McConnell Gives GOP Weekly Address: Taxes

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell gives this week's Republican address. He focuses on the need to prevent taxes from going up automatically at the end of the year. Small businesses and investor's need that certainty and cannot compete with the government for scarce funds to invest in job creation. Democrats, in contrast, have a long list of other priorities, in direct contravention of the election's mandate.

Here's the transcript:

As Americans across the country prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this coming week, we’re reminded of the many blessings we enjoy as a nation.

“We’re grateful for the sacrifices of the brave men and women in our armed forces who will not be home with their families next week, and who make these blessings possible.

“And we’re also conscious this Thanksgiving of the many Americans who are struggling with serious hardships, including the many millions of Americans who are struggling to find work.

“At the moment, about 15 million of our fellow citizens are looking for jobs and can’t find one. The unemployment rate has remained stubbornly close to ten percent for a year and a half. We are experiencing what can only be described as a jobs crisis, a sustained period of chronic unemployment; and two years of policies that have vastly increased the size and scope of government and added trillions to the debt and have done little to alleviate this problem.

“Take the Stimulus, for example.

“Here was a bill that was supposed to create millions of jobs and keep unemployment from rising above eight percent. Yet, since Democrats passed it nearly two years ago, more than three million people have lost jobs and the economy barely has a pulse. The American people delivered a clear verdict on this and other failed experiments in the government-as-economic-stimulator on Election Day. But Democratic leaders in Washington continue to act as if nothing has changed, including their priorities.

“The top priority of most Americans is to create jobs and get the economy moving. And the single best thing we could do in Washington to achieve that goal is to prevent a tax hike that’s about to hit every taxpayer and hundreds of thousands of small businesses at the stroke of Midnight on December 31st.

“And that’s what I proposed a bill in September that would take care of this giant tax hike and prevent it from going into effect.

“Unfortunately, Democratic leaders have shown little interest in the idea. After adding trillions to the debt on big-government policies most Americans didn’t ask for and which we couldn’t afford, Democratic leaders say they need more money, which they intend to take from small business, even though small businesses create the majority of new jobs.

“Americans don’t think we should be raising taxes on anybody, especially in the middle of a recession. But instead of giving Americans what they want, Democratic leaders plan to use the last few days that lawmakers expect to spend in Washington this year focusing on everything except preventing this tax hike, which will cost us even more jobs:

“…Immigration…A repeal of the ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ …A reorganization of the FDA … More environmental regulations…

“Democrats put off all these things until after the election, along with the most basic task of funding the government. By focusing on them now, and not on legislation to promote job creation and reduce spending, they’re showing where their priorities lie.

“This should be an easy one. The bill that job creators and out-of-work Americans need us to pass is the one that ensures taxes won’t go up — one that says Americans and small business owners won’t get hit with more bad news at the end of the year.

“It's time Congress got its priorities straight. It's time Congress focused on job creation —and that means preventing tax hikes. It's time to set aside the political votes and government spending that the administration and Democratic leaders have put above all other priorities for two years.

“Time is running out. But it’s not too late for both parties to work together and prevent this massive tax hike from going into effect. It’s not too late to focus on the priorities of the American people. And Republicans in Congress are eager to work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who is willing to do so.

“Americans spoke loudly and clearly on Election Day. We owe it to them to show we heard them — to work together to get this done.

Thune Gives GOP Weekly Address (Must See)

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) gives the Republican Weekly Address, and it is outstanding -- conservative content that is well-written and well delivered. Note that he acknowledges that Republicans blew it on spending the last time they controlled the Congress: he gets it.

Recall that Thune won election by taking out then-Sen Majority Leader Tom Daschle in 2004. The man is a fierce campaigner. And his campaign was at the forefront of conservatives taking to the blogosphere. So watch this week's address not just for its synopsis of the decision voters face in nine days, but because it gives Republicans some ideas about the decision we face for 2012

Sen. John Barrasso Gives GOP Weekly Address

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) gives this weeks Republican address. Here's the video.

He makes a great point about the expiration of the Bush tax cuts:

“Astonishingly, instead of cutting wasteful Washington spending, President Obama and the Democrats plan to raise taxes. Last week, Congress fled Washington while one of the largest tax hikes in our nation’s history hangs over the heads of working families.

“Rather than forcing Congress back into session to do the people’s business, the President merely waved goodbye.

“Interviewed recently about why he wouldn’t extend all of the tax cuts, President Obama declared that he had, quote, ‘a whole bunch of better ways for us to spend that money.’

“With all due respect Mr. President, this money isn’t yours. It belongs to the American people.

“The Obama tax hikes are yet another job killing burden that the American people and American employers cannot afford. Raising taxes on anyone in the middle of a recession is the worst thing we can do.

GOP Weekly Address: McConnell

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell gave the GOP weekly address, in which he slams the Democrats for failing to address, in which he slams the Democrats for failing to address the jobs issue and for leaving town without providing extending the Bush tax cuts. Here's the video link, and here's the transcript:

"Over the past 19 months, we’ve witnessed something truly remarkable in Washington.

“We’ve seen a governing party basically tune out the American people who elected them and aggressively advance an agenda that most Americans vehemently opposed.

“In fact, the more Americans spoke out against government takeovers, government-run health care, wasteful spending, and debt, the more Democratic lawmakers seemed to dig in.

“This is a pretty risky approach in a nation where the government, to quote the Declaration of Independence, derives its powers from the consent of the governed. It’s also the main reason most people expect Republicans to do pretty well in the upcoming November elections.

“But Republicans aren’t under any illusions. We know voters are primarily interested in stopping the government freight train and sending a message to both parties this November.

“They want all of us to know that we work for them, not the other way around.

“And they want us to do something about jobs. Because chronic unemployment is not a second-tier issue: it’s a national crisis.

“At the moment, nearly 15 million Americans are currently looking for work and can’t find it.

“Another 11 million are working below their skill levels.

“Yet virtually every single piece of major legislation Democrat leaders in Washington have proposed over the past 19 months has made it either harder for businesses to hire new workers or retain the workers they already have. And now they want to make it even worse.

“Earlier this week, Democrat leaders who’ve spent the past year and a half working tirelessly to expand the reach of government, left town without doing the single most important thing they could have done for jobs. Too preoccupied enacting the rest of their agenda, they neglected to pass or even propose legislation that would prevent one of the largest tax hikes in history.

“As a result, at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, every American who pays income taxes is set to get a tax hike that Democrats have had two years to prevent.

“The lowest income taxpayers will see a 50% increase in their federal income tax rate on their first $8,000 of income.

“Middle class Americans will get hit hard — at the worst possible time.

“Parents will see the child tax credit they’ve enjoyed for nearly a decade cut in half.

“Many young people with college degrees will see the deduction they get on their loan interest vanish.

“The death tax will rocket from 0 percent to 55 percent, meaning many Americans will soon have to hand over more than half of everything they have to the federal government before leaving it to their families.

“Hundreds of thousands of small businesses will get socked with a job-killing tax hike.

“And young couples will be penalized even more than they already are just for getting married.

“All of these changes would overturn provisions that have been the law of the land for nearly ten years. And allowing them to happen at a time when so many are struggling makes no sense at all if you want to help the economy — something even the President admitted in the past.

“That’s why I proposed a bill last month that would extend current law and prevent any of these tax hikes from taking place, S.3773, the Tax Hike Prevention Act.

“Unfortunately, Democrats weren’t interested.

“In the final days of the session, they had other priorities.

“And whenever they were asked about this looming tax hike, they just blamed the Republicans.

“They said that Republicans will be to blame for some people getting a tax hike because we didn’t think anyone should get a tax hike …

“Now, I don’t get it either.

“The fact is, the best way to help individuals and small businesses and the economy is to give them all the certainty that their taxes won’t be going up at the end of the year.

“But Democrat leaders in Washington appear to have other plans with your money.

“As the President recently said, and I’m quoting him directly: ‘I’ve got a whole bunch of better ways to spend that money.’

“So after maxing out the national credit card on a failed Stimulus bill and a government-run health care bill, they want even more. And that’s why they are now holding middle class Americans hostage in a pursuit of their foolish desire to tax America’s job creators in the middle of a recession.

“It makes you wonder who they’re listening to.

Vitter Gives GOP Address

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) gives the weekly address, not surprisingly on the oil spill that his hitting his state. His remarks condemn the Obama administration's attempts to politicize the tragedy. He also proposes practical solutions for off-shore drilling going forward. Here's the video link. And here's the transcript:

“Hi, I’m Senator David Vitter of Louisiana.

“What a month it’s been since the initial explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform just off Louisiana’s coast.

“While the Gulf oil spill most directly impacts Louisiana and our immediate neighbors, people all across the country certainly share in our feelings of anxiety as the ongoing gushing of the well continues.

“They’ve also shared by joining together to provide relief for those most affected by this tragedy. And, I know I speak for all Louisianians when I express how grateful we are for that outpouring of support.

“As we continue to work toward a recovery solution, none of us should lose sight that there are families who’ve lost loved ones. That is the greatest tragedy – something everyone in Washington should try a little harder to remember.

“I’ve also been all along Louisiana’s coast over the last few weeks meeting with those economically devastated - oystermen and fishermen, mayors and local officials and others hit hard by the impacts of the spill. They have clearly expressed that they don’t want a handout – they want a job and a paycheck. And through the Vessels of Opportunity program, many of these folks have been hired to man the coastline and marsh protection efforts underway.

“But clearly more needs to be done.

“From the annual blessing of the boats in Chalmette – a somber event this year - to the public meetings with the Vietnamese community in New Orleans that continues to struggle in working with BP on claims issues, I’ve listened, learned, and left with a much deeper perspective on how people’s lives all along the coast have been disrupted.

“That’s why it’s so frustrating to many Louisianians that while the crisis actually continues in the Gulf – while we’re still fighting to contain the well – Washington Democratic Committee Chairmen have rushed to create media events for television cameras instead of devoting full attention to stopping the immediate problem.

“I guess it’s typical of the culture in Washington for politicians to believe that they can solve an ongoing crisis with statements and testimonies in Congressional committee rooms. But the time for committee hearings is for after the well has been capped – not before.

“Folks closer to the scene understand that. We want 100 percent of the attention of all parties focused on our two most immediate problems: stopping the gushing oil, and protecting our coastlines and marshes from the oil.

“In addition to capping the well, coastal communities are in desperate need of more floating containment barriers, known as ‘boom.’ And I’ve talked numerous times to Admiral Thad Allen about this need.

“But this boom is really just a band aid to the larger wound of the spill. A greater, more substantial solution would be for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work immediately with our state to build up and extend our barrier islands made from materials dredged from the immediate area – our rivers and deltas. With BP, by the way, appropriately paying the bill.

“To prevent this type of incident from ever happening again, I’ve also worked with other Gulf Coast Senators to introduce legislation that addresses two specific areas: the liability cap for the responsible party of a spill, and greater technological preparedness to address any future incidents much more rapidly and effectively.

“Our Oil Spill Response and Assistance Act would establish a new liability cap equal to the last four quarters of the responsible party’s profits or double the current limit, whichever is greater.

“The bill would establish much greater reserve requirements for the amount of boom –capable of withstanding up to six-foot waves – and would direct work on technology to effectively cap leaks like the one currently gushing in the Gulf.

“That would make offshore drilling safer, smarter and more reliable, but not extinct.

“Some in Washington have tried to seize on this real human tragedy in the Gulf to advocate for a radical new energy agenda.

“That only cheapens the loss of those who’ve lost loved ones and brushes aside the ongoing, unsolved problem to spring forward with an emotionally-charged political agenda.

“That’s wrong and, frankly, an example of bankrupt leadership.

“Both Republicans and Democrats say they want to decrease our foreign dependence on oil, but ending all domestic energy production offshore would only make us that much more dependent.

“And this false choice on how to proceed in the future of energy exploration in the wake of a terrible accident contributes little to the debate.

“We all acknowledge that alternative fuels are the future, but the sad reality is that they are still very much in the future from a practical-use standpoint.

“That’s why domestic energy production is critical to free ourselves from foreign energy sources and should provide a bridge toward that more renewable, cleaner future.

“I believe Americans understand that, even in the midst of this tragedy. And I know Louisianians do. Thank you.”

Sen. Tom Coburn Delivers GOP Address

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) delivered the Republican's weekly address. Coburn is a practicing physician and attended the president's health care summit, the subject of his address:

The American people have rejected the majority’s plan for good reason. Their plan includes a half trillion dollars in new tax increases, a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, job-killing penalties for employers, taxpayer funded abortion and new boards that will ration care to American citizens. At its core, their plan continues a government-centered approach that has made health care more expensive. Federal and state governments already control 60 percent of health care. If more government spending and control was the answer we could have fixed health care long ago.

“Republicans in Congress have a different vision for reform. We have put forward several proposals that lay out a common sense step-by-step path to reform. Our solutions are patient-centered, not government-centered. We believe in expanding options, not government; increasing access, not taxes; and reducing costs, not quality. most importantly, we believe that no one has the right to step between you and your doctor.

“I introduced a health care bill called the ‘Patients’ Choice Act’ last May along with Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina and Representatives Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Devin Nunes of California that includes several step-by-step ideas for reform. The ‘Patients’ Choice Act’ and other Republican plans accomplish all of the president’s goals, including expanding coverage, without raising taxes, bankrupting the country or rationing care.

Our proposals to rein in the massive amount of fraud, waste and duplication in our health care system drew widespread praise from Democrats at the summit, including the President. One in three dollars in our more than $2 trillion health care system does not do anything to help people get well or prevent them from getting sick. Democrats and Republicans agree that eliminating waste and inefficiency would lower costs and improve access tomorrow.