Congressman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) today said the following on the House floor with regard to H.R. 2433, the "Veterans Opportunity to Work Act of 2011":
"…now i know, Madam Speaker, you'll tell Grover Norquist what's going on here, get hold of him right away, because this has a violation of the Pledge he's making on all Republicans, do not raise taxes. In his definition of raising taxes, it's extending fees that were going to go down, that now don't go down. That's an increase in taxes. Let's remember this when we think about the vow bill. Let's vow to say we want to put people to work. we don't want to raise taxes. But this bill does neither. It not only doesn't put people to work, it raises taxes. So i cannot support the bill…"
Congressman Filner is 100% wrong for the following reasons:
1. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this bill does not raise taxes. Congressmen can feel free to vote for or against this bill and not take taxes or the Taxpayer Protection Pledge into consideration when making their decision.
2. If Congressman Filner had bothered to read the text of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, he would find that the Pledge is not made to any person or organization. Rather, it is made by a candidate for office to his prospective constituents and to the American people–not that it applies here at all.