[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3654]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    JEWISH COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OPPOSES IRRESPONSIBLE TAX CUTS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 8, 2004

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago I was 
privileged to be able to speak to the Jewish Council for Public 
Affairs, at a national convention held in Boston, representing 
organized Jewish communities across the country. The various Jewish 
communal organizations are active on a variety of fronts, including 
efforts to alleviate poverty and social distress. The participants in 
the organizations that make up the JCPA are themselves individuals who 
give freely to charity, and understand in part because of this that 
while private charity is extremely important, it is no substitute for 
well-funded government programs that meet social needs.
  Drawing on their experiences in this regard across the country, the 
attendees at the Plenum of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs 
adopted a resolution, which called on the Congress ``to reject efforts 
to make permanent the 2003 tax cuts.''
  As the resolution notes, ``to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, heal 
the sick, and educate our children, our Federal Government requires the 
resources that come from tax revenue.''
  This does not mean that the council opposes all of the tax cuts 
previously enacted, but this strong statement against the proposal to 
make permanent all of the 2003 tax cuts deserves very serious 
attention, given the moral credentials of those who enacted it.
  Mr. Speaker, because this is one of the most important questions that 
will be facing us in this Congress, I ask that the very compelling 
resolution against making all of the 2003 tax cuts permanent be printed 
here.

JCPA Resolution in Opposition To Making Permanent the 2003 Federal Tax 
                                  Cuts

       As Jews and Americans, we are committed to aiding members 
     of our community in need through the work of our synagogues, 
     CRCs and other private organizations, while relying on our 
     Federal Government to ensure that it has the fiscal means to 
     meet the needs of all its citizens. To feed the hungry, 
     clothe the poor, heal the sick, and educate our children, our 
     Federal Government requires the resources that come from tax 
     revenue.
       The Bush Administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2005 budget 
     seeks to make permanent the Federal tax cuts passed in 2003. 
     To do so would increase deficits by $2 trillion between 2005-
     2014, inhibiting Federal investment in both existing and new 
     programs. These tax cuts will affect the lives and well-being 
     of our children, and our children's children, who will 
     struggle in a society weakened by the fiscal decisions our 
     government is now making. The JCPA calls on the 
     Administration and Congress to enact legislation that will 
     allow the Federal Government to meet its responsibilities to 
     its citizens and to reject efforts to make permanent the 2003 
     tax cuts.

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