Dear Friend,

It hasn’t been talked about much in the press, but President Obama and Democrats are quietly planning to allow the largest tax hike in U.S. history to hit American families and businesses in 2011.

Unless Congress acts quickly to make these tax cuts permanent, taxes on income and investment will return to Clinton-era levels, which will slow economic growth, discourage investment, and destroy even more jobs. In fact, economist Art Laffer predicts these tax hikes could lead to an economic collapse: "When we pass the tax boundary of Jan. 1, 2011, my best guess is that the train goes off the tracks and we get our worst nightmare of a severe 'double dip' recession… If you thought deficits and unemployment have been bad lately, you ain't seen nothing yet."

That’s why I have been working with my Republican colleagues to extend all of these tax cuts. And that’s why I forced a vote on an amendment this week to permanently extend capital gains and dividend tax rates at current levels in hope of providing the economic stability Americans needs to make investments and create jobs. Unfortunately, Democrats stood together to block the amendment.