Steve Rothman: “now is the time to give a tax cut to working and middle-income Americans. But there is good news and bad news in America…”

“now is the time to give a tax cut to working and middle-income Americans. But there is good news and bad news in America today. The good news is that in the last 4 years, the Democrats, under President Clinton, have brought down the deficit, reduced the size of government, and we are on course to balance the Federal budget. It is time to give American families some of their hard-earned money back. But the bad news today is that the Republicans want to give most of the tax cuts to the very wealthiest of Americans. Under the Republican plan, almost 70 percent of the tax cuts would go to the top 20 percent of income earners in America. Working and middle-class Americans need and deserve the tax cuts more. There is a difference between the Democrat tax cut plan and the Republican tax cut plan. I have put forward a bill called the Lifetime Learning Affordability Act, which would actually give parents tax deductible IRA-like savings accounts so hardworking Americans could provide for their children's college education in a cheaper and safer way. Mr. Speaker, it is time we invest in working and middle-class Americans with a tax cut for them, not the rich.”