Washington, DC – Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) today joined House Republican leaders at a press conference to discuss the over $670 billion in tax hikes Democrats have enacted into law since January 2009.  The vast majority of those tax increases are a result of the health care law, and 14 tax hikes will hit middle class families – a direct violation of the President’s pledge not to raise taxes “one-dime” on American’s earning less than $200,000 (singles) and $250,000 (married couple).  Below are Camp’s remarks as prepared.

“The Democrat agenda is clear: tax more in order to spend more.  Since January of 2009, Democrats have signed into law tax increases totaling over $670 billion, including 14 tax hikes that violate the President’s pledge to not raise taxes on middle class families.  That works out to be more than $2,100 for every man, woman and child in this country.

“Now, there is talk about adding a VAT, or national sales tax, on top of the existing code and letting some or all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire. The bottom line: The cost of the Democrats’ tax increases and the fear of future tax increases are killing job creation in this country.

“Most of these tax increases, about 85 percent of them, are a result of the health care law, which, as the Associated Press reported this morning, is growing less and less popular everyday – understandably so. The Democrats’ health care law is the largest tax increase in American history, with over one-half trillion dollars in tax increases – $569.2 billion to be exact.  There is a tax on medical devices; a tax on health care plans; a tax on people who don’t buy government-approved health insurance…If its health care related, there’s a tax for that.

“This law will force Americans to buy government-approved health insurance they don’t want and can’t afford, and this law will increase costs for employers, reduce wages and kill job creation in this country.

“As employers and the Congressional Budget Office told us repeatedly throughout this debate, the cost of the employer health care mandate is paid by the employee – either through lost jobs or lower wages.

“Employers are scratching their heads wondering: what are they doing in Washington?  I am hearing that, and I know groups like the National Federation of Independent Businesses are hearing it.  In fact, Tom Little, owner of Service Master, which is located in my home state told them:

‘We have a hard enough time making a profit as it is.  This is going to crush small business – they think that every business with more than fifty employees is rich – well we are not and this is going to kill jobs and opportunity.  They run up the cost of insurance so I cannot afford it and then they fine me out of business because I don’t provide it.  If this is Washington’s idea of reform they can keep it.’

“I couldn’t agree more with Tom.  We need to repeal this bill and replace it with common-sense reforms that will actually lower health care premiums and do it without raising taxes.  That is exactly what our House Republican bill did – lowered premiums without raising taxes.
 
“Given that the unemployment rate is stuck at nearly 10 percent, despite the President’s promises about the stimulus bill, Americans can neither afford the loss in wages or the loss of jobs that will result from the Democrats’ health care law.”

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