[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 3, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H4853-H4854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TAX PLAN HELPS RICH AND ABANDONS CHILDREN AND VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida). Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, during the debate on the tax bill, the 
Republicans continually stated how the Nation's economic policy should 
alleviate taxes on the rich as they are the ones doing the so-called 
creating of wealth, as opposed to the middle-class people actually 
doing the labor in our Nation's plants, ports, factories, warehouses, 
and offices.
  When Democrats pointed out that they were, in fact, providing a tax 
cut to the richest and wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, something 
that my Republican colleagues never denied, the Republicans accused 
Democrats of playing class warfare. But class warfare is pitting people 
against each other, and that is what the Republican tax bill has done.
  Nothing highlights class warfare of the Republicans against middle-
class people more than the midnight actions of the Republicans and 
President Bush when they stripped out many of the child care tax credit 
provisions for hard-working poor families. Numbers crunching is, I 
think, what they call it. I believe the cutting of the child tax credit 
for the poorest in this country is unconscionable.
  Now, I understand that after leaving the economic policies of the 
past 3 years, which have led to the loss of over 2.7 million private 
sector jobs, that the Republicans would be unfamiliar with the term 
``working people'' as they have eliminated so many of them to date; but 
they do, in fact, exist. In fact, in addition to the 2.7 million jobs 
that have disappeared under the Bush economic plan, millions more 
Americans have slipped out of the middle class and into the category of 
working poor. They include the over 3 million new Americans without any 
health insurance. They are the families who work two jobs to pay the 
rent and put food on the table, the same people who actually are seeing 
their taxes rise under the Bush plan, the ones who are losing education 
and health benefits under the Bush plan. They are the 8 million 
children stripped of benefits by the Republicans in this House. All the 
while the Republican bill will ensure millions of new rich Americans 
will pay no taxes.
  They are the people referred to by the conservative Wall Street 
Journal as the ``lucky duckies.''
  Class warfare is putting interests of the richest 1 percent of the 
people, including those millionaires who shelter their income in 
overseas accounts and pay no taxes, over those of hard-working poor 
people in this country. I had always been taught that it was women and 
children first. But in this sinking ship of the U.S. economy, the 
Republican ship captains are letting women and children go down with 
the ship while saving the strongest first.
  In fact, Republicans refuse to eliminate a corporate tax loophole 
that allows corporations to escape U.S. taxes by filing shell 
corporations overseas. Democrats wanted to change this by ensuring that 
8 million children receive fair benefits while eliminating tax 
loopholes that hurt the U.S. While these children will not get the 
average $93,000-plus tax exemptions that millionaires will get, they do 
deserve some help. Democrats have a plan while Republicans have a 
scapegoat.
  But let me hand it to the Republicans and President Bush. They have 
been adept at telling working men and women that their economic ideas 
will elevate them, when in reality it will give them the shaft. Not 
only are we literally taking money out of the hands of poor children; 
we are doing it to provide a tax credit to the richest 1 percent of 
Americans while blowing a hole in a deficit and not creating jobs.
  In fact, even the conservative Wall Street Journal again states the 
Republican tax package will not create jobs. They argue that the 
President's plan is a ``no go on job creation'' and that the 
elimination on taxes on dividends will diminish the abilities of 
businesses to take tax incentives on capital investments and R&D, 
things that actually create jobs.
  Even the President's own outside team of economic consultants stated 
that the surging deficits caused by his bill will actually ``do more 
harm than good'' as ``surging budget deficits would raise interest 
rates and lower savings rates and actually discourage job creation.''
  So while Republicans like to keep stressing this is another $350 
billion windfall, they ignore other important numbers such as $450 
billion and rising, our annual budget deficit; $1 trillion, what this 
will add to our national debt because of the high interest payments we 
will pay on borrowing this money for a tax cut for the rich; 563, the 
number of jobs lost every working hour of every working day since 
President Bush has become President.
  This tax bill was bad for the American people when we passed it, when 
it was signed into law, and it will be bad for the history of the 
United States.
  2.7 million--the number of private sector jobs that have been lost 
since Bush took over
  8 million--the number of children who will lose benefits from the tax 
bill because of Republican chicanery
  150,000--the newly unemployed in NYS since Mr. Bush assumed the 
presidency
  120,000--the newly unemployed in NYC since Mr. Bush assumed the 
presidency
  30,000--the newly unemployed in Queens, NY since Mr. Bush assumed the 
presidency
  16,000--the newly unemployed in the Bronx since Mr. Bush assumed the 
presidency
  Democrats opposed the first Bush tax cut claiming it would do nothing 
for job creation and blow a hole in our national budget, we were right 
then, and unfortunately, we will be right again
  It gives Democrats no joy to watch as the Republicans squander our 
nation's resources, bankrupt our nation and overtax the middle class, 
but it is what Republicans from President Bush on down are doing.
  The American public must demand a more accountable government, one 
that puts the interest of workers over millionaires.

[[Page H4854]]

  Republicans refuse to listen.
  So if America wants a real economic recovery with real job and wage 
growth, then we must add President Bush and the Republican Congress to 
the growing list of the 2.7 million people who have lost their jobs 
because of the misguided policies of the Republican party.
  Fairness is not stealing from poor children.
  Fairness is not overtaxing the middle and working classes.
  Fairness is not encouraging millionaires to pay no taxes while we 
lose 563 American jobs an hour.
  Fairness is not what the Republican economic package is about.
  It is a shame and Congress, if it had any honor, would work to 
resolve the stolen benefits of those 8 million children as well as 
create jobs for those 2.7 million American unemployed adults.

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