I wrote to Ben Nelson telling him it was time to raise taxes on the wealthy. Here is the response: [View All]

[OmahaBlueDog]

Dear OmahaBlueDog:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the federal budget and government spending. I appreciated hearing your thoughts and believe we must work to reduce spending and the national debt.

I understand Nebraskans want Washington, D.C., to spend less and do more to bring down the national debt as soon as possible because doing so will keep America competitive in the global economy. The budget problems our country is facing require budget cuts; and as the Senate considers various spending proposals for Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012, I will be thoughtful about the cuts so as not to undermine our nation's recovery. Programs I would otherwise support might see funding cuts because everything has to be on the table in order to balance the budget.

Spending in 2011 will be less than it was in 2010, and I believe Congress should continue this trend and approve further cuts for 2012. This is why I recently introduced an amendment to the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Reauthorization Act, S. 493, expressing the "sense of the Senate" to reduce the Senate's budget by five percent for the remainder of the year. This amendment was agreed to by a vote of 98-1. I will continue to work with my colleagues to reduce spending and the national debt. If we do not take the hard steps now to enact these needed cutbacks, it is difficult to imagine we will be any farther along on the road ten years from now.

I support President Obama's goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 12 years. The federal budget agreement, which makes the largest one-year spending cut in our history, is a step in the right direction. I agree that the cuts in spending should be made carefully. They should be fair, based on shared sacrifice, and protect investments which are proven to create jobs and grow the private-sector economy.

However, I disagree with the President's proposal to reverse tax cuts. Such tax increases would affect families and businesses of all sizes, pushing our fragile economy backward just as we are starting to see signs of a recovery. We need predictability and stability in our tax system in order to get companies to invest and create jobs here instead of overseas. I have always supported tax cuts across the board. If we can get spending under control, we will have economic growth; businesses will create jobs; and we will have the revenue we need.

Thank you again for contacting me regarding critical economic matters. It is time to put partisanship aside and come together to create a budget that is fiscally responsible and fair. Rest assured, I have and will continue to work tirelessly towards this goal.


Sincerely,

Ben Nelson
U.S. Senator

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Fiscally responsible and fair, but the wealthy get off cheap. Thanks for nothing, Ben.