Washington, D.C. – With the country barreling toward the fiscal cliff and no deal in sight, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) offered legislation to alleviate the worst immediate effects of the cliff, while also providing a path forward to a long-term solution.
Senator Manchin introduced the “Cliff Alleviation at the Last Minute,” or CALM Act, with less than 36 hours to go before the massive tax hikes and deep spending cuts from the cliff start to take effect.
“If we’re determined to go over the cliff, we’ve got to do something to soften the landing, because at the bottom of the fiscal cliff are immediate and massive tax increases, deep and indiscriminate spending cuts, and the risk of another recession,” Senator Manchin said in a floor speech to introduce the legislation. “So as we come down to the final hours, we have two choices – to do nothing and cause an unbelievable amount of hardship for our fellow Americans or to do something to reduce the suffering inflicted on our citizens by an inflexible political system. I choose to do something.”
He added: “This bill, the CALM ACT, is not something that I am excited about or proud to offer. This is not a great plan, merely a better plan than going over the cliff. It should never have come to this.”
Senator Manchin’s measure would phase in the tax hikes over the next three years, instead allowing all of them to hit immediately. The bill would also allow the Office of Management and Budget to prioritize which programs will be cut, rather than apply an across-the-board cut. The measure would also encourage Congress and the President to reach the “big fix” that economists have called for to put the nation’s fiscal house back in order.
A summary of Senator Manchin’s legislation is attached and full text of his floor speech is below.
Full text of Senator Manchin’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
I rise today frustrated, embarrassed, and angry. It’s absolutely inexcusable that all of us find ourselves in this place at this time; standing on the floor of the Senate in front of the American people, hours before we plunge off the fiscal cliff, with no plan and no apparent hope. But here we are, and we’ve got to do something.
If we’re as determined to go over the cliff as we seem, we’ve got to do something to soften the landing, because at the bottom of the fiscal cliff are immediate and massive tax increases, deep and indiscriminate spending cuts, and the risk of another recession.
So as we come down to the final hours, we have two choices – to do nothing and cause an unbelievable amount of hardship for our fellow Americans or to do something to reduce the suffering inflicted on our citizens by an inflexible political system.
I choose to do something. So today I’m introducing the CALM Act, which stands for Cliff Alleviation at the Last Minute.
read more:
http://manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=00f562...
