Washington D.C. – Congressman Charles B. Rangel joined Ways and Means Committee Democrats on Monday in introducing legislation identical to the middle class tax cut bill that passed the Senate last week.  These two pieces of legislation, H.R. 15 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax relief to middle-class families, and H.R. 16 To provide estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax relief, both plan to provide significant tax relief for a vast amount of American people. 

"The only thing blocking this bill from reaching the President's desk is the stubbornness of House Republicans,” said Rep. Charlie Rangel. “The legislation has already passed in the Senate and President Obama could easily sign it into law right away. Will House Republicans hold 98 percent of Americans hostage to benefit the wealthiest 2 percent?  The time has come for them to join me and my colleagues in putting the average American first, instead of protecting a select group of millionaires and billionaires."

The measure, H.R. 15, would extend the Bush tax cuts for households with incomes up to $250,000. The Senate’s 51-48 vote approving the legislation last Wednesday put the onus on House Republicans to quickly act so that middle-income families can rest assured that their tax cuts will be extended next year. Separately, Ways and Means Democrats also introduced legislation, H.R. 16, to reinstate the 2009 Estate Tax provisions (top rate of 45%, $3.5 million exemption) providing responsible estate tax relief and ensuring 99.7 percent of decedents will face no estate tax liability.  The Republican bill spends approximately $9 billion more to provide a complete exemption from the estate tax for just 3,600 additional decedents.