Thursday, January 3, 2013
The Moon and Robinson-area members of Congress vote in favor of legislation to stave off steep, automatic tax increases and spending cuts.
Congressmen Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, cast votes in favor of American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, legislation put in place to avert a so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and federal spending cuts. Congress on Tuesday night approved the bill in a 257 to 167 vote. The plan maintains tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 and couples earning less than $450,000, and increases taxes for those earning more. President Barack Obama signed the deal into law early Thursday morning. Of the vote, 172 Democrats, including Doyle, and 85 Republicans, including Murphy, favored the bill. The law's passage capped off weeks of gridlocked negotiations as Washington lawmakers wrangled over …
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Some lawmakers are in Washington, DC this weekend, trying to hammer out a last-minute deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, but if they don't, average citizens might feel the impact.
Our nation is less than two days from going over the "fiscal cliff"—and the compromise clock is ticking loudly. Senate leaders worked toward a last-minute compromise on Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts, such as a 27 percent fee cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients. Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, predicts that nearly 90 percent of households would be affected if Congressional leaders fail to reach a compromise before the Jan. 1 deadline. Among the impacts to average citizens: Those things would hit people in the wallet, which in turn has the potential to adversely affect our already-weak economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said the combination of tax …
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Tell us what you think is the best way for President Obama and Congress to work together to keep tax rates from rising and major spending cuts from being enacted in January.
Last year, Congress and President Barack Obama agreed to a program—now known as the "fiscal cliff"— to reduce the federal deficit. If Congress and the president don't reach an agreement within the next few weeks, tax rates will rise in January for almost all Americans and major spending cuts will automatically occur next year in most government spending programs. Democrats and Republicans don't agree about how to best raise the federal government's revenues. The president and most congressional Democrats favor tax rate increases on the wealthiest Americans. Most congressional Republicans call instead for closing loopholes and reforming the tax code. Both parties have indicated a willingness to implement spending cuts. A point of …
Mike L
9:49 am on Saturday, January 5, 2013
Time to have the States demand term limits and mandatory retirement age for Federal Senators and Representatives that matches the rest of the Federal Government workforce! No Senator or Representative should hold elected Federal Office longer than five years. They should also not get paid once they leave office. The Representative form of government originally envisioned and agreed upon when the … more ›