[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 188 (Thursday, December 8, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H8299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    EXTEND THE MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT

  (Ms. BERKLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of Nevada's middle 
class families. Because of the economic downturn, thousands of Nevadans 
are struggling to find a job, pay their rent, and put food on their 
families' tables. They cannot afford a tax increase.
  However, Washington gridlock is threatening just that, a massive tax 
increase on middle class families. Why? Because some Washington 
Republicans refuse to roll back special tax breaks for Wall Street 
millionaires in order to pay for a middle class tax cut for 1.2 million 
Nevadans. That's just not right.
  So my message today is this: no holiday vacation for Congress without 
extending the middle class tax cut. We cannot go home while Nevada 
families are hurting and desperate for this extension of their payroll 
tax cuts.
  However, that's going to require Washington Republicans to stop 
protecting Wall Street millionaires and start putting Nevada's families 
first. The only fair way to achieve this is to roll back special tax 
breaks for Wall Street millionaires, not slash Medicare benefits, not 
layoff thousands of people.
  It's time to stop putting Wall Street first and before Main Street. 
Washington ought not go on vacation until we take care of this problem.

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