Bloomfield's Congressmen Help Avoid Fiscal Cliff

Bloomfield-area legislators were among the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives that endorsed a Senate vote Tuesday on a bill to avert the so-called "Fiscal Cliff."

Every American worker faced immediate tax increases to expiring tax cuts on Jan. 1. A complete list of the yeas and nays can be found on the website for the House of Representatives. The Senate legislation passed early Tuesday 89-8.

U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, voted for the bill. His district now includes the majority of Bloomfield Township.

The veteran congressman posted comments he made Tuesday on the House floor on his website:

"As we are here today on Jan. 1, hours away from people returning to work, markets reopening around the world and all eyes focusing on whether this institution can govern, this legislation allows us to get done what we need to get done," he said. "This bill is vital for our nation’s economic well-being and – I want to emphasize – for its standing as the world’s most important economy."

He emphasized the following about the legislation:

• It is vital for 114 million middle class families, whose tax cuts are made permanent.
• It is vital for two million unemployed American workers who need continuation of their insurance while they continue to look for work.
• It is vital for 30 million middle-income Americans who otherwise would have been hit by the Alternative Minimum Tax.
• It is vital for 25 million working families and students who benefit from the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which helps families pay for college.

State Rep. Gary Peters, Bloomfield's former Rep. as of Jan.1, also voted for the legislation and blasted his Republican colleagues for taking taxpayers to the brink.

"I have been exceptionally frustrated by the Republicans' insistence on drawing out this self-inflicted crisis until the last possible moment," he said in a statement issued Wednesday.

"In the New Year, we must come together to achieve long-term solutions to our nation’s financial challenges."

Only 8.5 percent of Democrats voted nay, while 35.7 percent of Republicans voted in favor. That included U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, and Candice Miller, R-Shelby Twp.

“The idea of allowing taxes to rise on every American family and small business was completely unacceptable to me" she noted in a statement on her website. “While this deal was not perfect, it was certainly better than the alternative which would have been a more than $500 billion tax increase on our economy in 2013 alone."