Hoyer Criticizes Kyl, Bush Tax Cuts

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) soundly criticized remarks made by Minority Whip Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) regarding the continuation of the Bush tax cuts.

“Essentially what [Kyl] meant was that going deeply into debt to cut taxes was acceptable,”  Hoyer said in response to Kyl’s comments on Fox News Sunday.

Kyl publicly voiced his approval for extending the Bush tax cuts on the program, despite negative impacts the tax cuts have on the deficit. “Now, somebody at some point or time has to pay that bill,” the top Democrat said. “Thirty-five percent of our deficit that we confront is directly attributable to that philosophy.”

Hoyer acknowledged a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, which showed that a growing number of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy.

“I’m not happy about it,” said Hoyer. “Americans are angry… their economy is still not working the way it ought to work. Their anger should be focused on not returning to the Bush, Hastert, Boehner, McCain, policies, which plunged us deep into debt and resulted in the worst economy in the lifetime of almost every American.”

The House Leader took time to applaud the recent passage of the budget enforcement resolution, which passed before Congress took its July 4th recess.  As a former member of the House Appropriations Committee, Hoyer said that the act was significant, even though he would have preferred a full budget. 

“I believe the budget enforcement resolution was, in fact, a very meaningful action taken by the Congress,” Hoyer said. “This was not some superficial action without meaning.” 

The resolution sets discretionary spending $7 billion below what President Obama requested.