[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5688-H5689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     END THE POLITICAL GAMESMANSHIP

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, the American people expect Congress to 
work to get our economy back on track, to promote economic growth, and 
to provide families and small businesses with some certainty when it 
comes to their taxes.
  The Senate passed legislation to ensure that middle class families do 
not see a tax increase at the end of the year. Yesterday, House 
Democrats offered the identical bill, one that the President would 
sign, yet our Republican friends passed a plan that will raise taxes on 
25 million middle class families by preserving tax breaks for the 
wealthiest among us.
  We need to end this kind of political gamesmanship that has held our 
economy back. Against this backdrop, my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle

[[Page H5689]]

have decided to leave town for almost 40 days with a long list of 
unfinished business: postal reform, the Violence Against Women 
reauthorization, the farm bill, comprehensive jobs legislation, the 
Make It in America agenda, a balanced and big plan to solve our 
deficit, and tax cuts for the middle class.
  We should remain here and do the work the American people sent us to 
do.

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