[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15577]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE FISCAL CLIFF

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, my Republican colleagues have talked a lot 
about the importance of finding common ground in negotiations over tax 
rates and the fiscal cliff.
  The truth is we do have a lot of common ground. We all believe we 
should extend the tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent 
of small businesses. We should be building on that common ground, not 
arguing over semantics. I'm confident there are more Republicans like 
Congressman Tom Cole, who has come to the realization that we can and 
we must provide economic security for middle class families and 
financial certainty for small business owners immediately.
  As my Democratic colleagues and I have been saying, that's easy, we 
should pass the Senate bill to extend current tax rates for middle 
class families and small businesses. We could do it today.
  Too often in Washington we confuse principles with policies. And 
certainly the difference between asking the wealthy to pay their fair 
share by raising their income tax rate and by eliminating their 
deductions can't be a matter of principle. That's policy.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and Republican leadership to build 
on our common ground and bring the Senate bill to the floor for a vote.

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