Barbara Boxer: “I just have one last response. I don't know how many of my colleagues ever sat on a redevelopment agency. I happen to…”

“I just have one last response. I don't know how many of my colleagues ever sat on a redevelopment agency. I happen to have done so when I was on county board of supervisors. And it is disingenuous to say it is the redevelopment agency that gets the benefit. The redevelopment agency is the conduit to the private sector, and that is where the benefit goes. Now, in many cases it is totally fine. When I sat on the redevelopment entity, it was because we had a very run-down part of our county that needed support. And so whatever it was we could give to them, any benefit in the Tax Code, et cetera, that is what we did. But how about this? The benefit goes to the particular businesses now that are making record profits. I would tell you, the American people looking at this debate are going to say: Why aren't you protecting us from price gouging like Senator Cantwell suggests? That is the bill that is in the package, not this bill which essentially says we are taking away clean air protection, we are going to have 50 different standards here, 50 different permit processes. What a nightmare. We are giving away the money of the taxpayers to the biggest corporations in America that are making the most money ever--not only giving them the land but paying them back for all of their costs. To me, to put this in this package will doom this package. I just hope if and when this does come up for a vote, there will be a resounding no.”