Frank Pallone: “the Republicans are beginning the 106th Congress exactly where they left off in the 105th, and that is ignoring the will…”

“the Republicans are beginning the 106th Congress exactly where they left off in the 105th, and that is ignoring the will of the majority of the Americans. If you recall, the Republican leadership in the House ended the 105th Congress by approving an $80 billion tax break for the wealthiest Americans financed by raiding the Social Security surplus. As a result, the Democrats picked up 5 seats in the November election. But, believe it or not, the Republicans are still not listening. Instead of directing the surplus to Social Security and Medicare, the Republicans are proposing a 10 percent tax cut which will do virtually nothing for 45 million American families. Under the Republican plan, the average annual tax cut for 60 percent of tax payers would be about $100. Those earning more than $300,000 though would receive an average tax cut of $20,000. I urge my Republican colleagues to listen to the American people. Read the writing on the wall and stop wasting time with a recycled plan to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy with money that should be used to strengthen Social Security and Medicare.”