Gerald Kleczka: “I rise today to voice two major concerns regarding H.R. 2014, the reconciliation tax legislation before the House today.…”

“I rise today to voice two major concerns regarding H.R. 2014, the reconciliation tax legislation before the House today. I understand that section 1053 of this bill is Republican payback against the unions who mainly supported Democrats in the last election. I object to use of the Tax Code to punish political adversaries, but that is not even among the two main reasons I will cast my vote against this bill today. To begin with, I believe we should give the American people capital gains tax relief, but this bill clearly provides more than is reasonable. It both cuts the capital gains rates as well as indexes the values of assets for inflation. I am all for providing relief, but considering the huge potential revenue loss of these combined provisions 10, 15, or 20 years from now, we should pare down the capital gains cuts to a more reasonable size. After all, as the bill stands today, the capital gains cuts lead to a loss of $36 billion in 2003 through 2007 alone. This bill should either cut the capital gains rate or index assets, but not both. But, Mr. Chairman, I rise today mainly to express my concerns about another provision in the tax bill before us today that could have a devastating impact on workers and their benefits. The measure is not only bad policy, but it does not belong in this bill in the first place. It is an attack on working men and women disguised as a Tax Code clarification.”