Fact Sheet: Senator Marco Rubio’S Republican Address to the Nation
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FACT SHEET: SENATOR MARCO RUBIO’S REPUBLICAN ADDRESS TO THE NATION Rubio: “Economic growth is the best way to help the middle class. … I hope the President will abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead work with us to achieve real growth in our economy.” RUBIO: LIMITED GOVERNMENT & FREE ENTERPRISE – NOT BIG GOVERNMENT – WILL STRENGTHEN AMERICA’S MIDDLE CLASS Rubio: “Presidents in both parties – from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan – have known that our free enterprise economy is the source of our middle class prosperity. Enacted After His Death, Kennedy’s Tax Relief Cut The Top Marginal Rate To 70% From 91%. The Economy Grew 5.5%, Unemployment Dropped To 3.8% & The Annual Deficit Shrank From $7 Billion To $1 Billion. Rubio: “This idea – that our problems were caused by a government that was too small – it’s just not true. In fact, a major cause of our recent downturn was a housing crisis created by reckless government policies.” Forbes: “There is very little doubt that the underlying cause of the current credit crisis was a housing bubble. But the collapse of the bubble would not have led to a worldwide recession and credit crisis if almost 40% of all U.S. mortgages--25 million loans--were not of the low quality known as subprime or Alt-A. These loans were made to borrowers with blemished credit, or involved low or no down payments, negative amortization and limited documentation of income. The loans’ unprecedentedly high rates of default are what is driving down housing prices and weakening the financial system. The low interest rates of the early 2000s may explain the growth of the housing bubble, but they don’t explain the poor quality of these mortgages. For that we have to look to the government’s distortion of the mortgage finance system through the Community Reinvestment Act and the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (Forbes) Forbes: “Barney Frank--the chair of the House Financial Services Committee and a longtime supporter of Fannie and Freddie--admitted that it had been a mistake to force homeownership on people who could not afford it. Renting, he said, would have been preferable.” (Forbes) Rubio: “More government breeds complicated rules and laws that a small business can’t afford to follow.” Rubio Supports Bringing Greater Accountability & Transparency To Federal Rule- Making By Enacting The REINS Act. Introduced in 2011 by U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) the “Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011” (or REINS Act) would require that Congress must affirmatively approve every new major rule that may result in an annual economic impact of $100 million or more. RUBIO: OBAMACARE IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF HOW BIG GOVERNMENT CRUSHES THE MIDDLE CLASS Rubio: “For example, ObamaCare was supposed to help middle class Americans afford health insurance. But now, some people are losing the health insurance they were happy with.” According To The Congressional Budget Office, Approximately 7 Million People May Lose Their Employer-Provided Health Insurance When ObamaCare Is Fully Implemented. Rubio: “And because ObamaCare created expensive requirements for companies with more than 50 employees, now many of these businesses aren’t hiring. Not only that; they’re being forced to lay people off and switch from full-time employees to part-time workers.” Instead, Rubio Believes We Should Allow Individuals To Purchase Health Insurance Across State Lines: Currently individuals purchasing health insurance are limited to those policies sold in the state in which they live. Allowing companies to compete in all 50 states would give individuals more choice, more options, and lower prices. Further, if people are purchasing insurance from companies across the country, states will be forced to loosen mandates to compete. If Americans can buy their auto and life insurance across state lines, they should be able to do so with their health insurance as well. Rubio Also Believes We Should Give Individuals The Same Tax Break Given To Businesses When They Buy Health Insurance. Health insurance needs to become patient-centered rather than employer centered. Individuals who purchase their own health insurance should receive the same tax treatment as those employers who provide health coverage. All individually purchased insurance and out-of-pocket expenses should be tax deductible for persons who have at least catastrophic insurance coverage. Coupled with increased portability, the new deduction will encourage the development of an individual insurance market, increase transparency and portability, and reduce costs. Between two and six million middle income Americans are estimated to take up health insurance if the deduction was in place. Rubio: “And tonight, he even criticized us for refusing to raise taxes to delay military cuts – cuts that were his idea in the first place.” Politico: “President Barack Obama’s Top Deputies Believed The Prospect Of Massive Defense Cuts Would Compel Republicans To Agree To A Deficit-Cutting Grand Bargain. Then-OMB Director Jack Lew, now the White House chief of staff, and White House Legislative Affairs Director Rob Nabors pitched the idea to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Woodward writes. Under the deal, which Republicans accepted after several rounds of bargaining, the federal debt ceiling was raised — staving off a potential financial crisis. Called sequestration, the automatic budget cuts would reduce federal spending by roughly $1 trillion over the next decade, with half the savings taken from national security programs. Despite agreeing that sequestration is bad policy, since all accounts are reduced by an equal amount with no strategy, Republicans and Democrats have been unable to reach a deal to avert the cuts, which take effect Jan. 2.” (Politico) Rubio: “Economic growth is the best way to help the middle class. Unfortunately, our economy actually shrank during the last three months of 2012.” According To The U.S. Commerce Department, The U.S. Economy Shrank In The Last Quarter Of 2012 For The First Time Since The Recession Ended. Rubio: “But if we can get the economy to grow at just 4 percent a year, it would create millions of middle class jobs. And it could reduce our deficits by almost $4 trillion dollars over the next decade.” If Growth Of Real GDP Each Year Was 0.1 Percentage Point Lower Than Is Assumed For CBO’s Baseline Projections, Annual Deficits Would Be Larger By Amounts That Would Climb To $68 Billion By 2022. The cumulative deficit for 2012 through 2022 would rise by $314 billion. Rubio: “Tax increases can’t do this. Raising taxes won’t create private sector jobs. And there’s no realistic tax increase that could lower our deficits by almost $4 trillion.” President Obama’s Favorite Tax Increases Would Have A Negligible Impact On Our Debt. For Example: o Buffett Rule: $5.00 billion in first year o Oil Tax Provisions: $4.75 billion in first year o Carried Interest: $1.30 billion in first year o Corporate Jet: $0.05 billion in first year o The total raised by these tax increases in one year would be $11.1 billion. RUBIO: ENERGY EXPLORATION, TAX REFORM & REFORMING OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM WILL HELP CREATE MIDDLE CLASS JOBS Rubio: “One of the best ways to encourage growth is through our energy industry. Of course solar and wind energy should be a part of our energy portfolio. But God also blessed America with abundant coal, oil and natural gas. Instead of wasting more taxpayer money on so-called “clean energy” companies like Solyndra, let’s open up more federal lands for safe and responsible exploration. And let’s reform our energy regulations so that they’re reasonable and based on common sense. If we can grow our energy industry, it will make us energy independent, it will create middle class jobs and it will help bring manufacturing back from places like China.” As An Easy First Step, We Must Enact Legislation Approving The Keystone XL Pipeline. Introduced in 2012 by U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), S.2041 would approve the Keystone XL pipeline project and provide for environmental protection and government oversight. Rubio: “Simplifying our tax code will also help the middle class, because it will make it easier for small businesses to hire and grow. And we agree with the President that we should lower our corporate tax rate, which is one of the highest in the world, so that companies will start bringing their money and their jobs back here from overseas.” Lower The Corporate Tax Rate. The U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate among OECD nations. By cutting this tax, we can spur job creation in America and build a more competitive economic environment to attract businesses from across the world. End The Multiple Taxation Of Income. The U.S. should have a tax system that is simpler, fairer, promotes economic growth, and is easier to predict. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts should be the law of the land. The Death Tax should be permanently eliminated to protect family businesses, farms and ranches. Washington shouldn’t be able to tax the same income two or three times. That means no more job-destroying double taxation of capital gains, dividends or death. Fundamentally Reform The U.S. Tax Code. The current tax code hinders economic growth. Too many years of special interest lobbying and class warfare politics have cemented it as anti-family, anti-jobs and anti-competitive. The U.S. should have a tax system that is simpler, fairer and promotes economic growth. We should start moving toward being able to pay our taxes with a single rate on paper the size of a postcard.