mr. speaker , in april congress passed a responsible budget that called for spending restraint , reduction of the deficit ; and by slowing the unsustainable and automatic growth of mandatory spending programs and extending tax relief to families and small businesses , we have successfully accomplished the first two . 
now , this rule will provide for consideration of our final commitment to american taxpayers , extending numerous important tax relief provisions . 
in 2001 , 2003 and 2004 , congress enacted responsible tax relief to help create new jobs , grow america 's economy , and put more money in the hands of workers , families , small businesses , farms , and ranches . 
following this tax relief , unemployment dropped a full percentage point to 5 percent , and we have experienced 10 uninterrupted quarters of real growth in our economy , above 3 percent , the longest stretch since the 1980s . 
as was proven by the tax cuts during the kennedy and reagan administrations , federal revenues actually increase after taxes are lowered . 
our expanding economy is led by consumer spending , job growth , and business investment . 
this is a result of allowing workers to keep more of their hard-earned money , decreasing the tax burden on small businesses so they can expand and hire more workers , and providing incentives for families to save and invest . 
unless we take action today , many of the important tax provisions that have helped our economy grow strong will expire . 
without passage of this legislation , workers , families , and small businesses will have less of their paycheck to take home each week . 
mr. speaker , h.r. 4297 , the tax relief extension reconciliation act , not the most eloquent of names but an important one , will continue to build on the economic progress we have already made . 
a key part of the american jobs creation act of 2004 was a return to fairness for those who live , work , and raise families in states with no state income tax . 
the state and local sales tax deduction is particularly important to those in my home state of florida and nine other states because it gives every taxpayer the opportunity to deduct state sales tax from his federal tax bill , something that other higher-tax states have enjoyed for some time . 
this provision is set to expire in 3 weeks . 
while i will continue to work to make the state and local sales tax deduction permanent , this bill extends the provision for an additional year , which is an important step forward for fairness . 
the bill also extends several tax incentives to enhance the affordability of higher education , including tax-deferred education savings accounts and tax credits for post-secondary education . 
it allows all taxpayers to deduct up to $ 4 , 000 of higher education expenses , which will help more students go to college . 
for teachers , the tax bill extends an important above-the-line deduction to help them contain the costs of out-of-pocket classroom expenses such as books , supplies , and computer equipment . 
we all know that our hardworking educators are covering for some of our neediest students , and this bill lets them keep the tax deductibility of their generosity . 
in an effort to encourage savings and stable retirement security , this tax bill allows lower-income families that contribute to individual retirement accounts and pension plans to continue receiving a federal match in the form of an income tax credit for the first $ 2 , 000 of annual contributions . 
this encourages families to save and plan for their own retirement . 
while we were unable as a body to settle on a social security reform plan , surely we can all agree that encouraging low-income families to save for retirement and giving them the tools to do so is a sound economic policy . 
our bill freezes the rate on capital gains and dividends and prevents an increase of the tax burden on 24 million families . 
it is imperative that we extend this tax relief so our economy will continue on its upward track . 
new data released at the start of december show that our economy continues to strengthen and grow . 
the labor department reported that employers added 215 , 000 jobs in november , after adding 44 , 000 in october and 17 , 000 in september in the wake of devastating hurricanes . 
the jobless rate remains unchanged at 5 percent . 
the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter , much stronger than expected . 
forecasters ' outlooks for coming months are upbeat as well . 
november 's increase in payroll , the largest since july , was broad-based . 
construction employment rose by 37 , 000 . 
employment in professional and technical services rose by 22 , 000 . 
health care employment rose by 20 , 000 jobs . 
manufacturers added 11 , 000 jobs last month following an increase of 15 , 000 in october . 
the most recent commerce department report shows overall consumer spending increased at a 4.2 percent annual rate , exceeding expectations . 
purchases of nondurable goods surged 3.6 percent , exceeding expectations . 
housing spending came in at 8.4 percent . 
business investment spending rose at 8.8 percent , exceeding expectations . 
obviously , the current tax policy of this congress has encouraged economic growth , and to raise taxes now would close the door of opportunity that is open for so many today . 
mr. speaker , this rule provides for consideration of a substitute bill . 
while we often hear democrats decry tax relief , they have decided to offer a substitute that extends many of the same tax provisions as this underlying bill does , but let us look at who they left out . 
the democratic substitute does not extend an income tax credit for low-income families who contribute to individual retirement accounts , iras , and pension plans . 
this hurts low-income families who are struggling to save for retirement , people who are doing the right things to prepare for their future rather than solely depending on the government to do it for them . 
the democratic substitute does not extend enhanced small business depreciation expensing , so it increases taxes on small businesses , the very engines of innovation and growth and employment in this country . 
the democratic substitute does not include an extension of the reduced rates on capital gains and dividends . 
without this extension , 24 million families will see a tax increase , including 7 million seniors who have benefited an average of $ 1 , 200 annually from that change . 
at a time when concern is growing about foreign investment in the united states , the democratic substitute throws up barriers to americans investing in america . 
the democratic substitute does include a tax increase on families and small businesses to pay for the bill . 
many of these individuals are small businesses who do much of the hiring and buying in this economy . 
the democratic substitute bill leaves behind small businesses , omits low-income savers , and hurts families and seniors . 
at a time when home heating bills are rising and local property taxes are growing , why would the democratic substitute take even more from the wallets and purses and piggy banks of the american taxpayer ? 
mr. speaker , the republican tax reforms of 2001 , 2003 and 2004 have created jobs , strengthened our economy , and increased federal revenues in the process . 
they quantifiably aided in shortening and curtailing the severity of the recession of 2000 and 2001 . 
they buoyed the economy through major terrorist attacks , devastating natural disasters , and a global war on terrorism . 
now is not the time to increase taxes on the american people . 
failure to pass this bill would result in higher taxes on seniors , savers , small businesses , and farmers . 
we must continue the policies that grow our economy and keep our tax bills from rising . 
i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and the underlying bill , the tax relief extension reconciliation act . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
