[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                     HONESTY CONCERNING THE BUDGET

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, when I listen to some of the comments from 
my colleagues on the Republican side, I am surprised by the remarks 
they make about tax increases. If you look at the economic recovery 
package, it actually has one of the biggest tax cuts in this Nation's 
history. For most people, unless they are at $200,000 or above for a 
couple, something like that, they will actually be seeing a tax 
decrease or a tax cut as a result of the economic recovery package.
  The President is being very honest about the budget. If you listened 
to him for the first time now, if you compare him to the previous 
administration, the budget is going to increase the actual cost of the 
Iraq war and the actual cost of Medicare reimbursements. A lot of those 
things were previously hidden.
  In addition to that, most importantly, he talked about the need for 
deficit reduction. Yes, in fact we are spending money as part of the 
economic recovery package. We are giving tax cuts, and that does 
increase the deficit. But over the long term, over the 4 years, the 
goal is to cut the deficit in half.
  It is a very responsible message that he gave last night; short-term 
efforts to achieve economic recovery, long-term efforts to reduce the 
deficit.

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