Political Quotes

“So when we talk about our vote this morning, it is not a wonky discussion. It is real people. Five million Californians are about to get trapped into the AMT problem, the alternative minimum tax, which was set up for a very fair reason. I wasn't here at that time, but I remember reading about millionaires getting away with paying no taxes because we had no alternative minimum. They took advantage of the Tax Code, got their deductions, and paid nothing. We put it in place, but it is imperfect. We had to fix it to make sure it doesn't catch the middle class--5 million of my people. So this is like a partridge in a pear tree in a way: 400,000 people would have lost their unemployment compensation; 5 million would be caught in the alternative minimum tax, which would have been an extra in taxes right there; and 15 million would have seen their tax rates go up on average of $2,200. This bill we voted for this morning had real consequences, and I know a lot of people are worried about the future and what is coming down in 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days--and I worry too. But I have been around here long enough to know it isn't going to get better if we put this off until then and we have twice as many issues on our plates to deal with. So I believe what we did this morning--and my voice is going because it was a very difficult and emotional day for all of us, some being away from their families for the first time. I know my friend from Rhode Island and I talked about it.…”