Sylvester Turner: “I think it is clear that everybody in this House would like to see tax cuts continued past 2010. The issue is not…”

“I think it is clear that everybody in this House would like to see tax cuts continued past 2010. The issue is not whether we are for tax cuts; the issue is whether or not we are willing to use the Social Security trust fund money to pay for those tax cuts. I voted for the President's tax cut last June, and I would be glad to extend that tax cut; and I hope we have the opportunity to do it sometime between now and 2010. But when we have gone from projections of $5.5 trillion in surplus down to where we no longer have any surplus and we are projecting deficits, it seems fiscally irresponsible to propose today to extend that tax cut. I am confident we will be able to extend much of it, but fiscal conservatives will support a balanced budget first. Fiscal conservatives will oppose deficit spending, and fiscal conservatives will oppose spending the Social Security trust fund money to pay for future tax cuts. There is no business in America that will use its retirement fund to give dividends to stockholders, and if they did, they would go to jail. So I am confident that today the right thing to do is to oppose the previous question, oppose this rule, and let us have the opportunity to adopt the Blue Dog amendment to encourage and promote fiscal responsibility.”