Republican Congressman Leonard Lance said he voted for the “fiscal cliff” compromise on New Year’s Night to keep from hurting the vast majority of people.
He was one of 85 Republicans to back the compromise that had passed in the Senate the previous day. The House vote was 257-167, with 151 Republicans voting ‘no’.
Mr. Lance said the measure “in large part. . .provided the only option available to stop a scheduled tax hike that would have disproportionately affected New Jersey’s small businesses, taxpayers, investors and working families and pushed our fragile economy deeper into recession.”
Mr. Lance said the legislation permanently extends the Bush tax cuts for 99 percent of households, and permanently fixes the onerous alternative minimum tax, giving many New Jersey families certainty in this area.
It extends through 2013 important small business tax breaks, like the widely claimed research and development tax credit and a provision allowing businesses to write off immediately half the value of new investments, known as 50 percent bonus depreciation.
Mr. Lance said the bill also protects New Jersey’s senior citizens from cuts in Medicare payments to physicians, cancels pay raises for members of Congress and averts an expected hike in the price of milk by extending expiring dairy policy.
“Essential discussions about spending cuts and the debt ceiling will continue in early 2013, and I welcome this debate,” he said. “It is now time to focus on reforming our entitlement programs and reducing Washington’s out-of-control spending that has led to record debt and trillion dollar annual deficits.”

