Barbara Boxer: “Thank you, very much. Let me say that this is a very important debate. When we look at the two plans, the Republican tax…”

“Thank you, very much. Let me say that this is a very important debate. When we look at the two plans, the Republican tax cut plan versus the Democratic tax cut plan, what we see is one is for the middle class; that is, the Democratic plan. One is for our middle-class families. It includes tuition tax credits, and an enhanced child tax credit. It is very important that we do that. The other is a giveaway to the millionaires and the billionaires. It is amazing to me that it is not enough for my Republican friends to give everyone a tax break in this Nation of ours up to the first $250,000 of income and then say after that we are going to go to the tax rates of Bill Clinton. In those years, unlike the Bush years, we created 23 million jobs, and we created surpluses as far as the eye could see. But my Republican friends want to go backward to the Bush years, to the trickle-down years. Here is the problem. They do it on the backs of the middle class. They claim our plan will hurt small business owners. Let me be clear. Ninety-seven percent of small business owners earn less than $250,0000 a year. So all that talk about job creators is nothing but talk. It is nothing but a smokescreen for the highest earners in America. Here is another problem. The Republican plan adds $930 billion to the deficit over 10 years. It is a problem. In 1 year, the first year, it is a $50 billion add-on to the deficit. I have heard my Republican colleagues cry about sequestration.…”