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• Clock is Ticking: Pass Patch to Alternative Minimum Tax
  

  Clock is Ticking: Pass Patch to Alternative Minimum Tax

  Des Moines Register
  Editorial
  November 29, 2007

  Parents know how it is. You tell kids to do something over and over, but they just don't listen. When it comes to patching the alternative minimum tax, members of Congress are like a bunch of kids. They've been repeatedly warned about what will happen if they fail to act, but they don't listen.

  It's time for them to take the issue seriously and pass a fiscal Band-Aid to limit the number of middle-income Americans hit by the tax.

  A month ago, the U.S. Department of Treasury warned Congress that if it didn't pass an AMT patch, millions of Americans would be subject to it, and other problems would ensue.

  Congress covered its ears.

  Now the chairman of the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board has issued another warning. In a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, the chairman wrote that the board is "gravely concerned about the serious risks to the 2008 filing season" if legislation is delayed. It could mean problems processing returns and issuing tax refunds. The longer Congress waits, the worse it gets, according to the chairman.

  Grassley has clearly run out of patience with Democrats on this issue.

  "You get a feeling that Democratic leaders in Congress think there's no difference between the first week in December or the last week in December in passing an AMT patch, but the Oversight Board says that things go from bad to worse next month," he said.

  Americans should be out of patience as well.

  The AMT was created by Congress almost 40 years ago to catch fewer than 200 wealthy Americans who were paying no tax because of their use of exemptions, deductions and loopholes. Congress' failure to index it for inflation means it now robs middle-class families of legitimate tax deductions. It's unfair in that it creates a separate set of tax rules that apply only to some taxpayers. People who may be liable are required to calculate their taxes under the normal codes and the alternative codes and pay whichever is higher.

  It's wrong that the government relies on billions of dollars taken from taxpayers that the AMT was never intended to target.

  The tax needs to be overhauled. Since it's unrealistic to think that will happen in the next few weeks, members of Congress should immediately pass a patch - before they receive yet another warning about what will happen if they don't.

• NRCC Chairman Tom Cole’s Statement on the Passing of Former Congressman Henry Hyde
  

  NRCC Chairman Tom Cole’s Statement on the Passing of Former Congressman Henry Hyde

  Washington- NRCC Chairman Tom Cole made the following statement upon the passing of former Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL):

  “Chairman Henry Hyde was highly regarded by his colleagues in the U.S. House, the people he served in his home state of Illinois, and by many Americans across the country. In his over 30 years of service in the U.S. House, Henry Hyde embodied the qualities of an honorable politician, a dedicated patriot and an intelligent statesman. His numerous accomplishments in the U.S. House, especially during his Chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee, earned him the respect and gratitude of the American people. I was fortunate enough to be in the House during the last four years of Henry Hyde’s career in the House of Representatives.

  “The good people of Illinois were proud to call Henry Hyde their representative, as he was truly one of the most distinguished, honorable and accomplished members of the House.  Henry’s passing is a great loss to the American people that he so deeply cared for and greatly served. 

  “My thoughts and prayers are with the Hyde family as they go through this difficult time.”

  ###

• Latta Says Job Creation, Lower Taxes are Priorities
  

  Latta Says Job Creation, Lower Taxes are Priorities
  Republican Bob Latta's economic agenda highlights the partisan differences between him and his Democratic opponent, Robin Weirauch, in the 5th District congressional race.

  Toledo Blade
  By Joshua Boak
  November 28, 2007

  State Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) yesterday sketched out an economic agenda based on the traditional GOP pillars of limited government, reduced taxes, and expanded global markets.

  "If you make a little widget that costs a dollar in theUnited States, some place else might make it for a penny," Mr. Latta said. "Well, we can't compete with that. We have to make sure we're creating jobs that we can compete with in the world market."

  Mr. Latta spoke at the construction site for Bass Pro Shops, a sporting goods retailer lured to Rossford by the nearby intersection of I-75 and I-80/I-90.

  The announcement highlighted the partisan differences on economic growth in the Dec. 11 run-off election for Ohio's 5th District congressional seat.

  Democrat Robin Weirauch of Napoleon favors trade agreements that protect domestic factory workers from foreign rivals. She also believes that the federal government should enact policies to lower the price of gas, saying that existing laws enable the oil industry to reap substantial profits.

  Both candidates claim alternative energy could be a source of wealth in the rural congressional district, where commercial wind turbines in Bowling Green already churn out electrical power.

  Mr. Latta advocates "supply-side" economics, arguing that lower taxes would lead to more economic growth and, thus, greater tax revenues. He wants to permanently eliminate the federal estate tax, which President Bush has suspended