When the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, taxes are scheduled to go up for 114 million middle-class families, leaving a typical family of four paying an extra $2,200 in 2013. Preventing this from happening is critical -- not just for individual people but for our overall economic recovery -- and nearly everyone in Washington agrees we need to do something about it.

We saw that yesterday when Republicans and Democrats in the Senate -- who almost never see eye to eye -- agreed to allow a vote on extending the tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.

And it passed.

Now the only thing standing in the way is the House of Representatives. Turns out that the Republican leadership plans to hold middle-class tax cuts hostage unless they can also extend a trillion dollars worth of cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans.

President Obama isn't willing to let that happen, and today he called on the members of his Cabinet to join him in taking this message directly to the American people. The President is speaking out, and he needs you to do the same.

Watch the President talk about the tax cuts, then add your voice to his.

If the House of Representatives can follow the Senate, we can get this done without delay. That means families can budget for next year without having to figure out where they're going to find an extra $2,200.

And while there are plenty of arguments for being pessimistic, I think we can find a solution because of one important reason.

You.

This past year, the mood in Washington has been as divided as I've ever seen it, but there's a common thread that connects each moment of success we've been able to find.

When we've been able to cut through the noise -- to keep payroll taxes low for working families, to keep the interest rates on student loans from going up -- it's because Americans from all over the country, from all walks of life, joined together in one voice and demanded a solution.

And that's what we need, starting now and continuing until middle-class families get the security they deserve.

If you speak out, we'll make sure your voice is heard in Washington. We'll make sure your story is part of the debate.

We just need to hear from you to make that happen:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/we-need-you

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Senior Advisor to the President