Washington, D.C. -- The Senate legislation designed to stabilize financial markets included a number of extraneous items, including $150 billion in new tax breaks. The tax breaks, which were added to this version of the bill to encourage its passage, include an AMT patch along with the renewal of several individual and business tax credits. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget urges Congress to consider these tax cuts separately from the bailout package, and to offset them with new revenue or lower spending in line with pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules.

"The proposal to respond to the financial crisis facing our nation is a serious issue that should be debated and considered on its own merits," declared Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. "It is irresponsible to use such urgent legislation as leverage to pass unrelated tax cuts and spending increases -- especially those that add to the deficit."

The House of Representatives, particularly Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the "Blue Dog" Democrats, have been insisting that this tax extenders package comply with PAYGO, and the Committee praises them for these efforts.

"The current financial crisis underscores the danger of over-borrowing," MacGuineas explained. "It's one thing to run a one-time deficit, invested in hard assets, in order to deal with a financial crisis; it is quite another to run up deficits to extend the same tax package year after year. This dangerous behavior needs to stop."

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a bipartisan organization committed to educating policy makers and the public about issues related to fiscal policy. The Committee is located at the New America Foundation. Please visit www.crfb.org.