Washington D.C., Aug 22, 2012 -

House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today issued the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office report that says a recession is likely next year if Congress fails to act on the fiscal cliff:

“I don’t know what could be more convincing to the President and his liberal supporters than this CBO report that shows how tax increases are bad for the economy. On August 1st, the House acted to stave off a tax hike by passing an extension of current tax rates, with 19 Democrats joining Republicans in voting for it. Today’s CBO report is yet another in a long line of nonpartisan data that should prompt the Senate to take up our House-passed bill right away.

“The NFIB quadrennial small business survey, released today, shows that “uncertainty over economic conditions” and “uncertainty over government actions” are the top issues facing small firms, and the President’s campaigning for a tax hike doesn’t help. We’re already seeing the uncertainty of next year’s tax policy discouraging small businesses from taking risks and hiring now. Most economic data shows that our economy is still very sluggish. The President said it best in 2009; you don’t raise taxes in a recession, yet his inaction means taxes go up on January 1. I hope that this CBO report causes President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to rethink their plan to let taxes go up for small businesses at year’s end.”                                                          

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