Why Charlie Dent Refused To Say Geronimooooooo

In 2008, I voted for President Obama, but grew to regret that decision. He was not the bipartisan person who, as a candidate, led me to believe that he would rise above the partisan bickering. As President, he dove into the quagmire head first, breaking promise after promise concerning accountability and transparency.

In 2012, I voted for Mitt Romney. And now, I'm pleasantly surprised by the post-election Obama. In the latest fiscal cliff debate, which should have lasted all of about three seconds, he seemed a lot ore like an actual President.

Like little children, Congress has been dickering about this mess since the election. It's sent Wall Street into a tailspin. And the problem, this time at least, was squarely on House Republicans. They just refuse to be reasonable.

In the Senate, the Fiscal Cliff compromise passed 89-8. The House vote, 257-167, was much closer. Only 85 Republicans refused to say Geronimoooooo.

One of these is the Lehigh Valley's Charlie Dent. He issued a statement, explaining his vote.

Tonight I voted for a bill that averts huge tax increases for 99 percent of Americans. This bill prevents tax increases on individuals, families and small businesses with income earnings below $450,000 for couples and $400,000 for individuals.  Further, this legislation keeps the Death Tax from rising to 55%, as President Obama preferred. It exempts the first $5 million (per spouse) of an estate from taxation. Additionally, the Alternative Minimum Tax is permanently patched which will prevent millions of middle class Americans from paying higher taxes.

Let’s be clear. Failing to act on this legislation would have resulted in a tax increase of more than $4 trillion over ten years for American families. There was widespread agreement from credible economic sources that the effects of “going over the Fiscal Cliff” would have pushed our struggling economy back into a recession and that unemployment would have reached 9%. Those outcomes would have caused real harm to the vast majority of American families and were not acceptable to me.

This agreement is far from perfect. It does not properly address the Sequester. We must better balance the spending cuts contained in the Sequester so that important programs including defense, education, transportation, and medical and scientific research are protected. 

I recognize that this legislation does not deal with the fact that America has long term financial obligations that will become impossible to meet if we continue to spend at current rates.  We must get serious about spending cuts. It is the only way to put our nation on a sustainable fiscal path. Also, I still believe that we must make our tax code fairer, flatter and simpler.  I will continue to work at addressing these issues.

We came unacceptably close to fully going over the Cliff.  I think it is better for the country that we have taken at least one step back from the edge.

NOTE:

Additional items dealt with in the legislation:

Medicare Reimbursement Rates for Physicians (The “Doc Fix”)
*Blocks for one year the scheduled 27% cut to reimbursement rates for doctors.

Unemployment Benefits
*Extends for one year the current unemployment insurance benefits

Stops Milk Prices from Going Up
*Protect consumers against the sudden huge price increases in agricultural commodities, like dairy products

Rescinds the Congressional Pay Raise
*Rejects the .5 percent Congressional pay increase that resulted from a recent Executive Order by President Obama.