George Voinovich: “I rise to speak on the reconciliation bill that is before the Senate. There are three reasons we should oppose the tax…”

“I rise to speak on the reconciliation bill that is before the Senate. There are three reasons we should oppose the tax cuts that are currently before the Senate, as well as tax cuts that may come before the Senate in the near future: No. 1, we do not need these tax cuts; No. 2, we cannot afford these tax cuts; and No. 3, we should be working on tax reform rather than enacting tax cuts in a piece-meal fashion. Mr. President, we do not need these tax cuts now. In short, the economy is already growing. The Nation's gross domestic product grew by over 4 percent in both 2003 and 2004 and 3.5 percent in 2005. In the first quarter of 2006, it was reported that the economy grew at 4.8 percent. Additionally, unemployment has dropped from 6.6 percent to the current 4.7 percent. The stock markets have regained their strength over time. In fact, proponents of tax cuts point to the stock market as an indicator of the Nation's economic growth and have stated that if tax cuts are not made permanent, we threaten to send our stock market, and consequently the economy, into a tailspin.…”