and their unemployment insurance and the 
small businesses who are being forced out of business in New York 
today.
  The working families and small businesses on Long Island are hurting. 
They can not afford indefinite or problematic relief that might not 
kick in for years. Their need is immediate ``The Consumer and Retail 
Sales Stimulus Act of 2001'' addresses that need, it addresses it now.

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