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Washington, D.C., January 31st – Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, sent President Bush a letter signed by 25 Members of Congress calling for costs associated with the Alternative Minimum Tax be included in the Presidents annual budget, set to be released Monday.
“President Bush will send Congress his eighth and final budget on Monday,” said Moran. “For seven years straight, that budget has included no mention of the AMT and how to keep it from hitting a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population.
“Next year the AMT will affect an estimated 26.5 million families nationwide, totaling $64 billion. Last year, 586,000 families in Virginia and 78,000 in my district would have paid the AMT if Congress failed to enact a temporary fix. The President knows Congress will come up with a way to prevent this tax from hitting a majority the American people. We ask President Bush to take a new direction this year, directly engaging in the AMT policy debate by accounting for the cost of either repealing the AMT or providing a one-year patch. Failure to do otherwise would continue the current fiscally irresponsible path that has lead to the largest national debt in U.S. history.”
The following are key excerpts from the letter:
“…we urge you to address the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in a fiscally responsible way by fully offsetting the costs in your budget.”
“We’re currently spending almost $650 million per day just on interest payments on the national debt. That same $650 million could pay for one year’s worth of health care for an additional 90,000 veterans, Head Start services for 90,000 more children, or 3,300 new border patrol agents.”
“We believe we should be on a fiscal path that does not add to our nation’s debt so that we can ensure that America is economically strong; that we are not beholden to foreign nations; that we are meeting America’s priorities; and that the burden of paying down the national debt is not placed on the backs of our children and grandchildren.”
The letter sent to the President reads as follows:
January 31, 2008
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
As you finalize your Fiscal Year 2009 budget proposal, we ask that you consider the long-term effects that chronic deficits and a growing national debt have on our economy. Given the unsustainable fiscal path that we are on, we urge you to address the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in a fiscally responsible way by fully offsetting the costs in your budget.
We applaud your Administration’s previous expressions of support for a permanent, revenue-neutral AMT solution. However, you have yet to offer any proposals to offset the $1 trillion cost of repealing the AMT. Furthermore, you have not been supportive of our efforts to close tax loopholes for a privileged few to pay for a one-year AMT fix for 23 million Americans, based on your argument that it is a tax that was never intended to hit so many people in the first place.
The first rule of getting out of a hole is to stop digging. We believe that any AMT relief must be paid for so that we may begin to address the $9.2 trillion debt our country has incurred irresponsibly. The choices we are making today will impact what we will be able to provide tomorrow. We’re currently spending almost $650 million per day just on interest payments on the national debt. That same $650 million could pay for one year’s worth of health care for an additional 90,000 veterans, Head Start services for 90,000 more children, or 3,300 new border patrol agents. Worse, 80 cents out of every dollar borrowed is coming from foreign investors such as China, Japan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, making us increasingly beholden to foreign nations.
This is not the fiscal path we should pursue, especially as Americans are facing the prospect of losing homes or jobs, as well as struggling with the high cost of gas, home heating bills, health care, and groceries. We believe we should be on a fiscal path that does not add to our nation’s debt so that we can ensure that America is economically strong; that we are not beholden to foreign nations; that we are meeting America’s priorities; and that the burden of paying down the national debt is not placed on the backs of our children and grandchildren.
No one considers the current AMT to be fair. The issue is whether you will join with us in trying to address it in a fiscally responsible way that does not add to our nation’s growing debt.
Sincerely,
Rep. Jim Moran
Rep. Jim Langevin
Rep. Baron Hill
Rep. Kristin Gillibrand
Rep. Tim Bishop
Rep. Mike Ross
Rep. Adam Schiff
Rep. Herseth Sandlin
Rep. Lincoln Davis
Rep. Dennis Cardoza
Rep. Brad Ellsworth
Rep. Phil Hare
Rep. John Tanner
Rep. Allen Boyd
Rep. Jim Costa
Rep. Jason Altmire
Rep. Earl Pomeroy
Rep. Tim Walz
Rep. Nancy Boyda
Rep. Jim Cooper
Rep. Tim Mahoney
Rep. Dennis Moore
Rep. Mel Watt
Rep. Peter Visclosky
Rep. Bob Filner
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