[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11119-11120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     REPUBLICAN TAX CUTS MEAN RECKLESS FISCAL COURSE FOR AMERICANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, in less than 1 hour's 
time, this House of Representatives set our Nation on a very reckless 
economic course. We are here today in a time of great national 
challenge. Overseas we face the large challenge of rebuilding Iraq and 
trying to establish a democratic form of government in that country of 
about 23 million people. The President recently asked for, and the 
Congress appropriated, about $80 billion for our efforts in Iraq.
  But while we are engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere, we 
must not forget the very real needs right at home. Because while we 
build new schools and new hospitals in Iraq and we work to get the 
Iraqi economy moving again, this administration has been very much out 
of touch with our needs right here at home and with getting our economy 
moving again right here in America.
  Since the Bush administration came to office, we have lost 2.7 
million jobs

[[Page 11120]]

in this country. Gone, vanished. Half a million of those jobs were lost 
in the last 3 months alone. And today, 8.8 million Americans are 
unemployed.
  We need an economic plan that will put America back to work and a 
plan that will reflect the values and the priorities of the American 
people. The Republican tax package that was adopted earlier today does 
not. It will not stimulate the economy, it will only stimulate red ink 
in the years to come, and it does not reflect the priorities of the 
American family; it reflects the priorities of a very few at the 
expense of our national interests.
  In fact, the message of the Republican tax cut today was loud and 
clear: forget about the people who are out of work. Forget about the 
long-term fiscal health of our country. Their number one domestic 
priority, number one, the most pressing need in America today, 
according to the package and message they sent, is that the very 
wealthiest in our country, the people at the very top of the ladder are 
being taxed too much and we need to give them a big tax cut in the form 
of capital gains tax cuts and a removal of the tax on stock dividends.
  I can tell my colleagues, and I think we all know, that the troops 
who sacrificed so bravely, most of them are not waiting for their big 
stock dividends in the mail. But our troops, their children, and all 
Americans will be paying for this in the long run, because this tax cut 
is going to exacerbate the fiscal problems in this country. We have 
already had the biggest reversal in American history, from a $5.6 
trillion projected surplus to $2 trillion projected deficits. And who 
is going to pay? In the long run, we are all going to pay, because we 
either pay in terms of taxes increased on our children in future 
generations, or major cuts in programs that are important to the 
American people such as Social Security and Medicare.
  In fact, we are going to be paying right now, because when we reduce 
our obligations to the States, when we do not fulfill our promises 
under the Leave No Child Behind Act, where this year we are $9 billion 
short of what had been committed, we place greater burdens on the 
States. And the States either have to do one of two things. They either 
have to increase revenues and taxes, or they have to cut back on 
programs.
  In the State of Maryland, we are seeing dramatic cuts in higher 
education. Who is paying for those? Students. Their tuition is going up 
by more than 10 percent. It is simply a tax on students. It is a tax on 
other people. You cannot get a free lunch. The American people know 
that. Someone has to pay.
  Look at what we are doing to veterans benefits. Sure, we are reducing 
taxes to the very wealthiest in this country, but what is the result? A 
dramatic cutback in benefits for veterans.
  So what do we do? There was an alternative plan put forward by the 
Democrats, but no one was allowed an up-or-down vote on that plan here 
in this body. It called for greater relief for the States so they do 
not have to either increase taxes back home locally or dramatically cut 
education and health benefits. It called for a tax break for more 
middle Americans, increasing the child tax credit, an acceleration of 
the marriage penalty relief. It called for greater relief for 
unemployed workers and their families so that they could continue to 
pay the rent, continue to put food on the table; and that relief has a 
big impact on the economy. Those are people who need the funds, they 
have been in need of work, they lost their jobs through no fault of 
their own, they are continuing to look for work; and when they get that 
dollar of help, they go out and spend it in the economy.
  Finally, it provides for business tax credits to provide for 
investment now.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just find that this particular proposal 
that was adopted today sets our Nation on a reckless course. We need a 
plan for all of America that will move our entire Nation forward, and I 
hope in the days ahead we will do that.

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