U.S. Rep. Adam Smith issued the following statement in response to House passage of H.R. 4156, the Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act.  The bill provides $50 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan while requiring the Administration to begin reducing troops immediately and to plan for a full redeployment of combat forces by December 2008.

“We are in the fifth year of the Iraq occupation.  The costs of the war include nearly 4,000 American lives and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives.  We have stretched our military to the breaking point and have not sufficiently confronted al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.  And still, the President and his advisors have no plans to reduce our forces below the numbers that were present in Iraq at the beginning of this year. 
 
“This bill is the latest in a series of votes by Democrats to chart a new direction in Iraq.  It would provide short-term funds for the troops while requiring the President to begin redeploying troops within 30 days, and to provide a plan by February for the full redeployment of our combat troops from Iraq by the end of next year.  The bill would also transition the mission of our remaining forces to counterterrorism, limited support of Iraqi troops, and diplomatic and force protection.

“In addition, this legislation explicitly bans torture by U.S. government agencies.  That we should even need to consider such a prohibition shows the damage that Bush Administration policies have done to our nation’s credibility.  This ban is an essential step in restoring America’s moral leadership.

“Congress should not provide funds for the President’s policies in Iraq unless the administration and military officials plan for the end of our occupation.  Instead of pursuing a dangerous strategy of permanent bases – which would further frustrate our efforts to gain the cooperation of the Muslim world in confronting al-Qaeda – the President and his congressional allies should join Democrats in changing our policies.  I am disappointed that Republicans in Congress again blocked our effort in the House to build a veto-proof majority; as long as they continue to do so, our options in Congress remain limited.

“We have already seen what the administration’s lack of planning cost us when we began the Iraq war.  We should not repeat that mistake by failing to plan for the end of the occupation.”
 

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith today voted for H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007.  The act will prevent 23 million middle class families from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) this April.  To pay for this tax cut, the bill corrects a tax inequity by closing loopholes for investment fund managers.

“The bill we passed in the House today will prevent more than 43,000 people in Washington state from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax this April.  And it does so without adding a dime to our deficit – a major break from the previous Congress.  Democrats are dedicated to preventing this tax increase on middle class families and this bill does so in a fiscally responsible way,” Smith said.

The Alternative Minimum Tax was originally enacted to ensure the very wealthy are not able to dodge paying their fair share of taxes.  However, because the income level triggering the AMT on a tax return does not rise as inflation rises, the tax now threatens middle class workers like teachers and firefighters.  The bill offered today provides a temporary fix to prevent more than 23 million families from being inappropriately required to pay an increased tax rate.

To pay for the temporary fix for the AMT, the bill closes a loophole for investment fund managers who receive “carried interest” as a form of income.  Currently, they pay a 15 percent capital gains tax rate on payment for services rather than a 35 percent income tax rate as other corporate professionals do for similar income from similar jobs.  The bill ends this inappropriate tax inequity for very high incomes in order to prevent unfair taxation of middle class families.

The bill also includes a $9 billion extension of the research and development (R&D) tax credit. R&D tax credits provide companies with incentives to invest in new products and ideas that promote our competitiveness in the global marketplace and energize our economy.  These incentives are part of the House Democrats’ Innovation Agenda, which Smith and the New Democrats helped craft.  The bill extends the research credit for one year.

Other helpful provisions in this bill include:

• Property tax relief for 30 million homeowners
• Expansion of the child tax credit to cover 12 million children
• State and local sales tax reduction for 11 million families
• College tuition deduction expanded for 4.5 million families
• Classroom expenses deductions for 3.4 million teachers
• Tax relief under the Earned Income Tax Credit for combat troops
• The Temporary Tax Relief Act is fully paid for and will not add to the deficit.