[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4061]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            ECONOMIC GROWTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, a few months ago I came down to the 
floor to talk about our economy and the steps that President Bush and 
Congress have taken to offset the recession and the trillion-dollar 
impact of September 11 on our economy.
  Part of my remarks that day focused on tax relief and the effect it 
has had in helping our families, working families, and small businesses 
weather what has been some tough economic times; and I think it is 
important that we reiterate our support for tax relief because there 
are those across the aisle who are increasingly supportive of raising 
your tax bill. I want to let my constituents in the Seventh 
Congressional District of Tennessee know that I am standing beside tax 
relief legislation. I stand with cutting their tax bills.
  In 2003 under Republican leadership and under Republican tax 
legislation, 91 million taxpayers received on average a tax cut in the 
amount of $1,126. This is real relief for 91 million Americans. So when 
the rhetoric from the other side of the aisle starts flying that tax 
relief is only for the rich, you can judge for yourself whether you 
think 91 million Americans would consider themselves rich.
  A few months ago, candidates for the Democratic nomination were all 
calling for tax increases. Virtually all of them opposed the tax relief 
which has allowed 91 million Americans to keep more of their hard-
earned paychecks. On July 28, a Washington Post column proclaimed: 
``Candidates Not Shying Away From Tax Talk: Candidates Discuss Raises, 
Not Cuts.''
  It is important to note they may think you can tax your way to 
prosperity, but you cannot. You cannot. We know that it is important to 
leave that money with the taxpayer. Well, today we have a single 
Democratic candidate, and he is on record for raising some income tax 
brackets to pre-Bush levels. The question every American needs to 
consider is this: Why should we raise taxes? What do higher taxes do to 
the economy? It is a simple answer: higher taxes take capital out of 
the private sector and give government more money to spend.
  I think a vast majority of Americans, and I know the folks in my 
district, know that higher taxes do not grow our economy; they grow the 
government.
  Something else I think the American people should know is that the 
tax relief that we have passed, the tax relief responsible for giving 
91 million Americans an average of $1,126 in relief last year is not 
permanent. In short, this tax relief will end in 2011; and at that 
point, virtually all taxpayers will start facing higher tax bills. 
Democrats largely do not support making this relief permanent. 
Americans will again be subject to the marriage tax, the death tax. A 
family of four making $36,268 will see a tax hike of over $2,000; that 
is if we do not make permanent our tax relief legislation, and that is 
something that we are working to do.
  The President and this Congress are working to ensure that this 
relief is permanent, and I look forward to the debate because we are on 
the side of lower taxes, economic growth, not tax hikes and big 
government. We are for leaving the money with those who earn it.

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