Will New Jersey’s Multi-Millionaire U.S. Senators Take Millions in Tax Relief They Voted Against?

Sens. Jon Corzine (D) and Frank Lautenberg (D) to receive massive tax cuts they opposed. Taxpayer advocacy group asks them to not take it, lest they be labeled hypocrites.

WASHINGTON – U.S Sens. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), fresh from their fight to deny relief to their New Jersey constituents, stand to save over $1 million this year from tax cuts they voted against. And this has taxpayer advocates in the Garden State and elsewhere screaming of hypocrisy.

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), America\’s leading taxpayer organization, today issued a letter urging Sens. Corzine and Lautenberg to refuse the tax relief that they voted their constituents do not deserve.

"Jon Corzine led the charge against President Bush\’s tax relief plan, yet stands to gain millions from it," said Grover Norquist, who heads ATR in Washington, DC. "If he thought it was so bad for his constituents, he should think it\’s bad for him and not accept it."

According to recent press reports, Corzine stands to save around $1 million this year from the tax cuts that he opposed, including $500,000 from capital gains tax cuts alone. Lautenberg, whose net worth may be as high as $73.4 million, expects to save tens of thousands of dollars. Both Senators issued statements against the tax cut\’s passage, and since the tax cut passed, most major financial market indices have increased by 7%.

Unfortunately, neither senator is willing to take a principled stand. Frank Lautenberg and Jon Corzine have refused to take the anti-hypocrisy pledge circulated by ATR this February. Signers of this pledge refuse to accept any tax reductions that they vote to deny their constituents. Copies of the pledge sent to Lautenberg\’s and Corzine\’s offices received no response.

"There are few specimens on earth quite like the sanctimonious, holier-than-thou limousine liberal who waves their arms and scream bloody murder on tax relief, but then take that relief for themselves when it inevitably passes," continued Norquist. "I ask Mr. Corzine and Mr. Lautenberg this: If the tax cut was such a bad idea, why not take your savings and write out checks to the Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development and Energy? I\’m sure those starving bureaucracies you care so much about would love the contribution."