mr. hatch: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: mr. president, today we are debating the proposal of the senate democratic leadership to raise taxes on the american people. pursuit of this tax hike strategy is clearly being instigated by the president s reelection efforts. i suspect that many of my friends on the other side of the aisle are very uncomfortable with this strategy. i can think of a number of senate democrats whose constituents would be surprised to learn their senator supports tax increases on small businesses, an increase in the a.m.t., the alternative minimum tax, and hikes in the death tax. with the economy still on the ropes, i think they would be surprised to learn their senator supported a tax hike strategy that might win some votes but at the risk of sparking a recession. that is what the president wants. we will see if that is what he gets. he has pitched his tax hike plan as a way to be fiscally responsible. t