[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUTS

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, today the House will take up a bill on the 
Bush tax cuts. The Republicans want to extend the Bush tax cuts to 
everybody, but tax 25 million Americans by not extending certain 
credits that they get right now. The Democratic proposal, which I will 
support and which I'm here for today, despite the fact that my election 
is tomorrow, will extend tax cuts to everybody and raise taxes somewhat 
on people who make over $200,000 individual and $250,000 married. Those 
people still get a tax cut, but just not as much.
  Madam Speaker, 93 percent of the income growth in the last decade 
went to the top 1 percent. That's the people who can afford to pay more 
taxes. And the fact is, to deal with the deficit, we've got to have 
both income and cuts to wasteful spending.
  Republicans and Democrats have agreed. Economists Paul Krugman and 
Joseph Stiglitz have called on both revenue and cuts. And so have 
Martin Feldstein, an adviser to President Reagan, and Hank Paulson, 
Treasury Secretary to President Bush. So did Simpson-Bowles. They've 
all said you need both revenue and cuts. That's what President Clinton 
recommended in 1993, the Democrats supported, and we had a surplus--
wasted on Bush tax cuts.
  I urge support for middle class tax cuts.

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