Political Quotes

“Madam President, with the Bush-era tax cuts from 2001 set to expire at the end of the year, the whole debate about what to do next needs to be based on fairness and honesty. Any additional tax relief we provide now must be targeted to those who need it most like those Vermont businesses looking to grow and expand their workforces and those Vermonters struggling to pay their bills, heat their homes, and put food on the table this winter. We must recognize the enormous cost of making these tax cuts permanent as even a short, 2-year extension of all tax cuts would cost us over $400,000,000,000 and the cost of extending tax cuts to those making more than $250,000 annually balloons to $700,000,000,000 over the next decade. We also must acknowledge that with a finite amount of Federal resources we will be forced to shortchange important government services for millions of Americans if we provide extravagant tax cuts to a handful of millionaires and large corporations. Like it or not, taxes are an essential way for Federal, State, and local governments pay for important services and projects that we access and use daily. Taxes pay for our schools and teachers; they maintain our roads and bridges; they support our military and veterans; and they sustain a host of other programs from food assistance to unemployment benefits to and medical care that help all Americans. It is the responsibility of Congress to make sure that the federal tax rates are fair and justified.…”