Schakowsky on Republican Rules: Bad for Middle Class, Bad for Deficit
WASHINGTON, DC (January 5, 2011) — Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), member of President Obama's 2010 National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, released the following statement today in response to the new Republican House Rules for the 112th Congress.
"The shrinking middle class is about to take a devastating drubbing under the new Republican rules package that is a parody of fiscal responsibility. In the fantastical world of the Republican House majority, tax cuts for the rich, super-rich and special interests have no deficit consequences, yet investments in education, job creation, or help for the unemployed must be paid for — and never with new revenue but only with spending cuts.
"The rules gut the pay-as-you-go concept, replacing that House rule with a new one-sided 'cut-as-you-go' scheme, slashing programs that help middle and low-income families.
"In reality, the Republican plans will add literally trillions of dollars — mostly in more tax breaks for the rich — to the deficit, cost jobs, and further burden middle- and lower-income families.
"The rules package makes perfectly clear the priorities of the new Republican majority: Enacting unlimited, permanent tax cuts for the wealthy and special interests while gutting programs that benefit most Americans including education, infrastructure improvements, clean energy, medical research and job training."