Allowing tax cuts to expire would push America's struggling economy off cliff 

WASHINGTON — No piece of legislation before the U.S. Congress requires action more urgently than extending the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. Failure to act will deal a devastating blow to our fragile economy by slowing growth and killing jobs — at the worst possible time.

If the 2001 and 2003 tax rates are allowed to expire at midnight on Dec. 31, we’ll witness the largest single tax hike in U.S. history — hitting American taxpayers with $400 billion in new taxes in the first year and $4.5 trillion over the next decade.