Kenny Hulshof: “If Patrick Henry thought taxation without representation was bad, he ought to see it with representation; and I think…”

“If Patrick Henry thought taxation without representation was bad, he ought to see it with representation; and I think Mr. Henry would look at what we did a year ago and he would roll over in his grave because this sunset that was placed on this tax cut has no policy reason at all. It was simply put there by the other body by the bill's opponents. Why is it, I ask my colleagues, especially those 28 of them, many of whom spoke here today, why is it that tax increases are always permanent? We are still paying for the Spanish-American War with the tax on luxury telephones that was passed in 1898. The death tax that we are trying to repeal once and for all was enacted in 1916. We still have deficit reduction taxes that my colleagues put on the American people back in 1993. So it is a good policy reason that we make these tax cuts permanent. What is going to happen if we do not? What I hear from the other side of the aisle is, talking about this, we cannot afford this tax cut. Mr. Speaker, if we do nothing, this cost has to be borne by someone, and that someone is the American family, it is the American business, because we know if we do nothing, they are going to see the largest tax increase our Nation has ever had thrust upon them.”