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During my August travels throughout Nebraska, one of the main messages I heard from Nebraskans was that taxes are too high and I couldn’t agree more. Last month I voted for a package of tax cuts that failed on a politically charged vote of 56 to 42 that required 60 votes to pass.
Despite the setback, my commitment to permanent tax relief is unwavering and I hope we can revisit a tax cut package yet this fall. Four votes are all that stand in the way of tax relief, and I’m hopeful that after visiting with their constituents over this August recess, my colleagues will have had a change of heart.
The bill that failed last month, which I still believe we can pass, is called the “Trifecta” and accomplishes three things. First, it extends a host of tax cuts that most Americans already enjoy from education to mortgage insurance and which will expire if not extended. Second, it eliminates the estate tax. And third, it increases the minimum wage.
I support all three elements in the bill. It would be best if we could address each part in its own separate bill, but for political reasons the leadership has put them in the same bill, which has complicated the process. Nevertheless, we should try again because American taxpayers deserve our best effort.
Tax cuts are not only good for taxpayers, but businesses as well, because they stimulate the economy as consumers spend the extra dollars. I witnessed this effect as Nebraska’s Governor. I was able to cut taxes while balancing the budget 8 years in a row, leaving the state with a $300 million general fund balance when I left.
In Washington, I have voted for six major tax cuts that spurred the struggling economy while bringing much needed tax relief to Americans. The tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 were especially meaningful. I was one of a handful of centrist senators that helped craft the proposal to cut taxes by $1.3 trillion in 2001 and to cut taxes by $350 billion and protect state budgets with added funds for Medicaid in 2003.
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 resulted in lower income taxes for 650,000 Nebraskans. These measures eliminated the marriage penalty, increased tax credits for children, enacted a new 10 percent tax bracket, reduced income tax rates for those above 15 percent, and reduced capital gains taxes.
Our economy is better off because of tax cuts that put money back in people’s pockets. It is my hope that the leadership will find a way to have the Senate reconsider the Trifecta bill that narrowly failed in August and serve up a new round of tax relief for the American public just in time for fall.
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