Political Quotes

“while I support many of the statements of my good friend, there are several fatal flaws in the amendment. There are 23 provisions in the 141-page amendment. I do not know the cost of all of these tax changes. On the last page of this amendment, the Senator attempts to offset its cost by delegating to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to adjust tax rates. This is an unprecedented delegation of authority. I believe it is unconstitutional. Further, the amendment allows the unelected Secretary of the Treasury to raise the new 10-percent rate on low-income taxpayers to 12 percent or 15 percent or the Secretary could raise the 28-percent bracket on middle-income families to 29 percent or 30 percent. The Secretary of the Treasury has no constitutional authority to set tax rates. That is what we were elected to do. I believe we should develop an energy policy in the Energy Committee and in the Finance Committee, not on the floor of the Senate. We have not had any hearings on the proposal. I look forward to working with Senator Bingaman in both committees to develop a rational energy policy. Madam President, the pending amendment is not germane to the provisions of the reconciliation measure. I, therefore, raise a point of order against the amendment under section 305(b)(2) of the Budget Act.”