Sue W. Kelly

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the false argument by the Democrats that the tax relief this Republican Congress has provided the American people during the last 5 years isn't helpful.

Democrats are vowing to repeal these tax cuts and are running around with a terribly false sound bite that tax cuts are for the rich.

So I ask them: Do only rich people have children? Because we increased the tax credit to $1,000 per child for every American family.

So I ask them: Do only rich people get married? Because we fixed a major flaw that punished every American married couple by charging them higher taxes for filing jointly.

And I ask them: Do rich people have a family income of $14,000 a year? Because it was for them that we created an income range, a new 10 percent tax bracket to specifically cut their tax rates. It cuts taxes for 6.1 million low-income taxpayers in New York alone.

Finally, I ask them: Are you labeling every small business owner in America as rich? Because we on the Small Business Committee worked very hard to ensure the majority of these tax cuts specifically helps small businesses.

When I walk down the main streets of Hudson Valley and visit the small businesses, the owners tell me they are certainly not rich. They tell me they need tax cuts to pay their workers, to serve their customers, and create new jobs.

Mr. Speaker, the truth is in the numbers. The Treasury Department shows that a family of four, making $50,000 a year, would experience a 132 percent tax increase in 2011 if Congress repealed these tax cuts.

Let's remain a Congress that votes in favor of the taxpayer.

Madam Speaker, I rise to urge this House to correct a broken impact aid formula that unfairly limits the Federal funding received by local school districts in military communities.

A significant portion of the students I represent in Highland Falls- Fort Montgomery Central School District are children of military families living at West Point. Impact Aid funding complications have Highland Falls struggling to preserve its full curriculum for students. The Impact Aid funding shortfall leaves the local community surrounding West Point facing major property tax increases.

This is not the way the Federal Government should be treating the families of Highland Falls and West Point. Impact aid schools need and deserve consistent Federal support. They are not getting that through the current Impact Aid formula.

I urge this House to pass the Impact Aid Update Act, a bill I introduced to correct the outdated cap that is restricting Impact Aid funding to Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District and other Impact Aid schools.

I also call on this House to pass H.R. 390, a bill I am cosponsoring to improve the Impact Aid program. This Congress needs to permanently fix Impact Aid funding formulas so that local school districts like Highland Falls throughout the country have the full resources they need to teach our children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Ryan White CARE Act and the great care that it offers for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. But today I reluctantly rise in opposition to this legislation because it contains flawed provisions with harsh and negative effects for New York's Hudson Valley and New York State.

I represent Dutchess County, New York, and the eligible metropolitan area in that county. If this bill is passed, Dutchess County would lose up to 5 percent the first year, and then incrementally more in the second and third year. And by the fourth year, all funds for title I would be eliminated for Dutchess County.

Title I money goes for support and services for people living with HIV/AIDS. The patients benefiting from these services simply will not get their needed medication because the program won't exist. If the funds to Dutchess County disappear, there is absolutely nowhere near where the HIV/AIDS patients would be able to go for support, services, and medication because the entire State is suffering from the cuts for New York that this bill calls for.

This means over 1,600 people in Dutchess County alone will lose out with the passage of the Ryan White CARE Act in its current form. This is unacceptable, and that is why I reluctantly ask that you vote against H.R. 6143 at this time. This legislation should be brought up under regular order so that amendments can be offered.

And while I strongly support the Ryan White Act, the HIV/AIDS problem is a problem that requires resources to fight. While we recognize the need to direct attention to those communities where this is an emerging problem, we must not do so at the cost of the places that need it the most. People in my district and the people of New York need these lifesaving funds. Please don't take away from them. Vote against H.R. 6143.