Thirty-one House Democrats have broken ranks with their party’s leadership, expressing their opposition to raising taxes in the middle of a recession.

Washington (CNN) – Thirty-one House Democrats, most of whom face tough re-election bids this fall, have signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urging them to extend expiring tax breaks for all income levels, including the wealthy.

Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders have made it clear they support President Obama’s proposal to vote on a bill that only renews tax breaks for those making $250,000 and under. But with the midterm elections less than two months away, leaders have not yet decided whether they will schedule a vote on the legislation before voters go to the polls.

The letter–written by Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, Illinois Rep. Melissa Bean, Virginia Rep. Glenn Nye and Michigan Rep. Gary Peters–states that after listening to economists, small businesses and families over recent weeks they are concerned that “raising any taxes right now could negatively impact economic growth.”

“We believe in times of economic recovery it makes good sense to maintain things as they are in the short term, to provide families and businesses the certainty required to plan and make sound budget decisions. Providing this certainty will give small businesses, the backbone of our economic recovery, confidence and stability,” the lawmakers wrote.

Why is raising taxes on those making $250,000 per year a bad idea? Because that includes small businesses who report income on the owner’s tax forms, investors who take risks to expand businesses and produce jobs, and high-spending households that maintain jobs and stimulate the economy.

When you hear “wealthy” think “investors”, “business owners”, and “major consumers”. Let Washington take more money away from them and you lose jobs, investment, and the economy slows. We suffer. It’s as simple as that.

The total cost of extending the higher-earning Bush tax cuts would be $700 billion over 10 years, according to Obama’s own projections. That’s $70 billion per year to avoid job losses and a drop in investments. Meanwhile, Obama defends a failed $787 billion “stimulus” package that left us with 9.6% unemployment.