[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 56 (Thursday, April 2, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0915
                          A REPEATED FALSEHOOD

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. We're going to hear more of our friends from the 
other side of the aisle talk about their budget proposal today. It's 
ironic that they're proposing things that they couldn't, wouldn't enact 
when they ran everything.
  But one of the things I find most distressing is their repeated 
falsehood about some $3,100 increase in taxes on the American people 
based on research done by MIT. They talked about it four times again 
last night.
  Talking to Professor John Reilly, who actually did the 2007 study, 
indicates that they are using an intentional misrepresentation of the 
study. In fact, when somebody from the Republicans ``called me on March 
20 and asked about it, I explained why the estimate was incorrect and 
what they could do to correct it.''
  The actual number is one-fortieth of what the Republicans are talking 
about. And the fact is that in the budget we have an opportunity for 
people who want to be legislators--not communicators--to help us 
allocate how those benefits will be utilized.

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