More Democrats are coming out against President Obama’s plan to raise taxes on small businesses and put more than 700,000 American jobs at risk, The Hill reported yesterday.  The most recent defections add to the growing list of Democrats that have already said raising taxes is the wrong thing to do in a struggling economy.  Here’s a look at what several members of the president’s own party have recently said about the need to pass the bipartisan plan to stop the tax hikes and prevent the president’s small business tax hike from destroying jobs:

• Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN): “I just am in the camp that we shouldn’t be raising taxes right now, with the economy where it is.” (The Hill, 7/30/12)
• Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN): “‘Given our continued economic challenges, now is the time to keep tax rates low,’ he said in a statement. ‘The last thing our economy can afford is more uncertainty as the fiscal cliff approaches.’” (The Hill, 7/30/12)
• Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT): “‘I’m going to vote to extend them,’ [the current tax rates] the Utah Democrat said. ‘In a tough economy, you want to be careful about significantly reducing spending or increasing taxes.’ Matheson’s position puts him at odds with President Barack Obama.” (The Salt Lake Tribune, 6/11/12)
• Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Jim Webb (D-VA) Voted Against Democrats’ Small Business Tax Hike. “The Democratic bill passed by 51-48 with Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Jim Webb, D-Va. joining Republicans in opposing it.” (Washington Examiner, 7/25/12)
• Former President Bill Clinton: “Former President Bill Clinton told CNBC Tuesday that the US economy already is in a recession and urged Congress to extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year. … ‘That's probably the best thing to do right now.’” (CNBC, 6/5/12)
• Member of President’s Fiscal Commission & Clinton Administration Budget Director Alice Rivlin: “Well, I think you have to postpone the tax increases, but with a requirement to fold it into tax reform and entitlement reform in the next session that has some teeth in it.” (Senate Finance Committee Testimony, 6/19/12)
• Former National Economic Council Director Larry Summers: “Lawrence Summers…said Congress should temporarily extend tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year. ‘The real risk to this economy is on the side of slow down, certainly not on the side of overheating, and that means we've got to make sure that we don’t take gasoline out of the tank at the end of this year,’ Summers said on MSNBC, ‘that’s gotta be the top priority.’” (CBS News, 6/6/12)

Back in 2010, when economic growth was stronger than it is today, President Obama shared the view that a tax hike on small businesses would “have the effect of fewer jobs,” and urged passage of legislation that stopped all the tax hikes to help “strengthen our entire economy.”  The president said then that stopping the tax hike was the “right thing to do for our economy.”  As several Democrats and Republicans alike have made clear, the same is true today. 

This week, the House will continue focusing on the American people’s top priority: jobs, by passing the bipartisan plan to stop the tax hikes and reform the tax code to keep more jobs here in America and bring back some of the jobs that have gone overseas. Learn more about the legislation on the Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators website: jobs.gop.gov, and share your thoughts on stopping the president’s small business tax hike using the hashtag #stopthetaxhike on Twitter.