[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 159 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2511]]
    PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4297, TAX RELIEF EXTENSION 
                       RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 8, 2005

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, after five years of setting records for 
weak job creation, the President is giving us a rosy outlook for our 
economy. What he fails to mention in his economic pep talks is the 
elephant sitting in the room--this administration continues to set 
record debts and deficits, long-term, structural problems that will bog 
us down for generations to come.
  What is our response as a Congress to this fiscal mess? A bill that 
would cost $81 billion over 10 years. A bill that would pile on to the 
deficit that is projected to be $3.5 trillion over 10 years. I suppose 
the thinking is compared to $3.5 trillion, what's another $81 billion? 
Only in Washington.
  What's worse, the middle class--the foundation of our Nation and our 
economy will be largely ignored by the bill before us. It's bad enough 
that working Americans have already been left behind in our economic 
recovery.
  But this bill will essentially raise taxes on 17 million American 
middle-class families by failing to protect them from the Alternative 
Minimum Tax. Make no mistake, they will not get real protection from 
yesterday's fig-leaf AMT bill, and they will get nothing from the bill 
before us today.
  We are considering more of the same. More debt, more deficits, more 
working Americans who are ignored.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill and ``yes'' on the 
sensible Rangel substitute, which will allow us to really fix the AMT, 
help the middle class and help working Americans.

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