[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E86]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CAPITAL GAINS AND ESTATE TAX RELIEF ACT OF 2009

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                         HON. HARRY E. MITCHELL

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 14, 2009

  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, earlier today my colleague 
Representative Mark Kirk and I introduced the Capital Gains and Estate 
Tax Relief Act of 2009, a bill to extend critical tax cuts that will 
help middle-class families in my district and across the country.
  If enacted, this legislation would make recent cuts to capital gains 
and estate taxes permanent. If Congress does not act, these tax cuts 
will expire at the end of 2010.
  At a time when we so desperately need to encourage economic growth 
and investment, I believe it is wrong to raise these taxes.
  Last month, the United States lost 524,000 jobs, bringing the total 
number of lost jobs in 2008 to 2.6 million. In December, unemployment 
rose to 7.2 percent, the highest rate since January 1993.
  Arizonans, like all Americans, are feeling this pain and factoring 
the sluggish economy into their decision making. Home sales have 
slowed, small businesses are struggling and people are taking a hard 
look at their IRAs and 401Ks. With the economy weighing down important 
decisions about how, where, and when to buy a home or make other 
critical investments, Congress should not add to this burden by 
allowing capital gains and estate taxes to increase.
  Several years ago, these tax cuts were championed by President Bush 
and a Republican Congress. Since then, the political winds have clearly 
changed. But in our haste to distance ourselves from the past, I 
implore my colleagues to give careful consideration to these tax cuts 
before dismissing them.
  These tax cuts are sensible. They help millions of middle-class 
Americans, and making them permanent would make our tax code fairer and 
more predictable. They affect small businesses. They affect 
stockholders. They affect anyone who owns a home.
  Unfortunately, when it comes time to buy or sell a home or stock or 
make other basic investments, these taxes often act as disincentives 
toward optimal financial decision making. At this difficult time, we 
need to keep these burdens as low as possible.
  We need to incentivize investment and encourage growth, not penalize 
them.
  Some have called for the outright elimination of these taxes. Still 
others have sought to rescind these tax cuts before they have a chance 
to expire.
  Now more than ever, we must place pragmatism above partisanship, and 
do what is necessary to get our economy moving.
  In 2007 and again in 2008, I voted against the Budget Resolutions, in 
part, because they failed to extend cuts to capital gains and estate 
taxes. At the time, I expressed frustration with both Democrats and 
Republicans for failing to work together to create a budget that 
incorporates good ideas from both sides of the aisle.
  I believed then that we could do better, and I believe now that we 
must. So today, I challenge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
do the right thing for middle-class families, small businesses, 
stockholders, and homeowners. Consider this legislation, not on a 
partisan basis, but on its merits. Making these tax cuts permanent will 
help our middle class, and working together, I know we can make that 
happen.

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