[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5336-H5337]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX RATES

  (Mr. COURTNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, in exactly 5-months' time, the tax rates 
for every tax filer in this country will go up in the event of the so-
called ``fiscal cliff,'' which most mainstream economists believe would 
push our country back into a double-dip recession.
  There is hope, however.
  Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a measure which protects the 
incomes of every tax filer up to $250,000 and allows rates for incomes 
above that point to

[[Page H5337]]

return to the Clinton-era rates. This is a plan which will protect 98 
percent of the tax filers in this country from any tax increase. It 
will help balance the budget and will give confidence to the financial 
markets, which are terrified of the inability of this town to get its 
business done.
  We should act on the Senate's plan. The House Republican leadership 
has a choice: let's compromise; let's get something done; let's help 
the economy--or let's push this country into brinksmanship, which for 
the last year and a half has been the trademark of the 112th Congress.
  We can do better as the House of Representatives. Let's pass the 
Senate measure. Let's provide some confidence for the American people 
and for the U.S. economy to grow.

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