Orrin Hatch: “I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to give this speech in full. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is…”

“I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to give this speech in full. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Taxes Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the impending tax hike which, if allowed to occur, will raise taxes on practically all Americans come Jan 1, 2013. That is only eight months from now. Earlier in February, The Washington Post called the approximately $500 billion tax hike Taxmageddon, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke described it as a massive fiscal cliff when testifying before Congress. This tax hike will affect virtually every single federal income tax payer. We must not allow this to happen. America is slowly recovering from one of the greatest recessions in modern history. We remain in a precarious economic situation, with a fragile recovery. It is beyond irresponsible for President Obama to sit idly by and allow this scheduled $500 billion tax hike to occur. Congress needs to act now in order to prevent this tax hike on America. First we need to focus on tax extenders. Tax Extenders are temporary tax provisions affecting everything from individuals and businesses to charitable giving, energy, and even disaster relief. My colleague from Montana, Senator Baucus, and I held a hearing in late January to discuss these tax provisions and the fact that Congress year after year continues to extend these provisions without a thorough review of each provision.…”