The Commitee on the Budget posted the full text of a floor statement on the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Conference Report made by House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt.

...“As I have mentioned already, this conference agreement extends tax cuts to help middle-income families caught in the current slump. For example, we protect some 20 million middle-income households from being hit by the Alternative Minimum Tax. Our budget accommodates extension of the middle-income tax cuts, including the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, and the ten percent individual income tax bracket, in accordance with the pay-as-you-go principle so as not to burden future generations with more debt.

“Our friends on the other side of the aisle will claim that this budget raises taxes. This budget does not raise taxes. But don’t take my word for it; here is what experts outside Congress say:

• The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: “The conference agreement does not raise taxes.”

• The Hamilton Project of the Brookings Institution: “The budget would not raise taxes.”

• The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “This year’s budget plan does not include a tax increase.”