Press Release
December 20, 2011
Congresswoman Susan Davis's Floor Speech on the House Resolution to Reject the Bipartisan Senate Compromise on the Payroll Tax Cut
Mr. Speaker, we are here today because the Senate did a terrible thing in the eyes of the House majority: they had the audacity to work together and come up with a compromise.
At the request of the Speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader and the Senate minority leader reached a compromise on a payroll tax cut extension. There were even high fives among Senate Republicans after that Saturday vote. Eighty-nine Senators voted for, including 82 percent of Senate Republicans. The Speaker called it a ``good deal.'' But then came the revolt from House Republicans.
People are asking, Mr. Speaker, and I think it's a fair question to ask: Do House Republicans really want Congress to function? By denying a vote on this bipartisan compromise, it allows them to continue to push their theme that Washington is dysfunctional and does not work.
Had the House majority brought up a clean tax bill last week, we would not even be here today. But instead, they offered a bill loaded with special interest riders that was designed to fail and, in fact, it did fail. The majority claims that it wants certainty with a long-term extension of the middle class tax cut. Yes, and many here, including myself, we do want a long-term extension, and those negotiations will continue.
If the House majority was talking about tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, they would roll out the red carpet. But when it comes to help and support for the middle class, they pull the rug out from under them.
It is clear, Mr. Speaker, that they are willing to support a $120 billion tax increase on Americans fighting to restore the American Dream rather than accepting this bipartisan compromise that is before us today.
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