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Sen. Tammy Baldwin

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the middle class workers in Wisconsin and across the country who have unfairly been paying a higher tax rate than millionaires and billionaires.

Middle class Americans deserve to know that our tax system has not been rigged against them. Powerful special interests have manipulated our Tax Code to ensure that the wealthiest Americans don't have to pay their fair share. These loopholes and special provisions have made it so that billionaire Warren Buffett's secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. In fact, approximately a quarter of all millionaires pay lower effective tax rates than middle class families.

Yesterday, I introduced Paying a Fair Share Act, H.R. 3903, which would make the ``Buffett rule'' law and ensure that middle class workers do not pay higher tax rates than those earning more than $1 million a year. I invite my colleagues to join me in taking this commonsense first step to strengthen middle class families and rebuild our economy with a commitment to shared responsibility.