Steven Holt: “I favor cutting taxes, but in balanced and fiscally responsible ways. That's why I have been one of the few Democrats in…”

“I favor cutting taxes, but in balanced and fiscally responsible ways. That's why I have been one of the few Democrats in Congress who has been willing to cross party lines to vote for eliminating the estate tax, to vote for eliminating the marriage penalty, to vote for cutting taxes for small businesses, to vote for cutting taxes to help people pay for education and retirement, and to vote for cutting taxes for senior citizens. With a war in Iraq and looming postwar costs, increased expenses for domestic security and a ballooning budget deficit, Congress must exercise restraint on both revenues and spending to prevent fiscal policy from spiraling out of control. The consensus in favor of balancing the budget over the long term must be re-established. The fiscal outlook is much worse than official administration projections indicate. These projections assume that the tax cuts enacted in 2001 will expire at the end of 2010. They also assume that discretionary spending, the part of the budget that pays for national defense, domestic security, education and transportation, will shrink continuously as a share of the economy. Neither of these assumptions is realistic. We need a tax bill that recognizes the ballooning budget deficit and address the economic realities of the world we are facing. No one denies that our economy needs an immediate stimulus.”