[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          JOBS AND GROWTH PLAN

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I suppose I should not be surprised by 
the latest tactics Democrats are employing to convince Americans that 
the jobs and growth plan ignores working families, but today I think 
most of us were a bit shocked at the frantic attempts to spin these tax 
cuts as harmful to low-income families.
  Those across the aisle who oppose this tax relief should be nervous. 
They voted against the plan that exempts another 3 million-plus low-
income workers from any Federal tax liability. They voted against a 
plan that expands the 10 percent income bracket so that more low-income 
working Americans get to keep a greater portion of their paychecks. And 
they voted ``no'' to giving small businesses the ability to expense 
investments, a provision that is a boon to mom-and-pop operations in 
virtually every single corner of this country.
  In an article printed in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, it was 
pointed out that the Nation's bottom 50 percent of filers had very 
little income tax liability. And you know what? Republicans reduced the 
burden on these working families even further when we passed the jobs 
and growth act. So do not be fooled by the screeching coming from 
across the aisle. Democrats know that people are going to love this 
bill when they start reaping the benefits of lower taxes; when they 
take a long overdue vacation, buy a new car, and put a little bit more 
in retirement or college funds.
  We were right to pass the tax relief bill. Today, the economy looks 
to be on the verge of a turnaround, and Chairman Greenspan has said 
that the jobs and growth plan will likely boost consumer spending and 
feed into the job market. This is great news for Americans and should 
be cause for reflection for those who voted against the tax and relief 
bill.

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