[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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