House Middle Class Tax Cut Votes Show Who is for the Super Rich

Washington, DC -- Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future praised the 170 Members of Congress who voted for a pro-middle class bill that the U.S. House of Representatives unwisely defeated last night. The bill would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone on the first $250,000 of household income, but would end them above that level for the richest 2 percent. The House rejected the legislation, one week after the Senate passed the same middle-class tax cut bill, 51 to 48.

“How can Members of Congress justify voting to ensure the richest 2 percent of Americans continue getting tax breaks, while making middle- and lower-income working Americans pay the tab?” said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, a member of the Americans for Tax Fairness coalition of more than 140 state and national groups. “It’s time we stop giving large tax cuts to those who need them the least.”

The House-passed bill that would extend all the Bush tax cuts, including for for the richest 2 percent, would give someone who makes more than $1 million a year an average tax break of about $150,000 more than the Senate-passed middle-class tax cut bill. The tax cuts for the richest 2 percent would add nearly $50 billion more to the deficit than the Senate-passed bill.

“Those who voted to defeat the Democratic substitute are siding with a wealthy minority,” Hickey said. “Polls show that Americans want Congress to end the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2 percent, and that Americans want the wealthiest Americans to start paying their fair share.”

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