FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Isakson Votes to Eliminate Tax Increases from Health Care Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today voted for an amendment that would have removed from the health care bill all tax increases for individuals with an adjusted gross income of less than $200,000 and married individuals with an adjusted gross income of less than $250,000.

Senate Democrats defeated the motion by Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to send the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee with instructions to remove the tax increases by a vote of 45-54.

"At a time when our economy is struggling to recover from one of the worst recessions in our nation's history, it is astonishing that Democrats want to increase the tax burden of millions of Americans," Isakson said. "This bill is bad for Georgia, bad for families and small businesses, bad for our seniors and bad for America. We should scrap it and start over."

The pending health care legislation includes $493.6 billion in tax increases. By 2019, over 42 million taxpayers earning under $200,000 a year would see their taxes increase even after receiving the premium tax credits in this bill.

However, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is drafting yet another health care bill behind closed doors that could be substituted for the pending bill. As of Tuesday afternoon, Reid had yet to reveal the text of his new version.

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