Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick: “I have considered the merits of the legislation and concluded that the base bill offered by the Republican majority…”

“I have considered the merits of the legislation and concluded that the base bill offered by the Republican majority needed to be amended. I voted aye to the Neal-Bishop-Israel substitute, that would have exempted married couples making $250,000, and singles making $125,000, from paying the alternative minimum tax. The substitute would have been offset by cracking down on corporate tax shelters and tax avoidance schemes used by corporations like Enron. The current budget deficit has been fueled by unprecedented tax cuts that have erased a surplus in excess of $200 billion when the Bush administration took office. Given the loss of 2.6 million private-sector jobs over the last three years, I and my fellow Democrats believe tax cuts should not add to the record budget deficits, because ballooning deficits threaten economic growth, raise interest rates, and cost jobs. That is why the Democratic alternative targeted tax cuts--providing more tax relief to the millions of families with children in high-tax states with incomes under $250,000.”