Cleta Mitchell: “while I agree with many of the priorities in H. Con. Res. 99, the concurrent budget resolution for FY-08, unfortunately…”

“while I agree with many of the priorities in H. Con. Res. 99, the concurrent budget resolution for FY-08, unfortunately, I cannot support it. I have serious concerns about increasing government spending and cannot support a budget that allows key tax cuts to expire. I am also concerned about the partisanship that I have seen leading up to this vote. Last fall, voters in my district told me they wanted to change the tone in Washington. They wanted Congress to ratchet down the rhetoric, and start working together to find sensible solutions to our common problems. That included our nation's financial mess. The current mess affects us all. Not just Democrats, and not just Republicans. Sadly, listening to this week's budget debate, you would never know it. I refuse to believe we cannot find a third way, a bipartisan way, to incorporate good ideas from both sides of the aisle. It seems to me tax cuts should be a good place to start. Most of us support tax cuts for middle income families. In my view, this should include reduced estate taxes and reduced capital gains. It is true that, once upon a time, stock ownership was the province of the rich. But today, with the proliferation of 401(k)s and mutual funds, nearly half of all Americans own stock. As stock ownership has grown mainstream, it has become increasingly important to keep capital gains low.”