Blunt: Majority Goes on the Record in Backing Largest Tax Increase in U.S. History

WASHINGTON, March 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) issued the following statement today after all but 16
Democrats in the House went on record in support of a 2009 budget seeking
to raise taxes on American families by $683 billion -- far and away the
single largest tax increase in the country's history:

"By trying to raise taxes on everything from starting a family to
starting a family business, Democrats believe they'll be pulling money out
of thin air to finance their reckless spending agenda. But a $683 billion
tax hike on American families is not imposed in an economic vacuum -- and
if this budget were ever to become law, it wouldn't take long for real
Americans to face real hardships because of it."

"But the majority's budget wasn't the only vision of the future with
which we were presented today. We also had the chance to vote for a
responsible budget plan authored by Rep. Paul Ryan -- a blueprint that
would've required Congress to rein in spending, resist raising taxes, and
finally take serious, legitimate steps toward reforming out-of-control
entitlements. Instead, Democrats cast their lot with a plan that imposes
the largest tax increase in American history -- even as they remained
eerily silent on the impending entitlement tsunami.

"If a budget request is a blueprint for the future, I don't know the
future envisioned in this plan is one most Americans can either afford to
live in, or expect to prosper from. It's my hope this bloated budget gets
slimmed down in the Senate -- or better yet, re-written in a way that
actually does right by the American taxpayer."