[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18477]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address the elephant in 
the room--the expiration of the tax rates that will occur 31 days from 
now.
  We all agree that it is imperative that we work together to provide 
America's working-class families with tax relief as soon as possible. 
That is why I applaud the President for meeting with Members from the 
House and Senate in order to forge a bipartisan compromise.
  But to be fair, this past September, I, along with Messrs. Capuano, 
Higgins and Owens, proposed a compromise that provides tax relief for 
American families and that gives Congress the fiscal flexibility to 
address our long-term deficit. I am proud to say that the Joint 
Committee on Taxation has confirmed that this plan costs significantly 
less and provides greater flexibility to reduce the national debt.
  Our compromise includes a 5-year extension of the middle class tax 
rates and the current rates on long-term capital gains and qualified 
dividends, costing $801.5 billion; and a 1-year extension of the 
current rates for income earned between $250,000 and $500,000, costing 
$8.27 billion.
  This plan is better than the $2.2 trillion over 10 years which is now 
before us. It is a compromise, and we ought to try it sometime.

                          ____________________