On the recordDecember 14, 2010
I want to speak for a few minutes about the tax legislation the Senate is debating and will be voting on before long. There has been some dismay on both sides of the aisle regarding the merits of the package. I emphasize a point also made by others: Nobody thinks this is a perfect bill. Most conservatives are upset about the unfunded extension of unemployment benefits and the fact that the tax rate extensions are not permanent. On the left, there are those who dislike the death tax reform and would have preferred that the top marginal income tax rates be increased. There are other concerns as well. I agree with some of the criticisms my conservative friends have made. This is not the bill I would have written. There are some provisions in the package I disagree with or would have written differently. On the other hand, this is not the bill President Obama would have written. He has made it clear that he doesn't like everything in it either. The package represents a true bipartisan compromise. That is something we talk about a lot but seldom seem able to do. But political circumstances will not allow either party to dictate its perfect bill. So while neither party got everything it wanted, there are provisions in the package to appeal to both sides of the aisle, and most of us agree it would be very bad for Americans to allow taxes to be increased.
