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The bill that passed the Senate at 2 A.M. this morning (H.R. 8) was an amended version of a bill that was originally passed by the House on August 1, 2012.  H.R. 8 had been awaiting Senate action for nearly five months. Congressman Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement regarding that bill and his hopes for enacting Middle Class tax relief:

“On August 1st, I voted to approve middle class tax relief and I am pleased that this was included in the Senate-passed version of H.R. 8 early this morning.  Inaction by the Senate for the past five months on the impending tax increases has pushed this debate beyond the 12th hour and into the New Year.  The Senate failed to act before January 1, 2013, and as a result the new higher tax rates have already kicked in. I fully support efforts to act quickly on legislation to restore the lower tax rates for the middle class. 

“Unfortunately the Senate also included last minute provision to increase deficit spending by an additional $330 billion over 10 years according to a budget impact analysis completed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).  By attaching this additional deficit spending to must pass legislation at the last minute, the Senate and Administration plan to simply pass on the costs of this new spending to our children and grandchildren. This spending should have been offset by cutting spending elsewhere in the $3.6 trillion annual budget.

“Washington has an incurable addiction to borrowing and spending. Slipping another $330 billion in deficit spending into a last minute take it or leave it proposition is unacceptable and it sells future generations of Americans short. None of us would steal from our children and grandchildren, and we should stop letting the federal government do it as well.

“Washington has accumulated over $5 trillion in debt over just the last 4 years and it is long overdue that Washington stop simply passing the buck and kicking the can down the road. If we don’t break this addiction, our children and grandchildren will inherit more debt and less opportunity. I think we want better for them; I know that I do.”

“Finally, for those who think we can solve our fiscal issues by simply raising taxes, consider that the higher taxes that are allowed to take effect will increase tax revenue by $62 billion year – our annual deficit is over $1 trillion. 

“Clearly, addressing our nation’s dire budget challenges will require additional spending restraint and strong economic growth.  Also, anyone doubting that there is room for spending cuts should simply visit /wasteful-spending/.”