When some House Republicans decided to back the U.S. Senate’s bill to avoid falling over the fiscal cliff, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman did not follow. Wittman (R-1) joined 166 other representatives in the minority, including fellow Virginian and Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), to cast his vote against the American Taxpayer Relief Act.
“I regretfully voted against the American Taxpayer Relief Act today because it unfortunately does what Congress does best — kicks the can down the road,” Wittman said in a statement Wednesday morning.
The bill increases the income tax rates to individuals making more than $400,000 and households making more than $450,000; extends tax cuts from the 2009 stimulus for five years; increases payroll taxes for the first $113,700 of one’s income; extends unemployment benefits for a year; and delays automatic spending cuts for two months.
Wittman said he could not support the bill, which President Barack Obama has said he would sign into law, because it did not address long-term spending problems and postpones sequestration for two months, creating uncertainty for the defense industry.
“This bill is the epitome of what is wrong with Washington — waiting until the very last minute to pass a package negotiated by only a few,” Wittman said. “On this New Year’s Day, I am deeply disappointed that we are not moving forward with what is best for this Nation — a sustainable, long-term path that will place us on strong financial footing for our children and grandchildren.”
In February, Congress will again have to address sequestration and the debt ceiling.
In July 2011, Wittman voted in favor of the Budget Control Act, which put a temporary end to the fight over increasing the debt ceiling and called for automatic spending cuts if Congress could not find a solution before the Jan. 1, 2013 deadline. He praised that bill’s cuts and caps to spending and its requirement that Congress balance the budget each year.
“Failure to act will cause our interest rates to go up in every way imaginable, affecting every single American, while also undermining our nation’s financial credibility,” Wittman said in a statement July 29, 2011. “I will continue to fight the culture of unchecked, irresponsible spending. Our country’s future depends on her leaders making tough decisions in tough times — Congress must do the responsible thing and get this done.”
