Senate GOP letter to Reid – nothing else until action on funding government and tax cuts

December 1, 2010 10:07


A letter signed by all 42 members of the Republican Caucus that was delivered to Senator Harry Reid earlier today says everything is blocked until action on tax cuts and funding the government is taken.

The letter states “we write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers. With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities.”

Full letter to Senator Reid:

Dear Leader Reid,

The nation’s unemployment level, stuck near 10 percent, is unacceptable to Americans.  Senate Republicans have been urging Congress to make private-sector job creation a priority all year.  President Obama in his first speech after the November election said “we owe” it to the American people to “focus on those issues that affect their jobs.”  He went on to say that Americans “want jobs to come back faster.”  Our constituents have repeatedly asked us to focus on creating an environment for private-sector job growth; it is time that our constituents’ priorities become the Senate’s priorities.

For that reason, we write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers.  With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities.  While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate’s attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike.

Given our struggling economy, preventing the tax increase and providing economic certainty should be our top priority.  Without Congressional action by December 31, all American taxpayers will be hit by an increase in their individual income-tax rates and investment income through the capital gains and dividend rates.  If Congress were to adopt the President’s tax proposal to prevent the tax increase for only some Americans, small businesses would be targeted with a job-killing tax increase at the worst possible time.  Specifically, more than 750,000 small businesses will see a tax increase, which will affect 50 percent of small-business income and nearly 25 percent of the entire workforce.  The death tax rate will also climb from zero percent to 55 percent, which makes it the top concern for America’s small businesses.  Republicans and Democrats agree that small businesses create most new jobs, so we ought to be able to agree that raising taxes on small businesses is the wrong remedy in this economy.  Finally, Congress still needs to act on the “tax extenders” and the alternative minimum tax “patch,” all of which expired on December 31, 2009.

We look forward to continuing to work with you in a constructive manner to keep the government operating and provide the nation’s small businesses with economic certainty that the job-killing tax hike will be prevented.

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U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks Wednesday regarding the signed letter from Senate Republicans to Majority Leader Reid:

“For the past two years, Democrat leaders in Washington have spent virtually all their time ticking off items on the liberal wish list while they’ve had the chance.

“Government-run health care, a national energy tax, financial regulations, bigger government, bigger deficits, union bailouts and government takeovers.

“And so here we, just a few weeks left in the session, and they’re still at it.

“Last month, the American people issued their verdict on the Democrat’s priorities.

“Democrats have responded by doubling down.

“For two years, they legislated as if we weren’t in the middle of a national jobs crisis.

“And now they’re legislating as if they don’t realize government’s about to run out of money and every taxpayer in America is about to get slammed with a giant tax hike.

“With just a few weeks to go before the end of the session, Democrats continue to place their own priorities over the priorities of the American people.

“These are the things Democrats have chosen to do instead of preventing a massive tax hike that economists tell us would stifle the economy.

“Republicans have pleaded with Democrats to put aside their wish-list — to focus on the things Americans want us to focus on. They’ve ignored us. The voters repudiated their agenda at the polls. They’ve ignored them. Time is running out. They’re ignoring that.

“The election was a month ago. It’s time to get serious. It’s time to focus on priorities.

“A little while ago, I delivered a letter to Senator Reid signed by all 42 Senate Republicans.

“It says that every Republicans will vote against proceeding to any legislative matter until we’ve funded the government and protected every taxpayer from a tax hike. Basically, first things first.

“With time running out in this session, we need to focus on these critical priorities.

“As the letter states,

`Our constituents have repeatedly asked us to focus on creating an environment for private-sector job growth; it is time that our constituents’ priorities become the Senate’s priorities.’

“At the moment, every taxpayer in the country stands to get a massive tax increase — and a cut in pay — on December 31st. We need to show the American people that we care more about them and their ability to pay their bills than we do about the special interests’ legislative Christmas-list.

“Republicans are united in our opposition to proceeding to any of these things until Democrats make the priorities of the American people their own.”



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