Boehner Urges Speaker Pelosi, Democratic Leaders to Abandon Plans to Raise Taxes on Middle-Class Families, Small Businesses
Washington,
Jan 14, 2008 -
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) expressed hope that, with today’s meeting between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, Democratic leaders may be prepared to abandon plans to raise taxes on middle-class families and small businesses. Boehner issued the following statement:
“I hope that today’s meeting between Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Bernanke is a sign that Democratic leaders are prepared to abandon their plans to raise taxes on middle-class families to bankroll their agenda of pork and bigger government. American families already are feeling uneasy about the rising costs of gasoline and energy, health care, housing, and a record tax burden. They can’t afford an agenda loaded with tax hikes to pay for more wasteful spending. Tax increases – even those disguised as ‘spending offsets’ – simply do not stimulate the economy. Instead, they will only make today’s economic uncertainty even worse.
“Late last year, Chairman Bernanke warned that massive tax hikes, such as those consistently advocated by Democratic leaders, would be a ‘drag’ on the economy. With that in mind, Democratic leaders should retreat from their tax-and-spend, mandate-and-regulate War on American Jobs and work with Republicans to meet the economic challenges that lie ahead. It’s time to work together to protect middle-class families and small businesses from a massive tax hike and put more money in the pocketbooks of those who need it most.”
NOTE: In November 8, 2007 testimony before Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, Chairman Bernanke noted that tax increases “tend to be a drag on consumer spending and on the economy through a number of different channels” and “would probably not be advisable.”
House Republicans last month released “Death by a Thousand Cuts: Democrats’ War on American Jobs,” a comprehensive report cataloging a Democratic agenda that threatens millions of U.S. jobs and family budgets at a time when many Americans are grappling with the rising cost of living and record tax burdens. The full report is available here, while more information about the ongoing War on American Jobs can be found at http://republicanleader.house.gov/waronjobs.
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