Tim Huelskamp: “Thank you, Congressman Reed. It is a very timely topic. I come from western Kansas, and big skies and big dreams, and…”

“Thank you, Congressman Reed. It is a very timely topic. I come from western Kansas, and big skies and big dreams, and big visions; and I tell you, we can see an approaching storm brewing sometimes hundreds of miles away. You can see the dark clouds. You can feel the gusting winds. Though the skies are wide open, sometimes it's hard to predict which path the storm will take. We've heard tonight, and I'll say it again, there is a storm brewing here in Washington that may seem like miles, perhaps hundreds of miles, away; but it's not. Unlike our Kansas storms, it's pretty evident this storm is going to hit America unless this Congress and this President act. Every American will pay higher taxes next year. Let me rephrase that. Every tax-paying American--because you know half of Americans pay no Federal income taxes. So I'm talking about the half that actually pay. Income and the capital gains rates will go up; the death tax will go up as well. The child tax credit and the standard deduction will decrease. All of this is certain to happen unless we act. It's been mentioned that this would be the biggest tax increase in American history. I think it actually might be the biggest tax increase in human history. It could be. We'll look forward to those figures. Our economy is just starting to show signs of life again, however weak. Can you imagine what it will mean for the economy if taxes go up at the end of the year?…”