WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Rick Crawford, (R-AR) commended Speaker John Boehner for reaching a compromise that will extend the payroll tax holiday and avoid a tax hike on 160 million Americans. Crawford is supportive of Boehner’s compromise plan.
“The payroll tax compromise announced today is welcome news for my constituents and every American worker. Speaker Boehner is to be commended for his efforts to ensure families are not hit with an additional tax burden,” Crawford said. “From the beginning, I have favored a responsible yearlong payroll tax extension. The compromise that Speaker Boehner announced today will give Congress a two month time period to reach a long-term solution that will provide certainty for Arkansans and all Americans.”
Early Thursday Crawford wrote a letter to Boehner asking for a compromise plan that put all options on the table. Crawford called on party leaders to accept a compromise. Crawford’s letter is inserted below.
“More often than not an “all or nothing” attitude produces nothing. An “all or nothing” attitude is not what my constituents need now,” Crawford wrote in his letter to Boehner. “My constituents need a Congress that is willing to put all options on the table, even those that are not yearlong plans, to avoid higher taxes on more than 160 million Americans.”
Speaker Boehner:
Last week when Congress abruptly came to a stalemate over extending the payroll tax holiday, I was discouraged. I was discouraged that partisan gridlock got in the way of doing the people’s business and that my constituents will face a tax increase if a compromise cannot be reached in the next week.
These past few days I have met with my constituents in Arkansas’s First District, they are angry and they don’t understand why Congress cannot sit down, hammer out our differences, and have a solution we can all support. My constituents are honest, hard-working people who deserve a Congress that will put partisan politics aside in favor of the greater good. Congress must come together and act to ensure that my constituents, and millions of Americans all across the country, are not hit with higher taxes on January 1st.
The House took action nearly two weeks ago and sent a responsible, comprehensive yearlong payroll tax extension to the Senate. That bill also included an extension of unemployment benefits and an extension of the so-called “Doc Fix” which will prevent a 27% cut in Medicare payments to doctors. I regret as much as anyone that the Senate could not agree to a long-term plan. Now a last minute compromise between the House and Senate is the only way to avoid raising taxes on American families. A yearlong extension of the payroll tax holiday would provide families and small businesses with much greater certainty than just a two-month extension. However, the clock is ticking down. I have no faith that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will be willing to put aside partisan differences to return to Washington and negotiate a long-term solution. We are now in a position that requires all options to be on the table, that requires Republicans to not only demand a willingness to compromise, but to offer it as well.
Mr. Speaker, our democracy was built on compromise. Through compromise the Congress grew our Nation from 13 colonies to 50 states, funded two World Wars, righted the wrongs of segregation, and put a man on the Moon. Compromise has always been at the core of our Nation. Surely now the Congress can come together and reach a compromise on extending payroll tax relief.
More often than not an “all or nothing” attitude produces nothing. An “all or nothing” attitude is not what my constituents need now. My constituents need a Congress that is willing to put all options on the table, even those that are not yearlong plans, to avoid higher taxes on more than 160 million Americans.
Mr. Speaker, we have nine days. Let’s get to work and show my constituents in Arkansas and all Americans that this Congress can put people before politics.
Sincerely,
Rick Crawford
MEMBER OF CONGRESS