Americans for Tax Reform confident Simmons would continue to fight for taxpayers in Congress
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Rob Simmons (R-CT) was applauded by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) , the nation’s leading taxpayer group, for his outstanding Congressional record. Simmons is challenged by newcomer Jim Sullivan for his seat in Connecticut’s second district.
Since he was elected to Congress in 2000, Simmons has received ATR’s seal of approval as a “Hero of the Taxpayer.” He has also signed the group’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge," a written commitment to the taxpayers in a candidate\’s district to oppose any and all tax increases, joining President George W. Bush, 42 U.S. senators, and 217 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in signing the pledge. Sullivan refuses to take the pledge.
“It’s really very simple. Simmons signed the pledge,” said Grover Norquist , president of ATR . “He has battled against high taxes in the past and isn’t afraid to make a public commitment not to raise them in the future. Sullivan tells a different story.”
According to ATR, Simmons has proven himself to be a taxpayer’s advocate. As a congressman he has consistently voted for the repeal of both the death tax and the marriage penalty. Additionally, he has voted in support of President Bush’s tax cut relief package, which increases the child tax credit and includes a 10 percent income tax bracket. Over the past four years, Simmons has worked to put money back in the hands of the hardworking taxpayers that earned it.
Sullivan would reverse the progress Simmons has made. Sullivan wants to end the tax relief programs that have pulled the U.S. out of an inherited recession. He would roll back tax cuts to fund government programs, proudly stating on his campaign website that “No one likes taxes, but the Republican solution is to leave the bill to our kids.”
“Sullivan believes that he knows how to spend taxpayers’ money better than the individuals that earned it,” Norquist continued. “He would drain our pockets and our economy so that our kids wouldn’t have any jobs with which to pay the heating bill, not to mention the bill for Sullivan’s hefty social spending plans. While Sullivan’s speech is filled with doom and gloom, Simmons is busy ensuring a bright future.”