[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12739-12740]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX RATES

  (Mr. COURTNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, in exactly 5-months' time, the tax rates 
for every tax filer in this country will go up in the event of the so-
called ``fiscal cliff,'' which most mainstream economists believe would 
push our country back into a double-dip recession.
  There is hope, however.
  Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a measure which protects the 
incomes of every tax filer up to $250,000 and allows rates for incomes 
above that point to return to the Clinton-era rates. This is a plan 
which will protect 98 percent of the tax filers in this country from 
any tax increase. It will help balance the budget and will give 
confidence to the financial markets, which are terrified of the 
inability of this town to get its business done.
  We should act on the Senate's plan. The House Republican leadership 
has a choice: let's compromise; let's get

[[Page 12740]]

something done; let's help the economy--or let's push this country into 
brinksmanship, which for the last year and a half has been the 
trademark of the 112th Congress.
  We can do better as the House of Representatives. Let's pass the 
Senate measure. Let's provide some confidence for the American people 
and for the U.S. economy to grow.

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