[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7759-H7760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address the elephant in 
the room--the expiration of the tax rates that will occur 31 days from 
now.
  We all agree that it is imperative that we work together to provide 
America's working-class families with tax relief as soon as possible. 
That is why I applaud the President for meeting with Members from the 
House and Senate in order to forge a bipartisan compromise.
  But to be fair, this past September, I, along with Messrs. Capuano, 
Higgins and Owens, proposed a compromise that provides tax relief for 
American families and that gives Congress the fiscal flexibility to 
address our long-term deficit. I am proud to say that the Joint 
Committee on Taxation has confirmed that this plan costs significantly 
less and provides greater flexibility to reduce the national debt.
  Our compromise includes a 5-year extension of the middle class tax 
rates and the current rates on long-term capital gains and qualified 
dividends, costing $801.5 billion; and a 1-year extension of the 
current rates for income earned between $250,000 and $500,000, costing 
$8.27 billion.
  This plan is better than the $2.2 trillion over 10 years which is now 
before

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us. It is a compromise, and we ought to try it sometime.

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