Sen. Patty Murray: Republicans’ political games held middle class hostage

(U.S. Sen. Patty Murray on Dec. 13 released the following statement about the Senate vote to extend tax cuts. Murray, who voted twice this month for tax packages to extend middle-class tax cuts, today voted to move forward with a compromise package that extends current tax rates for two years. The package extends important tax cuts for middle class Washington state families, includes an extension of our state sales tax deduction and extends unemployment insurance for 13 months for out of work Washington state workers.)

I am disappointed that the only way to protect middle-class families from a tax hike in January was to support an extension of all the Bush tax cuts. That’s why I voted twice in the past month to extend tax cuts for our middle-class families who have been hurt most by our economic downturn. I am angry that Republicans played political games and held the middle class hostage to secure tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

The Republican game plan is simply irresponsible. Extending benefits to those who need them least and adding to our debt is wrong. But I also could not sit back and allow taxes to be raised on Washington state families who are just struggling to get by.

In the end, this bill will allow hard-working Americans who are stretching every dollar in these tough times to keep more of their hard-earned money. And it prevents Republicans from cutting off unemployment benefits to those who are fighting to get back to work, stay in their homes and put food on the table during this holiday season.

The bill also contains an extension of the state sales-tax deduction, which I have championed for years, and gives Washington state residents the tax fairness we deserve.

Unfortunately, protecting the vast majority of Washington families came with an unnecessary and irresponsible provision for a very few Americans who aren’t facing those same hardships.

There is absolutely no question that extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans is a wasteful and irresponsible portion of this compromise. Getting our economy back on track and our fiscal house in order simultaneously means that we have to make smart investments. Adding to the debt by indiscriminately giving tax breaks to wealthy Americans is a not a smart investment.

But the reality is that too much is on the line for average families to allow partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C., to once again endanger the livelihoods of millions in Washington state.

I hear from unemployed workers every day who tell me stories about being days or weeks away from losing their homes; I know that during a recession the last thing workers can afford is smaller paychecks, and now is no time to cut back on the economic support tax cuts provide for our small businesses.

If we allowed political games to derail the help middle-class families need, we would be failing the people who are depending on us to work together to get our economy back on track.

I hope that those who will benefit the most from these tax cuts use them to help the most vulnerable, improve our communities, and invest back in our economy. And it’s time for Republicans who spend election cycles talking about cutting our debt to do more than pander – and to join Democrats in the serious work of getting our economy back on track.