(JACKSONVILLE) — A generation ago U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., signed a pledge promising not to raise taxes when he first ran for Congress.
“I viewed it as a statement of political philosophy more than a promise,” Kingston said of the anti-tax pledge that he signed at the request of anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform.
But whether it’s a promise or statement of philosophy, Kingston, who represents Southeast Georgia, has not voted to raise taxes once since he was elected to Congress in 1992. In fact, no Republican congressman or senator has voted to raise taxes since 1990.
A 1993 tax increase was passed in the House and Senate with no Republicans voting for it. It passed 218-216 in the House and 51-50 in the Senate with Vice President Al Gore casting the tie-breaking vote in his role as president of the Senate.
