[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16991]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXTENDING TAX CUTS

  (Mr. OWENS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, Democrats are committed to extending tax cuts 
for the middle class working families. Unfortunately, our friends on 
the other side of the aisle have been unwilling to compromise so far on 
tax cuts for the wealthy, which would add $700 billion to the national 
debt over the next 10 years.
  I was proud to join several of my colleagues, led by Mr. Pascrell and 
Mr. Capuano, in sending a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Boehner 
advocating for a compromise on this issue. Our idea involves a 1-year 
extension of the higher tax rates for individuals and joint filers 
making under $500,000 annually, a 5-year extension of the middle class 
tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and joint filers 
making less than $250,000 annually, and a 5-year extension of the 
current tax rates on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends.
  I hope we come together to address this issue quickly when Congress 
returns. And I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to focus 
on working out a compromise.

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