WASHINGTON – The vote to give $56 billion in tax cuts to America’s most wealthy passed the House today on a 234-197 margin. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) continued to express his disappointment toward Members of the House of Representatives who were swayed to vote for the fiscally destructive bill.

“We’re engaged in a costly war in Iraq; we’re recovering from the worst hurricane season on record; we can’t find the necessary funds to secure our homeland; and we’re cutting programs, like food stamps, student loans and Medicaid to the nation’s most vulnerable,” Stupak said. “We’re not only looking at a long, rough road to find the critical funding to resolve these issues but we have to walk that path with an $8 trillion debt on our back as we lug our escalating national debt with us along the way. This is no time for the President and Republican leadership to be giving early Christmas gifts to their rich friends!”

Today’s $56 billion tax cut bill would extend the capital gains and dividend provisions until 2008 and would result in an increase in the deficit.

“The tax cuts would amount to very little for low to middle income families but would mean a windfall for the wealthy while strapping future generations with hefty financial woes,” Stupak said.

“When this administration started almost five years ago we were looking at a record surplus. Now, we’re looking at a record deficit, an $8 trillion national debt, and this bill only adds to that problem. When you’re in a hole, you stop digging. The Republican leadership is out of control and is going to leave the entire country at the bottom of this pit they’re digging,” Stupak added.

Based on data from the Tax Policy Center, an average family earning $50,000 per year will receive approximately an $80 tax cut; a family earning $100,000 per year will receive a $250 tax cut; a family earning $400,000 per year will receive a $1,500 tax cut; and a family earning $1 million per year will receive a $50,000 tax cut.

“The Republican majority in Congress is out of touch with America,” Stupak said. “We don’t have enough money to pay for our basic needs. We should not keep handing out tax cuts to the rich while cutting programs for the poor and fighting an expensive a war.”

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