Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, also called the Deficit Reduction Act, modestly raised taxes and succeeded in wiping out the federal budget deficit for the first time in decades.

The bill added two higher taxes brackets: individual income tax rates of 36 percent and 39.6 (previously 31 percent had been the highest bracket). The bill included a 35 percent income tax rate for corporations and 4.3 cents per gallon increase in transportation fuels taxes.

Cry Wolf Quotes

These new taxes will stifle economic growth, destroy jobs, reduce revenues, and increase the deficit. Economists across the ideological spectrum are convinced that the Clinton tax increases will lead to widespread job loss.

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Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL), Congressional Record.

The problem with our economy is that there is too little employment and too little growth. This plan will do nothing to improve that condition and will actually make it worse.

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Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA), Congressional Record.

Taxes will go up. The economy will sputter along. Dreams will be put off and all this for the hollow promise of deficit reduction and magical theories of lower interest rates. Like so many of the President's past promises, deficit reduction will be another cruel hoax. Tax revenues will lag because the economy will fall. Government spending will increase at least another $300 billion a year. And the deficit will reach another record high.

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Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX), Congressional Record.

But, I will tell you, this program will not give you deficit reduction. It will be a disaster for the performance of the economy because of the repressive impact of these taxes and, of course, the possible inflationary impact of the taxes, along with the labor-cost-increasing mandates that are already a part of the president's agenda.

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Rep. Dick Armey, CNN.

Evidence