WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) issued the following opening statement during today’s full committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. on President Bush’s budget for fiscal year 2009.
"Mr. Secretary, we are sorely disappointed that this budget arrived on our doorstep without some attempt to see what the Administration could achieve by working with Congress during its final year in office.
"This budget simply does not make any political sense -- particularly the provisions related to health care, which have been rejected by Congress because they would undermine coverage for millions of Americans while raising taxes by more than $30 billion.
"Further, the Administration’s budget misses the mark on critical issues by failing to account for the escalating cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, acting as though the war will end next year.
"With regard to your tax policies, I find it astounding that the Administration would call for more than $2 trillion in borrowed money to permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, yet fail to provide any solution for the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and offer no ideas on tax reform. In fact, the Administration’s budget uses revenue from the AMT to come to balance in 2012 as if you never intend to get rid of it.
"The Administration’s failure to provide leadership on eliminating the AMT is not new, but it continues to disappoint. This is a devastating tax that that threatens millions of families and costs our government billions in borrowed money to fix each year. The AMT is not exclusively Congress’ fault, it is the government’s fault and the Administration should provide leadership to eliminate this devastating tax.
"The notion that this Administration has been in office for seven years and we have not discussed tax reform at all is beyond disappointing.
"I have introduced a comprehensive tax reform proposal that would provide a tax cut for more than 90 million Americans while also lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 30.5 percent. Sadly, my proposal has been met with more partisan rhetoric from the Administration than constructive discussion on how to move forward to simplify our tax laws.
"Democrats bent over backwards to add corporate tax relief to our proposal because we understand the importance of updating our tax laws to encourage investment and help our companies remain competitive internationally. However, as you well know, bipartisan cooperation is necessary to proceed. Only by working together can we adequately address the narrowly targeted and often outdated provisions in the code and avoid using the poison label of ‘tax increase.’
"Mr. Secretary, I don’t mean to be offensive, but this budget is merely a political statement.
"I suspect that the die is cast and there is little wiggle room for you to move away from your so-called ‘balanced budget’, but I would like to think that we can continue to enjoy your cooperation on critical issues during your remaining time in office."
