Meehan Votes to Avoid Fiscal Cliff

Congressman Pat Meehan (PA-7) voted late Tuesday night on a bill that avoids the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Meehan issued this statement late Tuesday night:

Meehan Votes for Permanent Middle-Class Tax Cuts

Agreement deprives Washington of $4 trillion in new spending

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (PA-07) today issued the following statement after voting for the American Taxpayer Relief Act:

“Today the House took action to lower tax rates for 99 percent of hardworking taxpayers and protect our fragile economy. The people of the 7th district sent me to Washington to tackle the big issues, and to get the job done.

“It is an imperfect agreement to be sure. I would have preferred it to contain action to get our arms around our outrageous debt. But failure to pass it would have had disastrous consequences for middle-class families in Pennsylvania and fueled even more Washington spending.

“The consequences of failure are clear. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says a failure to avert the cliff would send our economy back into recession and send unemployment skyrocketing. It would raise taxes on middle-class families by thousands of dollars, and expose 30 million middle-class taxpayers to the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was originally meant to apply only to the wealthy. Seniors and families saving for college and retirement would face new taxes on that savings. I am not willing to let those consequences happen on my watch.

“Instead, this bill permanently lowers taxes for 99 percent of Americans. It protects our fragile economic recovery, and it deprives Washington of $4 trillion in new money from hardworking taxpayers to spend on bigger government.
 
“Now that the tax portion has been dealt with, we can focus on cutting spending and tackling our debt crisis. Republicans have done our part, and now it's time for Washington Democrats to show their willingness to address our trillion dollar deficits. The President needs to lead in this respect, as he has promised the American people he will do.”

The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature. Immediately after the vote, The President credited Vice President Biden with negotiating the compromise in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Mr. Obama then got on board Air Force one bound for Hawaii to resume his family's holiday vacation.