[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8758-8759]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             BUSH TAX CUTS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Senator from Rhode Island spoke about 
the 10th anniversary of the George W. Bush tax cuts. These were tax 
cuts that primarily benefitted the wealthiest people in America, and we 
recently renewed them. There was a decision made that to keep the 
economy moving forward we were not going to raise taxes, even on the 
wealthiest people.
  But it is worth reflection for a moment about what happened when we 
cut the taxes 10 years ago. The promise then is the same promise we now 
hear from the other side of the aisle: If you will cut taxes on the 
wealthiest people in America, our economy will flourish.
  Well, it turns out that was not the case at all. In fact, what 
happened is that we saw the economy suffer. Ten years ago, President 
Bush signed into law the first massive tax cut. He said that this tax 
relief would create jobs. The month the first Bush tax cuts were signed 
into law, in June of 2001, the American economy had 132 million jobs--
132 million jobs. Three years later, we were down to 131.4 million. 
Cutting taxes for the wealthiest people in America was not a job 
stimulator. The economy lost jobs in the 3 years following the Bush tax 
cuts. Over his 8 years in office, job growth under President Bush was 
4.8 percent, compared to 16.2 percent under President Clinton.
  Before I defer to my colleague from Vermont, I will tell you one 
other fact that is worth noting. First, when President Clinton left 
office and President George W. Bush took over, we had a surplus, a 
surplus that was keeping the Social Security trust fund flush with 
money and growing in strength. At that time, the net national debt, 
accumulated since George Washington, $5

[[Page 8759]]

trillion--$5 trillion when Clinton left office and Bush took over. Fast 
forward 8 years later as George W. Bush left office. What was the 
situation? The national debt had more than doubled to more than $10 
trillion, and the projected deficit for the next fiscal year for 
President Obama--his first fiscal year--$1.2 trillion, the highest in 
history.
  What happened? We waged two wars and did not pay for them--wars in 
Iraq and Afghanistan. We added to the national debt. And President 
Bush, for the first time in the history of the United States, did 
something no other President had done: He cut taxes in the midst of a 
war, which is counterintuitive; you do not have enough money to pay for 
the ordinary expenses of government, now you have got the new expenses 
of war, and you are cutting taxes?
  Not surprisingly, this added dramatically to our national debt. So 
now comes the Republican side again, with our economy still 
recovering--unfortunately too slowly--and their recipe is tax cuts for 
the wealthy. I would say those of us who are fortunate to live in this 
great country and have the comfort of a good salary should not begrudge 
paying this country's debts and this country's needs. I think it is 
part of our responsibility of citizenship.
  There are those who are struggling to get by in lower income and 
middle-income categories who I think need a helping hand. But those at 
the highest levels of income--over $250,000 a year, over $500,000 a 
year--should not be angry about accepting more responsibility in trying 
to help this Nation move forward.
  The Bush tax cuts did not help create jobs, they caused the deficit 
to explode and they made it even worse in terms of our inequality of 
income. Why would we want to do that again? There are 13.9 million 
people in this country who want to work but cannot find a job; millions 
more have accepted fewer hours and less income than they like out of 
desperation.
  We should be focusing now on creating jobs in America, good-paying 
jobs that stay right here at home. We ought to be helping middle- and 
lower income families who are struggling to get by. We ought to deal 
with our deficit in honest terms, cutting spending where there is waste 
and misuse of funds, and then saying, we need revenue on the table as 
well.
  We need to make sure we have a bipartisan approach for this. I will 
continue in that effort to try to reach that goal. But I hope we have 
learned a lesson over the last 10 years when it comes to tax cuts for 
the wealthy. They led us to the highest deficits in our history. At 
this point, I am afraid using that recipe again will create even more 
economic hardship.
  I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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