READER'S VIEWS: Republicans vote against facts

Recently our House of Representatives was working on H.R. 3582. This bill would require the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, referred to by both parties on legislation affecting the budget, to do an impact analysis of all bills that would have a large impact on the budget and to provide a budget projection should certain tax policies be continued.

An amendment was introduced to H.R. 3582 that simply wanted to introduce facts into the legislative record. Not make laws or change the legislation. Just make a simple statement of truth. Every single Republican in the United States House of Representatives voted against it.

The amendment that was introduced was on a factual finding by the Congressional Budget Office on the Bush Tax Cuts of 2001 and 2003.

Does anyone remember what the congressional Republicans and President Bush promised at the time? They told us that through the magic of supply side economics, these huge tax cuts would actually lead to more revenue and eventually more job creation.

Based on the CBO’s report, the Bush Tax Cuts of 2001 and 2003 that the Republicans pushed, have added unequivocally, $2 trillion dollars to the budget deficit.

In regards to the job creation, the Bush record on jobs was the weakest post-WW2 business cycle and that’s if you do not include the Republican economic crash of 2008. If that gets included, he is the most disastrous modern president.

This amendment was a simple statement that something that was tried — failed. Not a philosophical argument about what ifs.

Tax cuts for the rich have been tried now for 30 years, starting with Ronald Reagan’s supply-side tax cuts of the 1980s and George Bush’s of the 2000s.

America’s debt passed $1 trillion for the first time under Ronal Reagan. America’s deficits ran over $1 trillion for the first time under George Bush. These policies are failed, no matter how you look at them.

We are hearing a lot from the Republicans blaming President Obama for the huge deficits they’ve passed onto him. They say this despite the hard facts of the economic crash happening on their watch because of their policies. Every Republican running for federal office is still pushing these disastrous and failed tax cuts for the rich.

These tax cuts are just a piece of the failed leadership offered by past Republican presidents, and would be future Republican presidents.