ALERT: CALL U.S. HOUSE on Tax/Budget Vote for This Week
The U.S. House of Representatives will vote this week, most likely on Thursday (August 2), on two different tax/revenue plans: 1) the Senate-passed plan to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for everyone except the top 2 percent of earners (H.R. 15) and 2) a plan that would extend these cuts for everyone — including those at the top of the earning scale that have received the most from tax cuts (H.R. 8).
The House is expected to approve the plan to extend the tax cuts for everyone, including the richest 2 percent, setting up a showdown with the Senate in the post-election session. The tax cuts expire on January 1, 2013 so Congress must act before then to either permanently or temporarily extend them.
Both the House and Senate are scheduled to leave Washington for their month-long August break this week. We will let you know the results of the House vote after the vote occurs.
Action Needed:
Thank you for contacting your Senators last week. Now we need you to contact your U.S. Representative. Here’s a toll-free line to use for your call: 1-888-744-9958. Using your home zip code, you can find your U.S. Representative here.
MESSAGE:
We already have too many children and families with unmet child care, Head Start, education, nutrition, health and other basic needs. We need a budget that fairly takes into account raising revenue. Supporting the needs of children and families is not a partisan concern. Thus, we need every Representative to vote NO on H.R. 8, which would continue all tax cuts and YES on H.R. 15. If Congress just ended the tax cut for millionaires, we could send an additional 18 eligible children to Head Start or provide child care for an additional 24 children for each millionaire who paid his or her fair share of taxes.
Background:
Tax cuts made in 2001 and 2003 have created significant revenue losses and growth in the deficit. Those who need the tax breaks the least should share in helping the national recovery. If we continue these unaffordable tax breaks for those who need them the least, we won’t be able to address critical national priorities demanding attention, including high-quality early childhood programs (such as Head State and child care) as well as other programs that help the millions of families struggling to get by. We’ll have to borrow even more money to finance these tax cuts, adding to deficits, increasing the interest we must pay on our debt, and making it harder to effectively address our significant long-term fiscal challenges.
