Press Releases

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett Regrets Failure of the Democrat Majority Congress To Address Priorities of Americans Veterans, Children of Working Families, 50 Million Taxpayers, and Energy Consumers All Left Waiting

Washington, Nov 9, 2007 -

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett said that he is disappointed by the failure of the Democrat Congressional leadership to approve legislation addressing priority concerns of millions of Americans.

Congressman Bartlett Votes No against a 130% Tax Increase

Congressman Bartlett said, “Today, I voted no on a bad bill because it provides for temporary tax relief in exchange for permanent new taxes. House Democrat leaders pushed through a proposed permanent tax increase of 130 percent for a temporary one-year fix of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Democrat leaders’ delay of a real resolution to the AMT problem will cause as many as 50 million Americans to face delays in receiving tax refunds next year. More than 20 million Americans also face tax increases averaging $2,000.”

Veterans Left Waiting for Funding on Veterans’ Day

Congressman Bartlett, “I’m disappointed that 146 days after the House approved the bill, veterans are still waiting for funding on veterans programs for next year. Congressional Democrat leaders marshaled the Democrat majority to vote 10 times against requests by Republicans to finish the veterans funding bill before Veterans’ Day.”

SCHIP Health Insurance for Children of Working Families in Limbo

Congressman Bartlett said, “I’m most worried for the impact upon families of children enrolled in SCHIP and SCHIP program administrators because of continuing delays to negotiate improvements and continuation of this successful program. I support more funding for better outreach to make sure families earning under $40,000 can enroll their children to have SCHIP health insurance. I also support a refundable tax credit for families earning up $62,000.

Oil near $100/barrel, gas over $3.00/gallon with no energy legislation expected

Congressman Bartlett said, “I sponsored an energy bill approved by the House this summer. It includes four amendments I offered that were approved unanimously to strengthen biofuels and solar energy policies. Since then, oil prices have risen from $70/barrel to $100/barrel. The winter heating season is now upon us, yet Americans are still waiting for agreement on a bill to promote energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy."